Dodge to Return to NASCAR with the RAM Hemi V8 in 2026

What’s Happening?

After a 13-year absence, and a lot of speculation this week, it was finally made official in Motor City: Dodge is coming back to NASCAR! This is in the form of the Dodge RAM in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. During today’s live announcement, RAM CEO Tim Kuninskis unveiled the return of the Dodge RAM to the product show floor of Dodge dealers across the country as well as a new NASCAR 1500 concept race truck that will hit the Daytona high-banks in February of next year.

For more than a decade, customers and our dealer network asked about getting back into NASCAR. The desire was always there, but we didn’t have a plan that delivered the last tenth and following just didn’t fit our DNA. Now we have a solid plan that will set us apart from the field and will bring fresh new interest and engagement to America’s Motorsport.”

-Tim Kuninskis

You Need to Know:

• This announcement is part of RAM’s 25 announcements of products over an 18-month cadence. 40% of NASCAR fans are truck owners, many of them Dodge RAM owners. The timing of this announcement made sense.
• As alluded to in the quote above, Dodge has a plan to reintroduce its brand into NASCAR. Starting off, they will rejoin the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the first time since the 2012 season. The plan includes moving up into the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series eventually, though the details and specifics of that have yet to be revealed.
• Teams that will be switching to the Dodge RAM or will be debuting alongside the new manufacturer have yet to be announced. No drivers are currently linked to the new brand. However, there have been rumors this week linking YouTube star Cleetus McFarland (aka Garrett Mitchel) to the Dodge brand. Currently Mitchel’s contact is through FORD so it remains to be seen if this will actually come to fruition.

Dodge stated that they plan to share more about rejoining NASCAR in the months to come. What do you think about this, NASCAR fans? Are you excited to see a new OEM partner rejoin the sport? What teams/drivers do you think will make the switch over to Dodge/RAM? Let us know what you think!