Getty Ryan Ellis will have a returning partner during the 2023 season.
Ryan Ellis will return to Alpha Prime Racing for a large portion of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. An important primary partner, Keen Parts, will also return while continuing its relationship with him.
Alpha Prime Racing, which moved to three entries for 2023, announced the news on December 31 as it dropped one more big update ahead of the calendar change. The team confirmed that Keen Parts will take over the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro for six of Ellis’ scheduled 24 starts, starting with the Throwback Weekend race at Darlington Raceway on May 13.
Our friends over at @KeenParts will join @ryanellisracing for 6 races in 2023!
Who knows, maybe we’ll see a new look each time it hits the track. 👀
Keen Parts will continue to support Ellis during races at Nashville Superspeedway (June 24), Road America (July 29), Michigan International Speedway (August 5), Homestead-Miami Speedway (October 21), and Martinsville Speedway (October 28).
Alpha Prime Racing did not provide a look at the scheme that Ellis will use during these six races of the 2023 season. Instead, the team hinted that there could be multiple looks for the upcoming schedule.
Ellis Has Extensive History With Keen Parts
GettyRyan Ellis races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The Virginia native has enjoyed a relationship with Keen Parts for multiple years, both on and off the track. This includes when the company signed with Ellis after Matt DiBenedetto departed Go Fas Racing for Leavine Family Racing.
The 2022 season was a fitting example of this relationship. Keen Parts agreed to sponsor Ellis for six of the 11 starts he made with Alpha Prime Racing. This schedule included Phoenix Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ellis posted three top-20 finishes with Keen Parts as his primary sponsor, headlined by a 13th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also joined forces with Keen Parts to create a Jeff Gordon 2007 throwback scheme for the fall trip to Darlington Raceway.
Ellis Inked Deals With Multiple Partners in 2022
GettyRyan Ellis races at Darlington in 2022.
The 2022 season was significant for Ellis. He made his most starts in the Xfinity Series since the 2016 season when he suited up for 16 races. He also posted career-best finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. This set him up for an expanded schedule with Alpha Prime Racing in 2023, the largest of his career.
Along with the production on the track, Ellis also inked deals with a variety of sponsors. Keen Parts was the anchor that made his starts possible, but there were multiple other companies that jumped on board.
The list of new sponsors included Four Loko (Las Vegas), Heartbeat Hot Sauce (Talladega Superspeedway), Limetree Marketing (Texas Motor Speedway), Costa Oil (Dover Motor Speedway), and Renascent Demolition (Nashville Superspeedway).
The partnerships provided these companies with opportunities to dip their toes into NASCAR. Heartbeat Hot Sauce, in particular, noted in a press release that it hoped the trip to Talladega Superspeedway would be the start of a long-running partnership.
Ellis has continued to make moves since joining Alpha Prime Racing, and it is likely that there will be more announcements as the 2023 Xfinity Series season approaches. For now, there will simply be intrigue surrounding the potential Keen Parts schemes that he will run during his six-race schedule with the primary partner.