- NOAPS’s Ford team, AM Racing, has officially shut down its operations.
- The team operated for 10 years.
- RSS Racing could bring a Ford entry back at Dover.
Ford’s presence in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has already been hanging by a thread, with no Ford-backed teams or cars appearing on the grid over the last two race weekends, and now another blow appears to have landed.
Reports now indicate that one Ford-backed NOAPS organisation has shut its doors for good, while at the same time, another operation may be preparing to carry the Ford banner back onto the track at Dover.
After 10 years in the garage, AM Racing waves the white flag
For weeks, silence surrounded AM Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series after the organisation withdrew from the Rockingham race near the end of March. Nothing surfaced publicly about the team’s future, but according to the latest developments, the operation has now formally ceased functioning altogether.
Vice President of Competition Matthew Lucas reportedly informed employees that they were being released from their duties, explaining that efforts to stabilize the organization ultimately failed to keep the team afloat.
The organisation first entered operation in 2016 before later folding into Niece Motorsports for the 2018 season. That arrangement did not last permanently, however, as the team separated from Niece in 2019 and returned to fielding entries under its own banner once again.
In 2020, the organisation relocated into the former Front Row Motorsports race shop in Statesville, North Carolina. The facility was shared alongside Jordan Anderson Racing and Win-Tron Racing, though the three organisations continued functioning independently rather than merging operations into one structure.
Reached 2025 NOAPS playoffs
The reshuffling continued yet again in 2021 when AM Racing merged with Win-Tron. Then another phase appeared ready to develop in 2026 when ARCA organisation Sigma Performance Services was expected to acquire AM Racing, though that transaction never materialised either.
AM Racing managed to reach the NOAPS playoffs in 2025 with Harrison Burton behind the wheel, ending the season 12th in driver points with two top-five finishes and ten top-10 results. The organisation intended to return for another full-time campaign in 2026 with Nick Sanchez driving the No. 25 Ford Mustang.
When the organisation withdrew from Rockingham, Sanchez sat 25th in points with a best finish of third through the opening seven races of the season. The team had also entered a second car, the No. 52 Ford, in select races earlier in the year with Daniel Dye behind the wheel.
Dye had hoped to continue rebuilding his path after departing the Kaulig Racing Truck Series programme, while Sanchez reportedly met with Team Penske representatives, though nothing developed from those conversations either.
Former Ford operation RSS Racing may carry Ford back to Dover
At the same time, one Ford-backed organisation disappears from the sport, while another may be preparing to bring the manufacturer back into competition after two weekends missing from the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series grid.
When NASCAR released the Dover entry list on Monday, neither AM Racing nor Hettinger Racing appeared among the entries, leaving Ford absent on paper. Yet signs now point toward RSS Racing potentially entering Dover with Ford backing after previously fielding Ford machinery through last season.
RSS Racing has remained active this year, but it has been under Chevrolet equipment, with Kyle Sieg driving the No. 28 Chevrolet SS in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Part-time competitor Patrick Emerling also made two starts this season in NASCAR’s Tier 2 division, driving the No. 38 Chevrolet.
Now the picture appears to have shifted once more. RSS Racing’s third driver, Logan Bearden, is reportedly set to enter the Dover race following his one-race outing earlier this season with Young’s Motorsports, where he piloted the No. 42 Chevrolet at Bristol. This time, however, the expectation is that the car beneath him will wear Ford branding instead of Chevrolet identification.
The report came out through racing journalist Colby Evans, who posted a photo of the No. 38 car on X, writing: “Well Ford is back in O’Reilly’s again for this weekend at Dover #38 Logan Bearden driving for RSS in the 38 car and it’s a Ford.”
Mixed package assembled through spare parts?
But how could one organisation operate entries tied to different manufacturers simultaneously? In practice, such arrangements generally do not happen unless the entry functions outside the standard RSS Racing structure while borrowing the number and operational points.
At NASCAR levels above ARCA, organisations cannot simply combine a body from one manufacturer with an engine from another, meaning the setup is likely functioning as a legitimate Ford-backed entry rather than a mixed package assembled through spare parts.
Some smaller organisations do operate around generic engine combinations capable of supporting multiple manufacturers. In the Truck Series and ARCA competition, those combinations appear more frequently, and the manufacturer tied to the body shell often carries less mechanical significance, but the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series operates under another framework entirely.
Beyond the branding discussion, the hardware itself creates complications. Oil lines, coolant routes, radiator placement, and oil-cooler inlet and outlet positions differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, meaning a switch cannot happen through decals alone.
Another theory circulating around the garage suggests RSS Racing may have retained Ford engines from previous seasons. There may also be former non-Haas Factory Team lease chassis still sitting in the Georgia shop waiting for another trip onto the racetrack instead of gathering dust in storage.
