Hettinger Racing will contest the full 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, it announced Dec. 23.
The team will field the No. 5 Ford with engines from Roush Yates.
Joe Williams is the crew chief, and the organization has bought the owner’s points from Cope Family Racing’s No. 70 for the season.
A driver for the team has not yet been announced.
“This is about putting our race team in the right place at the right time,” owner Chris Hettinger said in a team release. “The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has incredible momentum. It features great racing and the series gets significant exposure thanks to coverage from The CW. Combining that platform with the support of Ford Racing and Roush Yates Engines gives us the opportunity to grow our program into one that competes at a national level.”
In 2025, Hettinger entered the No. 4 in the season-opening NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway, finishing 15th with Mason Maggio, but did not run any races after that.
The team has also competed in the zMAX CARS Tour.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
Hailie Deegan’s new ride for 2026? Hailie can bring sponsors and has been promoting her sponsors lately. Maybe ARCA car for Katie?
If I was going to put a girl in a car, I would look at Robusto and Buice. Robusto is already contracted to Nitro(ARCA) for next year.
I haven’t heard what Deegan is doing. Minor League Indy I suspect?