BROOKLYN, Mich: After years of hard work and endless determination, Ryan Ellis will compete for a NASCAR championship in 2024.
On Friday, Alpha Prime Racing announced that Ellis will pilot the team’s No. 43 entry in the NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on February 17, 2024.
A native of Ashburn, Va., Ellis has spent the majority of this season driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro with a variety of marketing partners, but Ellis and his marketing team have secured the funding to compete in his 12th year of Xfinity competition while chasing their dream to be apart of the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
“This announcement is truly a dream come true,” said Ellis. “My team and I have been working so hard to be able to get to this point. Without everyone’s support throughout my life, I wouldn’t be where I’m today. I’m so thankful that Tommy Joe Martins and Ceasar Bacarella have had belief in me since day one, and so excited to have a shot at competing in the points standings next year.
“I’ve believed in their vision since Tommy first spoke about it, and it’s so exciting to be part of the program they’re building.”
Ellis first joined Alpha Prime Racing in 2022, competing in 11 races for the then-newly formed team. In his first-ever race with the team, he secured a new career-best finish of 13th at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
Since March 2022, Ellis has improved his personal best by two positions, 19 races later, scoring a hard-fought 11th earlier this year at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with support from Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.
Expected to compete in 31 of the 33 Xfinity Series races this year, Ellis is looking forward to the remainder of the Xfinity Series season and built the momentum with his Mooresville, N.C.-based team ahead of their championship bid next year.
“The dream of competing full-time in NASCAR has been a dream of mine my entire life, and for most of my life, it seemed unattainable,” added Ellis. “Even when I was working full-time in office jobs and scraping together money to run a few races a year, I always had the support of my family and friends – my parents, my sister, and my entire extended family, and obviously, my beautiful wife Allison and my daughter Hayden.
“I feel so thankful for their support through it all, and I’m going to continue working just as hard to keep building a great future for my daughter and sustainability in this crazy world of racing.
“I hope to be part of Alpha Prime’s continual growth, and I want to be doing it with the exact same No.43 group by my side – led by crew chief Michael Brandt, Ty Brazeal, Brandon Scercy, Cesar Rodriguez, everyone that helps us get to the track, everyone at the shop, our phenomenal pit crew and spotter David Pepper.”
Ellis is a third-generation racecar driver who began racing at the age of four in quarter midgets. His father, Jim, raced in the SCCA, and his grandfather Vic raced sprint cars in the 1950s before losing his life in a racing accident.
After multiple championships in quarter midgets, Ellis progressed through Legends Cars, NASCAR Late Models, Spec Miatas, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series, Grand-Am, and other series before NASCAR. He made his NASCAR debut in 2012 for Jimmy Means Racing and has raced for numerous small teams in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Xfinity and six starts in the sport’s pinnacle Cup Series.
In 2016, Ellis stepped away from driving as a career to become the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Go Fas Racing.
When the team ceased operations in the 2020 season, Ellis was fortunate enough to find support from the long-time sponsor of the GFR team, CorvetteParts.net | Keen Parts owned by Tom and TJ Keen.
Because of that sponsorship and friendship, he found himself with his best opportunity since 2016 to get back behind the wheel of a NASCAR race car part-time.
After spending the 2021 season in a part-time role at B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Ellis joined Alpha Prime Racing at the beginning of the 2022 season and has been instrumental in the team’s growth over the past 18 months.
On Saturday, Ellis will hunt for his first career Xfinity Series top-10 finish at Michigan International Speedway in his 86th career start – but realistically, he would be satisfied with a top-20 result.
“I’m optimistic about Michigan this weekend,” sounded Ellis. “It’s a huge weekend for my marketing partners, CorvetteParts.net | Keen Parts, so I am looking forward to the opportunity to showcase their colors just outside the Motor City.
“This will be only my second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Michigan and I know there are a lot of factors that play into being successful at a place like Michigan. However, I feel like if we can have a good baseline for a setup and start somewhere near the front with our No. 43 CorvetteParts.net | Keen Parts Chevrolet – we’ll be in a good place to capitalize on that during the race and hopefully contend for a top-20 finish.”
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