Brennan Poole Returns to Alpha Prime Racing for 2026 Season

Nov 1, 2025; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brennan Poole (44) during the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Brennan Poole will officially return to Alpha Prime Racing for the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, the team announced on Tuesday morning. Poole, a native of The Woodlands, TX, will reprise his role as the driver of the No. 44 entry for the third consecutive season.

In a team press release, team co-owner Tommy Joe Martins had high praise for the returning driver.

"He's the best driver we've ever had," said Martins. "Getting this done was priority one for us."

The 34-year-old racer amassed excellent stats for the Alpha Prime Racing team this past year, as he churned out two top-five finishes and five top-10s on his way to a 19th-place ranking in the final championship standings.

The season was the best statistical performance of any full-time driver in the young team's history, as Poole scored more than 600 points throughout the 33-race campaign, and he even found himself eligible for the Dash4Cash bonus at Bristol Motor Speedway in the spring by way of a fourth-place result at Martinsville Speedway.

While Poole ultimately missed out on the Dash4Cash payout due to a spectacular crash, by working his way inside the top-20 of the championship standings for a second season in a row, Poole secured the team a pivotal team bonus through the series point fund.

Poole is set to eclipse the 200 career starts milestone during the 2026 season. At the end of the 2025 season, Poole stands at 190 starts, and he has racked up 12 top-five finishes, 44 top-10s, and a pole. Poole's career-best finish in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship standings was a sixth-place effort in 2017, while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.

In addition to his nearly 200 starts in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, Poole has competed in 43 NASCAR Cup Series events in his career, as well as 38 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. Prior to his move to the NASCAR National Series ranks in 2015, Poole amassed six victories in the ARCA Menards Series.

In 2012, his lone full-time campaign in the ARCA ranks, Poole finished third in the championship standings. Chris Buescher, current full-time driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series, took home the championship that season. Alex Bowman, another full-time Cup driver, finished a slot behind Poole in the championship standings that season in ARCA.

Alpha Prime Racing will reveal more details, including sponsorship and crew chief assignments for its team at a later date. But for now, they've locked in a key component for their team heading into next season as Poole is back for another campaign.