NASCAR Team CEO Confirms “Serious” Discussions With Cup Series Veteran

What’s Happening?

Ty Dillon’s 2026 NASCAR Silly Season saga just got a little more interesting, as Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice claimed the veteran driver and the team have progressed on talks about a new contract for 2027.

Earlier this summer, Dillon’s future with the team seemed uncertain.

First, at the San Diego Street Race at Naval Base Coronado, Rice claimed that the team had “started some conversations” with Dillon about a return.

Then, during an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio just a few weeks later, Rice said that the team had “not had any conversations about 2027.”

Of course, there is one other major rumor surrounding Kaulig, with the lingering question for the team’s future entering 2027 being their relationship with Dodge.

Some rumors making the rounds online suggested that Dillon’s future with the team could be based on whether or not Dodge is ready to go for the 2027 season, or if the organization will remain a Chevrolet team in name only next season.

During another interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week, Rice suggested there are few updates on the Dodge front, though he added a twist to the saga.

When asked about the second-generation drivers’ future with the team, Rice said that Kaulig has been speaking with Ty and his partners about the driver’s future. Specifically, Rice made note of the fact that these discussions were about Ty’s future and “what does he wanna do in his future.”

“The 10 car, we’re still working through things. We have been talking to Ty quite a bit. We’ve been talking to his partners, he has a lot of partners, we’ve been talking to him about what does he wanna do in his future.” — Chris Rice

Dillon is currently in his second full-time season at Kaulig and has managed to finish no better than eighth in his time with the team.

Though his performance on track is not on par with his teammate A.J. Allmendinger, Rice was highly complimentary of Dillon during his interview, saying that the 34-year-old is a “blessing to be around.”

Rice even added more to his talks about these discussions with Dillon, calling them “serious.”

“We love what he does, and we are having some serious conversations with him. Over the last couple weeks, he’s had more serious conversations than we’ve had, so it’s moving along, I feel like, in a good direction.” — Chris Rice

The Future of the No. 10 Car

The No. 10 team is one of the few true wildcards of the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season.

Though a switch to Dodge would not necessarily guarantee the team a new driver, there are plenty of options for Kaulig to go with in-house if they were to move on from Dillon.

In particular, two drivers are the focus of some speculation online, with Kaulig Truck Series drivers Corey LaJoie and Justin Haley as options with plenty of Cup Series and Next Gen experience to pair with Allmendinger.

Of course, there are still a few months until the 2027 season, but the future of both Kaulig’s manufacturer support and the No. 10 team in particular is still in question as we near the 2026 Chase.

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