(NEXSTAR) - LaVar Scott is competing in his first full-time season in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving for Alpha Prime Racing. The 2026 rookie is set to compete in the seventh race of the season this Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. Scott enters the national series following a successful 2024 campaign in the ARCA Menards Series. During that season, he earned 15 top-10 finishes across 20 races, finished second in the championship standings and was named the 2024 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year. Scott began racing at 5 years old, following a family legacy of motorsports. While he is the first in his family to reach the NASCAR level, he learned the craft from his mother and grandfather. "My grandfather's always been there. He was the one that kind of built my race cars and took me to the racetrack and I think when I went to see my mom race, that was pretty eye-opening for me and kind of a different experience," said Scott, NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver. His progression through the ranks included a stint in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program with Rev Racing. Based in North Carolina, the program provided Scott with experience in late models, legends and the ARCA series. "Rev Racing program in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program was huge for me," Scott said. "And I think in North Carolina, I still think of that shop like its home in a way. It was amazing. It got me to where I am today. I got to race late models, legends, Arca with Rev, all the combines we did. It was a lot of stuff I got to experience with Rev." The start of the 2026 season has provided obstacles for the rookie driver as he seeks his first career NASCAR win. Scott noted that while he has avoided initiating accidents, his car has frequently been caught in other drivers' incidents. He expressed specific concern regarding the tight quarters of the upcoming short-track race. "I feel like this year, we haven't been in a wreck, but the wreck always just finds us somehow. We stop and miss it and someone hits us, or it was just in front of us, we have nowhere to go. And with it being Martinsville, such a short track, that tends to happen a lot," Scott said. "I think that's going to be a challenge, just kind of, you know, knowing where to navigate your car and put your car in different places to kind of get on the other side of the bad wrecks that could happen." The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race in Martinsville is scheduled to go green Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Scott has 27 races remaining on the 2026 schedule to pursue his first checkered flag. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by Nexstar. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by Nexstar staff before being published