A championship-winning brand is returning to NASCAR. Ram is taking on the Craftsman Truck Series after a 13-year break.
Tim Kuniskis, CEO of Ram brand, announced the news on Sunday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway. He also unveiled the Ram 1500 concept that takes elements from the Warlock, Rebel, and RHO pickups.
This announcement coincides with Ram bringing back the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 for the 2026 model year. Kuniskis also told media members that the returning OEM has its eyes set on the Cup Series. Although the onboarding process is 18 months.
Photo credit: Stellantis
"For more than a decade, customers and our dealer network asked about getting back into NASCAR," Kuniskis said in a press release. "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."
We're back in America's motorsport, the HEMI® V8 is back, and we ain't here to mess around. LFG. pic.twitter.com/H6EqU5d1VN
— Ram Trucks (@RamTrucks) June 8, 2025
Ram did not provide any details about the team, teams, or drivers that will represent it starting with the 2026 season. These announcements will happen at a later date, but Kuniskis told media members that they want "four to six" trucks in the field for the season opener at Daytona.
Dodge, which is now a separate arm of parent company Stellantis than Ram, previously competed in the Truck Series for 17 seasons. The automaker celebrated three manufacturer championships (2001, 2003-04) and dozens of wins. The 2003 season, in particular, featured Dodge drivers combining to win 13 of the 25 races.
The automaker departed the Craftsman Truck Series after the 2012 season. This left Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota as the three factory NASCAR teams. With the Ram brand returning, this friendly rivalry will reignite.
Ryan Newman commercial for Dodge Ram (2004) pic.twitter.com/3d3IMkPo9a
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) June 8, 2025
"When we worked with our existing OEMs, they have made it loud and clear that they would welcome a new OEM into our sport with open arms," John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, told media members this week.
"They've been very helpful in that process with RAM and some of the other OEMs that we continue to talk with. It is, as we've said before, something that we do on the regular is talk not just with our existing OEMs but potential new ones.
"We're excited to see the depth in the Truck garage grow even deeper with the support of Dodge coming in there."
Probst added that having another OEM join the fold sets up a scenario where teams can focus on fewer entries in each race, thus making the entire field more competitive. The number of "tier one" teams could increase.