Young's Motorsports Bristol Motor Speedway September Team Preview

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Young’s Motorsports | NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway | Food City 300

Fast Facts

No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Team:

Driver: Ryan Ellis

Primary Partner(s): Tablo TV

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Crew Chief: Eddie Troconis

2026 Driver Points Position: 27th | 2026 Owner Points Position: 33rd

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing

● Year Three, Driven Forward: In November 2025, Ryan Ellis was announced as Young’s Motorsports’ full-time driver in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as the organization enters its third season of competition.

In a significant step for 2026, Young’s Motorsports will transition its flagship No. 02 — long synonymous with the organization’s success in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series — to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series full-time, underscoring the team’s continued growth at the national level.

Ellis will pilot the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro across the full 33-race schedule, continuing with Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and culminating with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in November.

● About Ryan: A respected veteran in the NASCAR garage, Ellis joins Young’s Motorsports with more than a decade of experience across NASCAR’s national ranks, including competition in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

The 2026 season will mark Ellis’ fourth full-time campaign in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

The 35-year-old Virginia native is coming off his first career NASCAR top-10 finish in 2025 and looks to build on that momentum while continuing to expand his résumé, which includes 190 career starts in series competition.

Known for his consistency, professionalism, and versatility behind the wheel and in the garage, Ellis aims to apply his experience to elevate Young’s Motorsports’ competitive presence in its third season in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

● All-Aboard!: For the 27th of 33 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races this season, Young’s Motorsports welcomes back Tablo TV as the primary partner on the No. 02 Chevrolet Camaro for Saturday night’s 188-lap event.

Tablo provides fans with an affordable way to access live, local broadcast television — including racing and other major sporting events — without a monthly subscription.

Through a simple setup that includes a Tablo device and antenna, viewers can enjoy major networks such as NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, ION and The CW, along with recording functionality and multi-device streaming capability.

With just a one-time device purchase of about $100, an antenna, internet connection and the free Tablo TV app, customers can watch live, local broadcast coverage of racing, local news, live sports, classic shows and more for free.

Families can stream on multiple devices at once, making it easy to catch the big race in one room and a show in another. Simple, affordable, and endlessly entertaining — Tablo TV brings America’s most popular TV back to fans for free.

All NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races will be broadcast live on The CW, and practices and qualifying can be streamed on The CW App. The CW can be watched, paused and recorded on Tablo TV, a subscription-free way to access 125+ broadcast and streaming channels.

Content and channels are subject to availability in your area.

Nuvyyo USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps Company, is a successful technology company re-inventing the over-the-air television experience for the streaming age.

Tablo and Tablo TV are trademarks of Nuvyyo USA, LLC. All third-party trademarks, including logos, are the property of their respective owners.

For more information, visit TabloTV.com.

● Tablo TV and GOVX Celebrate Those Who Serve: Season-long partners Tablo TV and GOVX will once again support Ellis and Young’s Motorsports this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Tablo TV serving as the primary partner aboard the No. 02 Chevrolet and GOVX continuing its presence as a major associate partner.

GOVX, the members-only platform serving U.S. military personnel, veterans, first responders, emergency medical professionals and government employees, provides exclusive access to premium brands and special pricing for those who serve.

Tablo TV and GOVX will continue to build on their new partnership this weekend, celebrating military members, veterans and their families through an exclusive offer for the military community.

Following the successful launch during the United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 on June 20, eligible GOVX members can receive $30 off the Tablo Total System, making it even easier to enjoy free over-the-air television at home.

● Tablo Gives Fans More Ways to Watch NASCAR: As a valued partner of Ellis and Young’s Motorsports, NASCAR fans have even more ways to watch and record racing action with Tablo.

Fourth-generation Tablo DVR owners can now access and record The NASCAR Channel, featuring 24/7 free programming, including classic races, delayed broadcasts of the current season, select live events, NASCAR Studios original content and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s The Morning Drive.

The addition brings Tablo’s lineup to 106 free streaming channels, complementing its ability to watch and record free local broadcast television with a TV antenna through its whole-home DVR platform.

This week, fans can use promo code ELLIS to receive $20 off the purchase of a new Tablo TV device.

