CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Ellis is no stranger to making contract announcements; he has done so multiple times in recent years. However, Wednesday's event at the NASCAR Hall of Fame stood out as a particularly memorable moment.
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After all, the last time he stood inside the Charlotte tourist attraction, he was in charge of an event featuring Corey LaJoie. He was in the background, just making sure that everything happened as planned.
This time, he and Young's Motorsports were announcing a multi-year deal for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Ellis will drive the No. 02 Chevrolet as the team expands to two entries. He will work with multiple sponsors including Tablo TV, Sweetwater Construction, Four Loko, Eclipse Claims, ROSCH, and Demco Products.
"I don't feel like I'm even deserving enough to be let in here without paying my way in," Ellis said with a laugh. "So to be here, just being in the Hall of Fame in general and have the car here for just maybe 20 more minutes is really, really cool for myself and my partners.
"I feel like I've kind of broken the algorithm in this sport."
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It is not lost on Ellis how much his career has changed. He went from driving a "start and park" car in multiple NASCAR series to working on the public relations side. However, he continued to build a list of supporters while working his way back into what is now the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Ellis went from making limited starts in the secondary NASCAR series to competing full-time with Alpha Prime Racing and then DGM Racing. Now, he has his first multi-year deal of his career, which provides stability as he heads to Young's Motorsports.
"It's so nice for myself and also our sponsors who are getting probably sick of changing car numbers over the last couple years," Ellis added. "So just knowing that we can wear the same apparel for at least two years is awesome.
"But from a job perspective, like I have my kids right over my shoulder there, and it's great to just be able to know that I'm not like sacrificing their future chasing this dream because we got some stability there and that helps a ton.
"Just being able to focus on being a race car driver rather than the business side of it all."
#NASCAR - it has been quite the journey for Tyler Young and @youngsmtrsports as they have gone from being a staple of the Truck Series to now fielding two full-time O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars.
He explains why this move will help the team. pic.twitter.com/T0OU96lM25— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) November 10, 2025
Having this business side taken care of affects more than just the home life. Ellis can also take advantage of other perks of his new role. He can actually use the simulator far more regularly while trying to improve at a variety of tracks.
This marks a significant change from the days when he only had roughly an hour of simulator time available. Last week alone, he used three hours of time to work on Bristol Motor Speedway, the Charlotte Roval, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"Let me tell you, 8 a.m. in a motion sim is rough when you run Bristol right off the bat for the first time," Ellis joked. "Because I was just really happy I didn't throw up. It was so helpful just being in that room and getting some of the advice they were passing off. I have not had that before."
Extended simulator time, a multi-year deal, and an event just for him at the NASCAR Hall of Fame — life certainly has changed for Ellis as he nears 200 career starts in the secondary series. It will continue to change as Daytona approaches. The pressure will increase as the Virginia native prepares to take on his first race with Young's Motorsports.
But for right now, he's just embracing the moment after a special day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
