AM Racing | NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
Fast Facts
Driver: Nick Sanchez
Primary Partner(s): Paynuity
Manufacturer: Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Edward “Dewey” Townsend
Spotter: Adam Fournier
2026 Driver Points Position: 28th
2026 Owner Points Position: 31st
Engine: Roush-Yates Engines
Notes of Interest:
● Season Four, Full Throttle: AM Racing will embark on its fourth full-schedule season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026 with driver Nick Sanchez competing in the full 33-race schedule, continuing with Saturday night’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
● Future Focused: In early February, AM Racing announced the signing of NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner Nick Sanchez to pilot the team’s No. 25 Ford Mustang, beginning with the 2026 season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on February 14, 2026.
Nick Sanchez will make his debut with AM Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026, joining the Ford Racing camp after previously competing with Chevrolet.
The Miami, Fla., native arrives at AM Racing following his rookie campaign in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025, where he continued to develop his resume as one of NASCAR’s rising young drivers.
Sanchez, 25, arrives on the scene at AM Racing after a 33-race stint driving for Big Machine Racing.
● Fueled by Paynuity: Paynuity will continue its new partnership with Nick Sanchez and AM Racing this weekend at Darlington Raceway, serving as the title partner of the team’s No. 25 Ford Mustang for Saturday night’s 147-lap race.
Paynuity empowers businesses and financial institutions by providing best-in-class financial technology and customer service with a unified, enterprise-grade, global payments ecosystem.
Its innovative digital transaction processing platform enables direct-to-bank settlement for peer-to-peer and/or merchant-to-merchant transactions by providing seamless end-to-end payments and banking services for merchants and banks alike – the nexus of payment processing.
With more than 58 different payment networks and direct card brand associations on its payment switch and routing platform, Paynuity provides plug-and-play solutions for credit/debit card issuers and/or merchant acquirers by enabling direct access to thousands of global banks and card associations to facilitate merchant services, card issuing, and digital banking.
After experiencing firsthand the exposure and engagement generated through its NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut, Paynuity recognized the value of aligning with a competitive, Playoff-caliber organization competing on the sport’s national stage.
● Traveling in Style: Continuing their new affiliation with AM Racing this weekend in Darlington is Travel Curious, a leading B2B travel technology provider in the experiences industry.
Travel Curious’s Unified Experiences Platform™ enables hotels, travel providers and loyalty programs to seamlessly integrate curated experiences into their offerings, helping partners drive differentiation, deepen customer engagement and unlock incremental value.
Serving as the unifying infrastructure connecting distinctive supply — including live entertainment, major league sporting events, theme parks, tours, attractions and other immersive experiences — Travel Curious connects global demand through a fully integrated, end-to-end technology platform.
● Nick Sanchez O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Darlington Raceway Stats: Saturday’s first of two 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series trips to the track dubbed ‘Too Tough To Tame’ will mark Sanchez’s second career start at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.
In his previous start, Sanchez delivered a NOAPS track-best of eighth after starting 15th in the 2025 edition of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 for Big Machine Racing.
Sanchez, the former ARCA Menards Series champion, also has two NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series starts at Darlington Raceway in 2023 and 2024, respectively, earning the pole and a second-place finish in the 2024 edition of the Buckle Up South Carolina 200.
● Nick Sanchez NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Career Stats: Entering Darlington, Sanchez has 46 career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts to his credit, highlighted by one win, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, with a championship-best result of 11th in the standings during the 2025 season.
Sanchez earned his first career NOAPS series victory in his freshman season in a thrilling summer finish at EchoPark (Ga.) Speedway, where he started 11th and hustled to the front, leading 18 laps before edging fellow rookie Carson Kvapil for the checkered flag by .104 seconds.
In addition to the 46 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, he has achieved 47 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series starts and 60 career starts across the ARCA Menards Series platforms.
● AM Racing NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Overview at Darlington Raceway: This weekend’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 will mark AM Racing’s sixth career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series appearance at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in the heart of South Carolina.
In the team’s six previous outings in the Palmetto State, their best track performance came last spring when Harrison Burton won a stage, finished 13th after qualifying his No. 25 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang 14th.
Collectively, AM Racing holds an average finish of 26.4 in its NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series efforts at Darlington Raceway, highlighted by two top-20 results.