● Ryan Ellis O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Bristol Motor Speedway Stats: Friday night’s thrill ride under the lights marks Ellis’s ninth O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at The Last Great Colosseum.

In his previous eight outings in Thunder Valley, Ellis finished a track-best 18th after starting 22nd in the fall 2023 edition of the Food City 300, driving for Alpha Prime Racing.

Overall, he holds an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series average finish of 27.4 at the famed World’s Fastest Half Mile concrete short track.

Fresh off its annual fall visit to World Wide (Ill.) Technology Raceway near St. Louis, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to the mountains of East Tennessee this weekend for one of the most anticipated stops on the schedule — Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

The action-packed weekend at the legendary short track begins Thursday night with a doubleheader featuring the ARCA Menards Series Bush’s Beans 200 and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series UNOH 250.

On Friday night, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will take center stage for its final Friday-night race of the 2026 season before the weekend is bookended by one of NASCAR’s marquee events, the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Known as “Thunder Valley,” Bristol Motor Speedway presents one of the most intense and physically demanding challenges on the NASCAR schedule.

The high-banked, 0.533-mile concrete oval produces blistering lap times and leaves drivers with little opportunity to relax.

With laps clicking off in roughly 15 seconds, traffic develops quickly, placing a premium on maintaining rhythm and making decisive moves while navigating the constant congestion synonymous with short-track racing at Bristol.

The track’s steep banking allows drivers to search for different lanes as the race develops, but finding clean air and maintaining track position can prove critical.

Losing even a small amount of time can quickly put a competitor in danger of falling a lap down, making every restart, pit stop and strategy decision increasingly important.

Patience is equally essential. With more than three dozen cars competing within the tight confines of the half-mile oval, contact can be difficult to avoid, and circumstances can change in an instant.

Drivers must balance aggression with protecting their equipment while positioning themselves to capitalize as opportunities develop throughout the race.

Communication between driver and crew chief will also be paramount as changing track conditions and evolving racing grooves require teams to continually adjust their approach throughout the night.

For Ryan Ellis and Young’s Motorsports, Friday night’s return to Bristol provides another opportunity to turn the speed and potential shown throughout the season into a complete performance for the No. 02 team.

While recent weeks have delivered their share of encouraging moments and frustrating setbacks, Ellis and the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports team remain focused on maximizing each remaining opportunity, finding greater consistency and converting competitive stretches into the finishes they believe their performance is capable of producing.

With the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season entering its closing stretch, a strong performance under the lights at “The Last Great Colosseum” would provide a welcome boost for Ellis and Young’s Motorsports as they continue their push to finish the campaign on a high note.

● Ryan Ellis NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Career Stats: Entering Bristol, Ellis has 190 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races to his credit, earning a career-best sixth-place finish after starting 32nd in the 2026 edition of the United Rentals 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for Young’s Motorsports.

Since his 2012 debut, Ellis has averaged a 26.5 finish in series competition, including the past three seasons running full-time.

● World Wide Technology Raceway | Nu Way 225 Race Recap: Ryan Ellis and Young’s Motorsports arrived at World Wide Technology Raceway determined to rebound from a frustrating mechanical setback one week earlier at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and put together a complete race with the No. 02 Introl Chevrolet.

Starting Saturday night’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race from 33rd, Ellis stayed patient early while working closely with the Young’s Motorsports team to improve his Chevrolet's handling.

Rather than forcing the issue early, Ellis methodically worked through traffic while providing valuable feedback as the team continued making adjustments throughout the race.

Those changes began to pay dividends as the race progressed, with the No. 02 Introl Chevrolet coming to life when it mattered most during the third and final stage.

With his car handling at its best of the night, Ellis was able to capitalize, climb through the field and remain on the lead lap as the laps wound down.

When the checkered flag waved, Ellis had advanced nine positions from his 33rd-place starting position to finish 24th, delivering a solid rebound performance for Young’s Motorsports and the No. 02 team.

While the result may not fully reflect the progress made throughout the race, the ability to keep improving the Introl Chevrolet and have it perform at its strongest in the final stage provided an encouraging takeaway for Ellis and the team.

