AM Racing | NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Martinsville (Va.) Speedway | NFPA 250
Fast Facts
Driver: Nick Sanchez
Primary Partner(s): Paynuity
Manufacturer: Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Edward “Dewey” Townsend
Spotter: Adam Fournier
2026 Driver Points Position: 22nd
2026 Owner Points Position: 26th
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 afternoon’s NFPA 250 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
● 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 Martinsville Speedway, serving as the title partner of the team’s No. 25 Ford Mustang for Saturday afternoon’s 250-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 Martinsville 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 Martinsville Speedway Stats: Saturday afternoon’s anticipated slugfest marks Sanchez’s fourth career start at the famed 0.526-mile paperclip of Martinsville Speedway.
In his previous three Martinsville Speedway starts, Sanchez’s best result was delivered in his inaugural trip to Martinsville Speedway, where he earned a track-best seventh in the Dead On Tools 250 in October 2022, driving for Big Machine Racing.
Overall, he holds an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series average finish of 19.3 at the historic race track in the heart of the Old Dominion.
Sanchez, the former ARCA Menards Series champion, also has three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series starts at Martinsville Speedway in 2023 and 2024, respectively, earning two top-five finishes, including a Truck Series track-best fourth-place finish in the 2024 spring edition of the Long John Silver’s 200 after starting fifth.
● Nick Sanchez NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Career Stats: Entering Martinsville, Sanchez has 47 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.
Since his 2022 debut, Sanchez has averaged an 18.4 finish in series competition, including the past two seasons running full-time.
In addition to the 47 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 Martinsville Speedway: This weekend’s NFPA 250 will mark AM Racing’s seventh career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at historic Martinsville Speedway.
In the team’s six previous appearances in the Commonwealth, its best finish came in its O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at the track, when Brett Moffitt drove the No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford Mustang from 16th on the grid to a ninth-place result.
AM Racing also earned its first career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole at Martinsville Speedway last October, when Harrison Burton turned the fastest lap in qualifying at 95.429 mph. Burton went on to lead 16 laps before finishing 11th.
Overall, AM Racing owns an average finish of 17.0 in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition at Martinsville, highlighted by five top-20 finishes with four different drivers.
On short tracks, the Statesville, N.C.-based organization has made 14 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, earning one top-five and three top-10 finishes, while posting an average finish of 18.6.
● Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 Race Recap: The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series made its traditional stop in the heart of South Carolina with a visit to the legendary Darlington Raceway for last Saturday afternoon’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200.
After a solid practice session in the No. 25 AM Racing Ford Mustang, Sanchez posted the 27th-fastest lap in qualifying after earning the infamous Darlington stripe.
Forced to drop to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments, Sanchez charged through the field during the fast-paced 147-lap event, contending for a top-15 finish before ultimately settling for a respectable 16th-place result at the checkered flag.
The performance marked the team’s best finish since a third-place showing in the series’ second race of the season at EchoPark (Ga.) Speedway.
● Thanks For Your Support: With 18 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 afternoon, the gifted engineer will be crew chief for his seventh career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race and his first at Darlington Raceway.
In his previous six 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 Martinsville Speedway: “Martinsville is one of those places that really challenges you as a driver. It’s tight, it’s physical, and you have to be on your game every single lap.
“I’ve had some solid runs there in the past, so I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned and building that notebook with AM Racing for the first time this weekend.
“We’ve seen what this team is capable of at Martinsville, especially being the defending pole winner, so that gives us a lot of confidence heading into the weekend. It would mean a lot to put this No. 25 Ford Mustang back on the pole and make it back-to-back for AM Racing.
“If we can execute in qualifying and keep ourselves up front, I feel like we’ll be in a strong position when it counts.”
On Keys to Success at Martinsville Speedway: “At Martinsville, it really comes down to discipline and execution. You have to take care of your equipment, keep your brakes underneath you, and make sure you’re there at the end of the run.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the moment at a place like this, but the guys who are patient usually end up with the best results.
“Track position is huge, so qualifying well and having clean pit stops will be key for us. If we can stay out of trouble, manage our tires, and keep ourselves in position late in the race, I think we’ll have a shot to be right there when it matters most.”
On Darlington Raceway Finish: “Darlington is always a tough place, but I was really proud of the effort from everyone at AM Racing. We had a solid car in practice, and even after getting the stripe in qualifying and having to go to the back, the team never gave up.
“We were able to work our way through the field and put ourselves in position for a solid finish. A 16th-place result might not jump off the page, but considering where we started, it says a lot about the speed in our No. 25 Ford Mustang and the effort from this group.
“It definitely gives us something to build on heading into Martinsville.”
On the Importance of Finishing Strong: “We’ve been focused on getting ourselves back on track as a team. We lost a little bit of ground in the points in the races leading up to Darlington, so it was important for us to put together a solid, complete day and start gaining that back.
“I think Darlington was a step in the right direction for our No. 25 AM Racing Ford Mustang. Now it’s about continuing to build on that, staying consistent, and stacking finishes so we can keep climbing back to where we know we should be in the standings.”
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 NFPA 250 (250 laps | 131.5 miles) is the seventh of thirty-three (33) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races on the 2026 schedule. Practice will occur on Fri., March 27, 2026, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. Qualifying will immediately follow, beginning at 5:35 p.m. The field will take the green flag on Sat., March 28, 2026, shortly after 3:30 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.
