Nick Sanchez has found a new home for the 2026 NASCAR season after suddenly losing his seat at Big Machine Racing. He will shift over to AM Racing.
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According to a Feb. 9 announcement, the Florida native will take over the No. 25 Ford Mustang for AM Racing. He will compete full-time for the young team while trying to win his second career race.
This partnership happens after AM Racing announced its acquisition by Sigma Performance Services would not take place. Instead of operating under new ownership, the team will once again compete as an independent team in NASCAR's secondary series.
Excited for this new chapter with @AMRacingNASCAR & @FordRacing . Ready for this opportunity and focused on the season ahead! pic.twitter.com/bR9UxGTZ2d
— Nicholas Sanchez (@Nicksanchez080) February 9, 2026
"AM Racing is excited to announce the signing of rising phenom Nick Sanchez as the driver of the team's No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series," AM Racing wrote on X.
The No. 25 team will kick off the 2026 season at Daytona International Speedway. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race will take place on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m. ET. CW will provide coverage.
Sanchez joined Big Machine Racing for the 2025 season. He drove the No. 48 full-time while replacing the retired Parker Kligerman. He scored his first career win at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) and ended the season 11th in the championship standings.
He posted seven total top-five finishes and 12 top-10s with an average finish of 17.1.
The expectation after the season was that he would return to Big Machine Racing for another campaign. However, the team informed Sanchez in December that he would not be with them in 2026. The team chose to move forward with Patrick Staropoli.
Now, he will replace Harrison Burton at AM Racing as Burton moves to Sam Hunt Racing. The No. 25 team made the playoffs on points last season as Burton posted 10 top-10 finishes.
Now that Sanchez has his seat for the 2026 season, the attention will turn to the rest of the team. Crew chief Danny Efland moved from AM Racing to Viking Motorsports after the 2025 season, so AM Racing will have to name a new leader for the No. 25 team.