More importantly, the lead-lap finish gave the No. 02 team a complete race to build upon as the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway this weekend.

● Calling the Shots: Guiding Ryan Ellis as crew chief of the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro is longtime crew chief, engineer and industry veteran Eddie Troconis.

On Friday night, Troconis will call his 48th NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race from atop the pit box. In his previous 47 starts, he has recorded two top-10 finishes, most recently in the 2026 season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

The season’s 27th race will mark his second tango atop the pit box at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, though he has six starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Bristol, producing one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

Those appearances are highlighted by a track-best fifth-place finish with former NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion and ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes in the 2017 UNOH 200.

● Young's Motorsports' NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Overview at Bristol Motor Speedway: This weekend will mark Young’s Motorsports’ sixth and seventh starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In the organization’s previous races, the team earned a track-best 15th-place finish during last spring’s edition of the SciAps 300, with series veteran Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel.

In Bristol, the organization’s previous starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have produced an average starting position of 28.8 and an average finish of 26.2.

Beyond its O’Reilly Auto Parts Series efforts, the team has also made 27 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2012, with an average finish of 25.4

That stretch is highlighted by the organization’s best track Truck Series finish of 14th, earned by Tanner Thorson in the series’ 16th race of the 2018 Truck Series season.

● Young's Motorsports' NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series History: Since entering the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2024, the family-owned organization has logged 118 starts and earned one top-five and four top-10 finishes while maintaining an average starting position of 27.7 and an average finish of 25.1.

● Follow on Social Media: For more on Ryan Ellis, please visit ryanellisracing.com, like him on Facebook (Ryan Ellis), and follow him on Instagram (@ryanellisracing), TikTok (@ryanellisracing), and X | Twitter (@ryanellisracing).

For more on Young’s Motorsports, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com , like them on Facebook (Young’s Motorsports), and follow them on Instagram (@youngsmotorsports) and X |Twitter (@youngsmtrsports).

Ryan Ellis Quote Board:

On Bristol Motor Speedway: “I’m really looking forward to getting back to Bristol. It’s one of those places that you always circle on the schedule because of the atmosphere, the intensity and just how much fun it can be to race there.

“Our spring race certainly didn’t produce the result we wanted with a 30th-place finish, so I’m definitely motivated to go back and significantly improve on that.

“We learned some things during that race that hopefully we can apply this weekend. Bristol is a place where things happen incredibly fast, so having that recent experience should help us come back with a better understanding of what I need from the car and what we need to do to put ourselves in a stronger position throughout the night.”

On Keys to Success at Bristol Motor Speedway: “I think rhythm and track position are two of the biggest things at Bristol. The laps happen so quickly that if the balance of the car is off or you get caught in traffic, you can lose a lot of ground in a very short amount of time.

“You also have to be aggressive, but smart. There’s going to be a lot happening around you, especially on restarts, and you have to know when to take an opportunity and when to protect the race car.

“If we can unload with a solid baseline, communicate well throughout the race, make the right adjustments and execute on pit road, hopefully we can keep ourselves on the lead lap and have our No. 02 Chevrolet at its best when it matters most.”

On Goals for Bristol Motor Speedway: “The biggest goal is to significantly improve on our 30th-place finish from the spring and continue moving in the right direction after a solid rebound at Gateway.

“Last weekend was encouraging because we started 33rd, continued working on the car throughout the race and had our No. 02 Introl Chevrolet handling its best during the final stage. We were able to work our way forward, finish 24th and stay on the lead lap, which gave us something positive to take into Bristol.

“Now, we need to build on that. If we can qualify better, stay on the lead lap and execute a complete race, I’d like to see us fighting inside the top 20. Bristol can change quickly, so if we’re still in the mix late in the race, hopefully we can capitalize and come away with an even stronger finish.”

On Partnership with Tablo TV: “I’m really excited and appreciative to have Tablo TV back with us at Bristol and stepping up its presence as the primary partner of our No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend.

“Tablo has been a tremendous supporter of me and this team throughout the season, and having a partner continue to believe in what we’re building means a lot to everyone involved.

