Chevrolet teams might be struggling in the Cup Series, but they are the top dogs in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. In the ongoing chase for the championship, 10 out of the 12 cars are from the Chevy camp. And while this looks like a strong manufacturer base for teams, it is pretty fragmented, which has been a driving force behind Alpha Prime Racing’s decision to switch alliances.

Starting in 2027, Alpha Prime Racing will field Ford Mustangs in the O’Reilly Series with its No. 44 and No. 45 entries. But it makes you wonder: why would a Chevy team jump ship to a rival manufacturer even when they are dominating on the racetrack? Alpha Prime Racing co-owner Tommy Joe Martins shared a blunt and honest confession regarding the same.

“That manufacturer relationship now, that is kind of what’s defining the relationships with a lot of these bigger teams and bigger organizations is how tied into they are with the manufacturer. And there’s kind of a pecking order, right?” Martins said on SiriusXM Radio. “And you look in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and that pecking order is pretty clearly established at the top for Chevrolet. It is Junior Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports and RCR, and then those affiliates there around them.”

Much like the Cup Series, the O’Reilly Series also has Tier 1 partnerships. As things stand, Junior Motorsports leads the charge, followed by Richard Childress Racing in the Chevy camp. But the real concern for Martins is the teams they are competing against within the manufacturer alliance.

Haas Factory Team, Jordan Anderson Racing, Viking Motorsports, and Jeremy Clements Racing are all also trying to get their hands on the same resources and preference from the manufacturer. Since 2022, Alpha Prime Racing has been a part of the Chevy group, yet they’ve had zero wins for themselves and have been restricted to becoming a mid-pack organization.

Knowing the situation well, Martins and his team decided that they wanted to move away from the crowded Chevy garage.

“You’re like, all right, how many of these is my organization going to jump in front of? And all due respect to a lot of those guys, like we’ll wind up playing a lot of the same tunes, right? It’s a lot of us kind of in that middle part of the field, kinda vying to be the next one.”

The trend of Chevy teams moving to rival factions is becoming more and more prevalent. In the Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club switched from Chevy to Toyota, and then there was Kaulig Racing in the Truck Series, which forged a partnership with Ram after cutting ties with Chevy.

And now Alpha Prime Racing is doing the same heading into next season. But there’s more to this transition than a simple switch in alliance. This is also Ford’s big move after losing its identity and presence in the O’Reilly Series against the mighty Chevy and Toyota outfits.

Why Alpha Prime’s Switch is Crucial for Ford’s NASCAR Pipeline

Ford ended their 2026 NOAPS season with no cars in the Chase simply because they have no full-time cars in the series. While they have two teams in the Cup Series and multiple teams in the Truck Series, having no full-time rides in NOAPS to serve as a bridge for developing talent made it difficult for drivers to stay on. 

Ford lost one of their brightest talents, current Truck Series title contender Chandler Smith, to rivals Chevrolet for 2027, as RCR snapped him up and put him in Austin Hill’s NOAPS ride. The move was made after Hill was announced as the long-term replacement for Kyle Busch in the Cup Series, whose 8 car was renumbered to 33 for Hill to drive.

Smith wanted a ride in NOAPS to keep his curve going upwards, but Ford couldn’t offer him that, making the 24-year-old jump to Chevrolet for the 2027 season.

While Smith found his way out, Layne Riggs, who is leading the Truck Series, also doesn’t have a ride in the higher series for next year. Ford has highlighted that the absence of a clear driver development program doesn’t impact them as much. But what keeps happening to them is their younger prospects get poached, and they, in turn, end up poaching talent from elsewhere, a practice that has worked but doesn’t seem sustainable. 

Ford lost out in NOAPS when Haas Factory Team, their long-term associate since the days of the former Stewart-Haas racing, jumped to Chevrolet. That loss put Ford out of a full-time drive and the very bridge they used to get drivers through from Truck to Cup. 

With Alpha Prime coming on board from 2027, while the team gets what it wants, which is priority and premium-grade equipment and race setups, Ford gets to use the team as a litmus test for drivers keen to get into the top tier of NASCAR. 

“I think that’s the role that we’re going to ultimately fill in that Ford pipeline,” said Martins. “We feel like we can be a second-tier program and stand out a lot more and have a lot more opportunities.”

Alpha Prime’s switch to become a prioritized team may yet be the saving grace for Ford, which desperately needed a team in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.