Ram announced Sunday that its brand will return to NASCAR competition, scheduling a Craftsman Truck Series campaign beginning in 2026.
The move came accompanied by a marketing splash before Sunday’s Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway. The choice of venue was intentional, marking the anticipated end of its 13-year absence in the backyard of Chevrolet and Ford — two fellow Detroit-area marques and current NASCAR manufacturers.
That blitz — billed as “Ram-Demption” — included the public debut of a Ram 1500 concept race truck, wearing a livery in Gloss Black and Molten Red. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis drove the truck during a recent promotional shoot at Darlington Raceway, and he hinted that the brand’s NASCAR comeback foreshadowed its intent to eventually return to Cup Series competition with another manufacturer under the global Stellantis banner.
“We’ll be on track in Daytona in eight months,” Kuniskis said during a midweek press briefing, “and the way we’re going to do it is unlike anyone else.”
Ram will become the first new OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in NASCAR’s national-series ranks since Toyota brought its Tundra model to the track in 2004. John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, indicated that the process for Ram’s return gained momentum at the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.
“I know that this is something that we have been talking about for a long time, and it’s something that we don’t get to do very often,” Probst said. “I think the last time we did this was over 20 years ago when Toyota entered our sport, so this is something that is a big moment for our entire sport and our existing competitors, potential new competitors, our OEMs.”
The news is part of what’s been a busy week for Ram, which announced Thursday that the classic 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 would return to its production lineup. Kuniskis acknowledged the company had erred in dropping the Hemi powerplant — “Ram screwed up when we dropped the Hemi. We own it and we fixed it,” he said — and that customer feedback was key to bringing it back. The engine returns with a new “Symbol of Protest” badge — a ram’s head emerging from a V-8 block — to the revived branding, and the company’s NASCAR return is the next phase of its focus on automotive muscle.
Kuniskis said Ram would ideally have at least four trucks on the grid for next year’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway. But he added that he’s in need of one or more team partnerships to bring those efforts to life.
“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now,” Kuniskis said. “So how am I going to get to Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to Truck. So however we get to Truck is going to obviously weigh heavily on ‘do I have a path to Cup?’ Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to Truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”
Ram spun off as a separate brand from Dodge in 2010. Dodge last competed with factory support in NASCAR’s Cup Series in 2012. That run concluded with Brad Keselowski claiming the Cup championship for Team Penske that year in a Dodge Charger. Dodge Ram celebrated three manufacturer titles in the Craftsman Truck Series (2001, 2003-04) during its first stint, which ended after the 2013 campaign. Bobby Hamilton (2004) and Ted Musgrave (2005) drove Dodge Rams in their championship campaigns.
Probst did not speculate when asked about Ram’s prospects for aligning with an existing Truck Series organization, but he said he imagined the pursuit of a team partnership would be spirited.
“I want him to have a date that he wants to have his picture taken with,” Probst said, riffing on Kuniskis’ prom analogy. “That is completely a Ram competition-related thing. We know they are wanting to be very competitive, so I would anticipate them being pretty aggressive in getting a good team lined up in their camp to go run their banner.”
Probst said the runway for any prospective automakers to launch a Cup Series venture would be based on an 18-month timetable to allow for proper engine development and the submission of a competition-ready body. As for any other manufacturers who might be willing to follow Ram’s lead, Probst said those prospects were encouraging.
“I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say that we are very close with one other,” Probst said. “Can’t speak for them. Obviously, it’s their decision to make. We would love for them to decide to come into NASCAR, and even with that, there’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions, but also looking pretty positive. But we all know that an OEM deciding to come into NASCAR, it’s a big commitment for them. It’s not something that they take lightly. It requires a lot of research and approval at the highest levels. We’re confident right now. We like the position we’re in, and think that we’re a pretty good investment for an OEM.”
Story via NASCAR
