Getty Ryan Ellis prepares for a race at Pocono Raceway.
Ryan Ellis has a key partner in place for the upcoming season with Alpha Prime Racing. Keen Parts will join him for six races of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Alpha Prime Racing announced the news on Friday, January 28, to cap off a packed week of updates. The team showed off Ellis’ No. 44 Chevrolet, which features a gray, black, and red scheme. The Keen Parts logo will cover the hood while the CorvetteParts.net logo covers the sides and rear bumper area. APR also hinted that there would be some other schemes as Ellis takes on his portion of the schedule.
🎨 NEW PAINT: @KeenParts will join @ryanellisracing for a handful of races this season in both the No. 44 and 45!
Maybe we’ll even see some other design layouts throughout the season. 🤔
Keen Parts will take over the Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet Camaro for the May 28 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The company will return for trips to Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, Michigan International Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
This Partnership Has Been in Place for Months
The unveiling of the Keen Parts schedule answers a question that has lingered since early November. Ellis was one of the first drivers to join Alpha Prime Racing and he brought Keen Parts along as a primary partner, creating questions about his schedule.
The Tommy Joe Martins and Caesar Bacarella co-owned team announced on November 11 that Ellis will serve as a key member of the team during select races. The organization did not reveal Ellis’ schedule in the initial press release, only saying at the time that he would suit up for a race at Martinsville Speedway. Months later, APR and Ellis revealed the races when Keen Parts would serve as his primary partner.
“I can’t reiterate enough how appreciative I am of Tom and TJ of CorvetteParts.net giving me a chance to compete with an extremely strong program at APR,” Ellis said in a statement on November 11. “The Keen’s support of my career means so much to me. We’ve been friends since meeting at GFR and it means so much that they continue to support my dream with their amazing family-owned business. The Keen’s and their brand are extremely well known and respected in and outside of the garage area. We want to continue to help driver sales so we can grow this partnership.”
Ellis Has Multiple Partners Supporting Him in 2022
It’s National Hot Sauce Day! Head on over to Heartbeat Hot Sauce’s website and be sure to use code ELLIS for a discount! 🥵 🌶 🔥
Ellis will only run a partial schedule with Alpha Prime Racing, but he will have multiple partners supporting him. Keen Parts and CorvetteParts.net will join him for six races while a new company will take over the No. 45 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Ellis announced on January 20 that Heartbeat Hot Sauce, a company based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, will join him for the Talladega Superspeedway race on April 23. The hot sauce company will serve as the primary on the black, grey, and orange stock car while Ellis competes at a style of track where he has an average finish of 27.3.
Ellis has only made three starts at superspeedways during his Xfinity Series career. He competed at Talladega in 2016 and finished 35th overall after engine issues ended his race after 81 laps. Ellis made two starts at Daytona International Speedway, finishing 15th in 2016 and 30th in 2018 after a crash ended his day.
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