Natalie Decker is returning to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for this weekend’s Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway (August 28), where she’ll partner with Young’s Motorsports to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro.
Decker, 29, has made 16 previous starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for a variety of different lower-budget organizations over the last half-decade, running for teams such as RSS Racing, Our Motorsports, MBM Motorsports, SS-Greenlight Racing, Joey Gase Motorsports, and DGM Racing.
Friday’s 100-lapper will mark the first time that Decker has partnered with Tyler Young and Young’s Motorsports, where she’ll serve as a teammate to Ryan Ellis, who runs full-time in the team’s flagship No. 02 Chevrolet Camaro.
Daytona International Speedway has been the site of so many high points in Decker’s motorsports career, including a pole and top five finish in the ARCA Menards Series, as well as becoming the first woman to finish inside the top five in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series when she drove for Niece Motorsports in 2020.
In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Decker has made four starts at “The World Center of Racing” since 2023, earning a best finish of 18th in February 2024, after leading seven laps, while driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for DGM Racing.
In February’s season-opener at Daytona, Decker was involved in a controversial incident with Sam Mayer, where, driving the No. 35 for Joey Gase Motorsports, the Wisconsin native piled into the wreck a significant time afterwards. Despite that setback, Decker is looking for a career-best in NASCAR’s second-tier series.
Sponsoring Decker in the August 28 event is ‘Chad Powers, ’ an American sports comedy created by (and starring) Glen Powell, which is developed from an Omaha Productions skit by Eli Manning. The show follows Russ Holiday, a disgraced college football quarterback, who disguises himself to join a floundering football team at a small school under the alias of Chad Powers.
The second season of the show is set to premiere on Hulu, on September 3 – the Thursday following the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Daytona International Speedway.