“Bristol is such a special weekend with an incredible atmosphere and a passionate fan base, so it’s a great place to have Tablo featured prominently on the car. Hopefully, we can keep the Tablo TV Chevrolet competitive throughout the night, give them plenty of exposure and reward their continued support with a strong finish.”

“The St. Louis weekend gives us another great national platform to showcase their brand, and hopefully we can keep the Introl Chevrolet competitive throughout the night, generate some strong exposure and give everyone associated with the company a result they can be proud of.”

On Goals for Remainder of 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Season: “At this point in the season, every race and every opportunity we have left matters.

“We’ve experienced plenty of highs and lows this year, but nobody at Young’s Motorsports has stopped working or believing in what this No. 02 team is capable of accomplishing.

“Gateway was encouraging because we continued working on the car throughout the race, made it better and were able to move forward and finish on the lead lap. Now, we need to take performances like that and continue improving on them.

“We know there are opportunities in these final races to run inside the top 20 and contend for top-15 finishes when we put everything together. The biggest thing for us is executing complete races and capitalizing when those opportunities are there.

“I want to finish this season strong, deliver the best possible results and exposure for all of our partners and give everyone on this No. 02 team something to feel good about when we look back on what we accomplished together in 2026.”

No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Team:

Driver: Logan Bearden

Primary Partner(s): T3 Vodka

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Crew Chief: Andrew Abbott

2026 Driver Points Position: 50th (Five Races) | 2026 Owner Points Position: 34th

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing

● Year Three, Driven Forward: Young’s Motorsports continues its campaign in the newly rebranded NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, looking to build momentum with its expanding two-car effort as the season rolls on at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.

Super Late Model veteran Logan Bearden returns to the organization, but this time for his fourth stint in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and will pilot the No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in the 27th of 33 races on the 2026 schedule.

● About Logan: Logan Bearden, 30, began racing go-karts at the age of nine before quickly progressing through Bandoleros and Legends Cars on short tracks across his home state of Texas.

A native of Leander, Texas, Bearden has built a strong reputation in Late Model competition nationwide, earning wins and top finishes along the way.

Over the past decade, Bearden has competed against some of the top names in short-track racing, developing a résumé that includes Super Late Model and Pro Late Model starts across the Southeast and Midwest, as well as select appearances in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

In 2022, Bearden made his Truck Series debut at Circuit of The Americas, delivering a respectable top-25 finish on his home turf. Since then, he has continued to balance his Late Model commitments while pursuing opportunities in NASCAR’s national ranks.

In 2026, Bearden has also expanded his racing résumé internationally, competing in the NASCAR Euro Series for Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks Motorsport. The opportunity has allowed the Texas native to gain valuable experience on some of Europe’s most challenging circuits while continuing his development within NASCAR-sanctioned competition.

This weekend, Bearden looks to make the most of his return to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Young’s Motorsports, bringing his diverse experience and patient, disciplined driving style to the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

When not behind the wheel of a race car, Bearden works as a general mechanic for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

● All-Aboard! For the 27th of 33 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races this season, Young’s Motorsports welcomes back T3 Vodka as the primary partner on the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro for the 300-lap race on Friday night.

Founded in 2022 in Knoxville, Tennessee, T3 Vodka is a premium spirits brand rooted in local pride and community connection.

The company is expanding distribution through its agreement with Empire Distributors, beginning in Knoxville and Chattanooga before continuing into Nashville and Memphis throughout 2026.

As the Official Vodka of Bristol Motor Speedway, T3 Vodka maintains a year-round presence at one of NASCAR’s most iconic venues, while continuing to grow its retail footprint across Tennessee.

● Logan Bearden O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Bristol Motor Speedway Stats: Friday night’s thrill ride under the lights marks Logan Bearden’s fourth career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, also known as “The Last Great Colosseum.”

In his previous three outings in Thunder Valley, Bearden earned a track-best 27th-place finish after starting 35th in the fall 2024 edition of the Food City 300 while driving for AM Racing.

Overall, Bearden carries an average NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series finish of 30.0 at the famed “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” into Friday night’s race.

Bearden also returns with recent Bristol experience, having earned a career-best NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying effort of 24th at the 0.533-mile concrete short track earlier this season.

Overall, Bearden carries an average NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series finish of 30.0 at the famed “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” into Friday night’s race.

