There is one clear dominant force in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026, and that is Chevrolet. Ten of the 12 drivers who have advanced to the Chase drive Chevrolet cars, and so far, Chevy has been to victory lane in 22 of 25 races. So why would Team Alpha Prime Racing switch from Chevrolet to Ford, which has no full-time cars in the Series in 2026, let alone race wins?

There is an interesting pattern to observe here. While Chevrolet’s dominance is a great sign for the larger organizations running Chevys, the smaller ones don’t have much to show for it, raising the question of which team gets how much priority from the OEM. That is exactly what is making the two Team Alpha Prime Racing entries jump manufacturers next season.

Tommy Joe Martins, co-owner of Alpha Prime, spoke about this shift on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“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. “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.”

Martins then highlighted how Viking Motorsports, Jordan Anderson, Jeremy Clements, and Ryan Sieg have all been with Chevrolet for a long time and struggle for good results. So for Team Alpha Prime to push past these experienced names probably wouldn’t have happened if he too stuck with the same OEM.

“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,” Martins added.

Martins and Alpha Prime’s logic isn’t wrong; the more teams that operate under the same OEM, the more teams that you are in direct competition with, which puts you in the midfield even before a lap is driven simply because there are that many similar cars around you doing exactly what you’re doing and hence the same results.

Alpha Prime has mainly run Chevrolet’s ever since their inception as Martin Motorsports in 2009, which is why the change is major, both for them and Ford.

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.