What’s Happening?

AM Racing made a shocking return to the NASCAR grid last week when they announced their planned sale to SPS Racing had fallen through. With just days until the start of the season, the only question is, who will drive the car?

Last fall, AM Racing, a handful of weeks after making the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs for the first time, announced its sale to the well-known ARCA Menards Series team SPS Racing.

Throughout the off-season, fans discussed the potential future SPS had in the newly dubbed NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Ford by their side, and how they had a chance to back up AM’s solid 2025 season with driver Harrison Burton.

Nonetheless, as the weeks dragged on, aside from a few social media posts about preparations for the new year, SPS had yet to announce who was driving their 2026 NASCAR OAP Series entry, and ultimately, they never would.

Last Friday, AM Racing, via their former X account (rebranded from SPS Racing back to AM Racing), posted that the sale was not completed, and that they would continue with plans to race in 2026 and announce a driver in the coming days.

pic.twitter.com/HXG9dsi883

— AM Racing (@AMRacingNASCAR) January 30, 2026

While the team has yet to announce a new driver, they are likely scratching the bottom of the barrel, as most top talent is already off the board for the new year.

So, what and who are the options left on the board for AM Racing?

Experienced Full-Time Options

If AM wants to go the full-time driver route in 2026, options are about as limited as they get this time of year.

While big-name free agents have already made plans for next year, such as their former driver, Harrison Burton, with his new deal at Sam Hunt Racing, most other names have worked out some form of deal to secure them a ride for 2026.

There are three drivers, however, all of whom come from the Chevrolet camp in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, who have yet to announce full-time plans for the 2026 season.

First is Matt Mills, who is coming off his second full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series with Niece Motorsports. While Mills’ stats may not pop off the page, he has experience at the NASCAR OAP Series level.

Mills’ long-time, Niece teammate Bayley Currey is still on the board as well. Currey is coming off a somewhat roller coaster part-time season, driving multiple trucks for Niece, and again, is a driver who has solid experience at the OAP Series level.

If the team wanted a driver with competitive experience in the NASCAR OAP Series, Connor Mosack is also entering the season without a full-time deal.

Though he plans to do some races with Spire Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series and Pinnacle Racing Group in the ARCA Menards Series, Mosack might be a solid option to get some stats on the board for AM.

While each of these is an experienced option, none of these drivers has ever achieved the level of success that AM did in 2025, nor have they won a race in one of NASCAR’s National Series, and if the team wanted to chase wins this year, the opportunity is definitely there.

Rotation

This year, NASCAR is expanding the number of races that NASCAR Cup Series regulars can do in the lower National Series levels.

With this change, Cup Series drivers can now enter a total of 10 NASCAR OAP Series races throughout the season, up from five in 2025.

While Chevrolet and Toyota have their spots for Cup drivers to get behind the wheel of an OAP Series car, teams in the Ford camp do not have a clear option to allow for their Cup Series drivers to score seat time in a lower division.

This leaves a hole to fill in Ford’s NASCAR ladder, and, if they wanted to, AM could remain an open option for Ford’s Cup Series drivers to come race for non-championship wins throughout the year.

In fact, this was an idea suggested by SPS ownership following their now-defunct purchase of AM.

Furthermore, the team actually has a history of this, having entered a handful of Ford’s Cup drivers following the departure of Hailie Deegan partway through the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

But the team could have some championship aspirations, and in that case, there is a very solid option still on the free agent board.

Nick Sanchez

Entering the off-season, Nick Sanchez seemed like an afterthought regarding free agency.

The former ARCA Menards Series champion and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year was coming off a one-win rookie campaign with Big Machine Racing in the Xfinity Series.

Despite seeming set to build on this performance in the new year, in December 2025, Sanchez announced that he would not return to BMR in 2026, an unexpected move that left questions about Sanchez’s future.

With doors closing left and right, many suggested that SPS should sign the multi-time National Series winner for their new team. Even though SPS won’t be running the ship, fans in the online NASCAR community are still urging AM to sign Sanchez.

While this might be the perfect fit, neither side has announced any plans to race together in 2026 as of press time, though the clock is ticking for AM to announce their driver or drivers for the new year.

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