With three previous starts under his belt, Bearden hopes to utilize that experience to deliver his strongest Thunder Valley performance yet on Friday night.

The action-packed weekend at the legendary short track begins Thursday night with a doubleheader featuring the ARCA Menards Series Bush’s Beans 200 and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series UNOH 250.

Known as “Thunder Valley,” Bristol Motor Speedway presents one of the most intense and physically demanding challenges on the NASCAR schedule.

The high-banked, 0.533-mile concrete oval produces blistering lap times and leaves drivers with little opportunity to relax.

The track’s steep banking allows drivers to search for different lanes as the race develops, but finding clean air and maintaining track position can prove critical.

Losing even a small amount of time can quickly put a competitor in danger of falling a lap down, making every restart, pit stop and strategy decision increasingly important.

Drivers must balance aggression with protecting their equipment while positioning themselves to capitalize as opportunities develop throughout the race.

Communication between driver and crew chief will also be paramount as changing track conditions and evolving racing grooves require teams to continually adjust their approach throughout the night.

For Logan Bearden and Young’s Motorsports, Friday night’s return to Bristol provides another opportunity to turn the speed and potential shown by the No. 42 team throughout the season into a complete performance.

● Back Together After a “Too Tough to Tame” Heartbreaker: With Young’s Motorsports utilizing a rotating lineup of drivers aboard its No. 42 Chevrolet throughout the 2026 season, Bearden’s return for the second time in three weeks provides the team with valuable continuity entering Bristol.

Earlier this month at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Bearden and the No. 42 team contended for a top-20 finish and appeared poised to deliver the best NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series result of his career before a flat tire in the closing laps spoiled the promising performance.

With that experience still fresh, Bearden, crew chief Andrew Abbott and the No. 42 team hope to capitalize on their familiarity at Bristol and finish what they started by turning another competitive performance into a career-best result.

● Trading Italy for Thunder Valley: Bearden will temporarily step away from his 2026 NASCAR Euro Series campaign this weekend, missing the opening round of the Playoffs at Autodromo di Vallelunga in Italy to compete in Friday night’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 30-year-old Texan has spent much of the season competing internationally in the V8GP division for Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks Motorsport, driving the No. 30 Ford Mustang and gaining valuable experience at some of Europe’s most challenging circuits.

Bearden most recently enjoyed his strongest NASCAR Euro Series weekend of the season at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic, earning a pair of top-10 finishes, including a career-best sixth-place result.

With Bearden competing stateside this weekend, Hendriks Motorsport veteran Gil Linster will take over the No. 30 Ford Mustang at Vallelunga, allowing Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks Motorsport to continue its pursuit of the Endurance Teams Championship.

Bearden’s European campaign is not finished, however. Following his Bristol commitment, he is scheduled to return to Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks Motorsport for the NASCAR GP Belgium season finale at Circuit Zolder on Oct. 17-18, where he will look to close out his rookie NASCAR Euro Series season on a high note.

● Calling the Shots: Guiding as crew chief of the No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro is longtime crew chief Andrew Abbott.

On Friday night, he will be the crew chief in his 189th NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. In his previous 188 races, he has four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.

The season’s 27th race will mark Abbott’s 10th tango at Bristol Motor Speedway as crew chief in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

In his previous leadership effort at Bristol, Abbott has earned a track-best fourth-place finish, with driver Jeremy Clements in the 2019 August edition of the Food City 300.

Abbott also brings considerable experience at Bristol Motor Speedway from six previous NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts as a crew chief.

Those appearances include a track-best 14th-place finish with dirt-track standout Tanner Thorson in the 2018 UNOH 200.

In the organization’s previous races, the team earned a track-best 15th-place finish during last spring’s edition of the SciAps 300, with series veteran Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel.

In Bristol, the organization’s previous starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have produced an average starting position of 28.8 and an average finish of 26.2.

Beyond its O’Reilly Auto Parts Series efforts, the team has also made 27 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2012, with an average finish of 25.4

That stretch is highlighted by the organization’s best track Truck Series finish of 14th, earned by Tanner Thorson in the series’ 16th race of the 2018 Truck Series season.

