A recent podcast episode led to speculation from fans that one of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ newest teams could be scaling back its effort as soon as this week’s race at Bristol, something the team clarified isn’t happening this weekend.
During the latest episode of the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast, NASCAR fans took note of a comment from former Crew Chief and car owner Tommy Baldwin.
Amid a discussion about sponsorship in NASCAR, Baldwin spoke about teams in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series taking a break from racing, the No. 25 of AM Racing, and the No. 30 of Barrett–Cope Racing.
Both of these teams seemingly planned to race the entire NASCAR OAP Series schedule in 2026, with AM fielding former Rookie of the Year candidate Nick Sanchez, and Barrett–Cope fielding a rotating door of drivers.
Yet both teams have now missed races this season, with Barrett–Cope missing the past two races, and AM pulling out of Rockingham last weekend.
With sponsorship the rumored issue for both teams, Baldwin’s comments were not a surprise. However, what was a surprise was his note that the “5 car,” a reference to Hettinger Racing’s full-time car in the OAP Series, was “going to take a couple weeks off.”
“A lot of the teams are just getting by every week, right? And you’re seeing the 30 teams shut down, right, the 25 shut down, the 5 car is going to take a couple weeks off, right? It’s just, it’s hard.” — Tommy Baldwin
Shortly after this episode went live on Monday, some fans took their frustrations with this news to the online NASCAR community.
Nonetheless, when the entry list for this weekend’s race at Bristol came out, the No. 5 team was listed with a TBA driver, with the team later confirming that veteran J.J. Yeley would pilot the car once again.
Of course, while this is good news for this week’s race, nothing is clear for next weekend.
While the team has yet to announce any plans to pause their program after this weekend, most fans do not doubt Baldwin’s knowledge of the situation, as he is both a part of the industry and the father of part-time Hettinger driver Luke Baldwin.
So, as this week rolls into next week, many fans will be keeping an eye on the rumor mill ahead of next weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway.
Hettinger’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut was major news this past offseason, following the defection of two of Ford’s three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams to Chevrolet.
This meant that, alongside AM Racing, Hettinger would be just one of two Ford teams racing for the OAP Series championship, in a series stacked with Chevrolet entries.
Through eight races, the team has seen highs and lows, including a DNQ by driver Tyler Gonzalez at Circuit of the Americas and solid runs by rookie Luke Fenhaus and veteran J.J. Yeley.
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