Last year, in his eighth start with the team, Burton bettered the team’s previous best outing at Darlington Raceway by seven positions when Brett Moffitt finished 20th in the spring 2023 edition of the Shriner Children’s 200, strengthening the organization’s Darlington résumé.
On intermediate tracks measuring between 1.0 and 2.0 miles, the Statesville, N.C.-based organization has amassed 48 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, recording two top-five and nine top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 19.8.
● Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway | LiUNA! NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race Recap: The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series concluded its first of two West Coast swings this past weekend with a stop at the ever-popular Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
After a solid practice effort with his No. 25 AM Racing Ford Mustang, Sanchez posted the 21st fastest lap in qualifying, giving the team solid track position for the 200-lap race under the hot Nevada sun.
From the drop of the green flag, Sanchez began working his way forward, but his momentum was busted when he experienced a mechanical failure for the second consecutive weekend when a fuel pump failure sent him to the garage and out of the race after completing 141 of the scheduled 200 laps.
● Thanks For Your Support: With 15 percent of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season complete, AM Racing and Nick Sanchez would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AIRBOX Air Purifier, Better Compute Works, Blue Wolf Products, Castle Products, Eagle Rentals, Flying Circle, MAR CARIBE LINE, Mechanix Wear, No Days Off Premium Water, Race to Stop Suicide, Racing Radios, Travel Curious, Volt Batteries and WIX Filters.
● From the Pit Box: Guiding Sanchez as crew chief of the No. 25 AM Racing Ford Mustang is the newly appointed crew chief Edward “Dewey” Townsend.
On Saturday night, the gifted engineer will be crew chief for his sixth career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race and his first at Darlington Raceway.
In his previous four O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, he has collected one top-five and one top-10 finish (EchoPark Speedway — February 2026).
● Follow on Social Media: For more on AM Racing, please visit their Facebook page (Team AM Racing), or follow them on Instagram and X | Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR.
For more on Nick Sanchez, please visit shopnickracing.com, like his Facebook page (Nick Sanchez), or follow him on Instagram (@nicksanchez080) and X | Twitter (@Nicksanchez080).
Nick Sanchez Quoteboard:
On Darlington Raceway: “Darlington Raceway is one of those tracks every driver looks forward to because of how challenging it is. It’s a place that really tests you from start to finish with the tire wear, the narrow groove and how close you run to the wall every lap.
“There’s so much history there, and any time you get the chance to race at a place like Darlington, it means something. We’re focused on maximizing our day, staying disciplined and putting ourselves in position to be there at the end.”
On Keys to Success at Darlington Raceway: “Darlington is one of those places where you’ve just got to respect it. You can’t force the issue too much because it’ll bite you quick.
“I think the key is taking care of your tires, keeping the car clean and just staying disciplined all race long. If you can do that and put yourself in a good spot at the end, you’ll have a shot at a good finish.”
On Las Vegas Motor Speedway Finish: “It was a frustrating day for sure. I felt like our No. 25 AM Racing Ford Mustang was better than where we started, and we were working in the right direction before the fuel pump failure ended our day.
“That’s two straight weeks we’ve had something out of our control take us out, and that’s never easy, but I’m proud of the effort from everybody on this team. We’ll just keep digging and get ready for the next race.”
On the Importance of Rebounding: “For us, it’s really about getting a good, clean finish and coming out of the weekend with some points. We’ve had some tough breaks lately, so the focus now is just putting a full race together, staying out of trouble and maximizing what we have all day.
“If we can do that, it’ll go a long way toward getting some momentum back on our side.”
On 2026 Season Outlook: “I’m really encouraged by the direction our AM Racing team is heading this season. The third-place finish at EchoPark Speedway showed what we’re capable of when everything comes together.
“Our goal now is to keep building on that momentum, stay consistent each week and put ourselves in position to contend for more top finishes as the season progresses.”
Race Information:
The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 (147 laps | 200.8 miles) is the sixth of thirty-three (33) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races on the 2026 schedule. Practice will occur on Sat., March 21, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. Qualifying will immediately follow, beginning at 1:05 p.m. The field will take the green flag later in the day, shortly after 5:30 p.m., with live coverage on The CW Network, the Motor Racing Network (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (ET).
About AM Racing:
AM Racing is a multi-tiered, multifaceted motorsports program headquartered in Statesville, N.C.
Established in December 2015, the organization prides itself on faith, honesty and intelligent performance.
Entering its 11th year of competition, AM Racing will compete across NASCAR’s national and developmental ranks during the 2026 season.