● Follow on Social Media: For more on Logan Bearden, please visit LoganBearden.com , like his Facebook page (Logan Bearden Racing), or follow him on Instagram (logan_bearden), TikTok (@loganbearden_) and Twitter | X (@LoganBearden66).

Logan Bearden Quote Board:

On Bristol Motor Speedway: “I’m excited to get back to Bristol. It’s obviously one of the most iconic tracks in NASCAR, and every time I’ve raced there, I’ve learned something that I think can help me the next time I come back.

“We qualified 24th there earlier this year, which was my best qualifying effort in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, so there were definitely some positives from that weekend.

“This will be my fourth start there, and hopefully that experience, along with everything I’ve learned this season, can help us put together my strongest Bristol race yet.”

On Keys to Success at Bristol Motor Speedway: “Everything happens so fast at Bristol. You have to find a rhythm early because the leaders can get to you quickly, and once you lose track position, it can be really difficult to recover.

“You have to be aggressive because it’s Bristol, but you also have to be smart and take care of the car. Staying out of trouble, communicating with Andrew Abbott about what I need and continuing to adjust as the track changes are all going to be important.

“If we can stay on top of those things and execute on pit road, hopefully we can keep ourselves in position throughout the night and be there when it matters most.”

On Goals for Bristol Motor Speedway: “I really want to finish what we started at Darlington.

“We were putting together a really solid race there and were in contention for a top-20 finish before the flat tire late in the race took that opportunity away from us. It was disappointing because I felt like we were on our way to one of my best NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series finishes.

“Bristol gives us another chance. If we can qualify well, stay on the lead lap, keep the No. 42 Chevrolet clean and execute for the entire race, I believe we can contend for that top-20 finish again and hopefully come away with a career-best result.”

On T3 Vodka Partnership: “I’m incredibly thankful to have T3 Vodka continuing to support me and our No. 42 Young’s Motorsports team at Bristol.

“They’ve believed in me and supported my racing efforts on both sides of the Atlantic this season, and having that kind of commitment means a lot to me. Relationships like this are a huge part of creating opportunities to compete at this level, and I don’t take their support for granted.

“Bristol is one of the biggest and most recognizable weekends on the NASCAR schedule, so hopefully we can give T3 Vodka plenty of exposure, keep their No. 42 Chevrolet competitive throughout the night and reward their support with a finish everyone can be proud of.”

On Missing NASCAR Euro Series Race Weekend In Lieu of Bristol Motor Speedway: “It’s definitely bittersweet because I’ve really enjoyed competing in the NASCAR Euro Series this year with Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks Motorsport, and obviously you want to be there with your team when the Playoffs begin.

“At the same time, opportunities to compete in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series are extremely important to me and my career, and I’m very thankful to have the chance to be back with Young’s Motorsports at Bristol.

“I know the No. 30 team is in great hands with Gil Linster at Vallelunga, and I’ll certainly be following along and pulling for everyone from Bristol. I’m also looking forward to getting back over there for the season finale at Circuit Zolder in October and hopefully ending our rookie season together on a strong note.”

On Another NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Opportunity with Young’s Motorsports: “I’m really thankful to Tyler Young, Andrew Abbott and everyone at Young’s Motorsports for another opportunity to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet.

“One of the things I’m most excited about is being back in the car so soon after Darlington. With different drivers sharing the No. 42 throughout the season, having the chance to work with Andrew and the team again just two races later lets us pick up where we left off instead of starting over.

“I felt like we made some really good progress together at Darlington, and even though the finish didn’t show it because of the flat tire, there was a lot to be encouraged about.

“Hopefully, we can take what we learned from that weekend, continue strengthening that communication and turn another competitive run into the result this team deserves at Bristol.”

Race Information:

The Food City 300 (300 laps | 159.9 miles) is the 27th of thirty-three (33) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races on the 2026 schedule. Practice will occur on Fri., Sept. 18, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. Qualifying will begin immediately after, at 3:05 p.m. The field will take the green flag later in the day, shortly after 7:30 p.m., with live coverage on The CW Network, the Performance Racing Network (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (ET).

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Young's Motorsports Bristol Motor Speedway September Team Preview

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