Although this season is already in motion, Ram appears to be making moves to rejoin the NASCAR Truck Series as early as next year.
Last month, Catchfence broke the news that an automaker had formally begun the process to join the truck racing series next season. Although NASCAR would only confirm the what, the logical assumption is that the who is Ram.
The NASCAR Truck Series currently fields modified full-size pickups from Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota. An entry from GMC would only divide GM‘s motorsports resources, while other trucks on sale are midsize (Jeep Gladiator) or not body-on-frame (Honda Ridgeline). What about Nissan? Let’s just say the automaker has other things on its mind than investing in truck racing.
According to a dealer email shared with Sportsnaut, Ram is, indeed, the OEM in question. The email correspondence included a brief rundown of what was discussed during a Stellantis “go to market” dealer meeting, and included interesting tidbits such as lower prices for Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, the return of the Ram TRX, and that the Dodge Durango is in its “last year.” And then we have a Ram bullet point stating “back to NASCAR Truck Series.”
Ram withdrew its official factory support in the truck series after the 2013 season. What is fueling its return is unknown. We reached out to the automaker but Ram declined to comment. Perhaps when an official announcement is made, more details will come to light.
The Catchfence story also noted that Dodge is eyeing a return to the NASCAR Cup Series as well, potentially in 2028. Dodge was part of NASCAR’s top series from 1999 until 2012 when its flagship team, Penske Racing (now Team Penske), left the brand for Ford following that season. Unable to find a suitable new partner, Dodge pulled the plug. However, the dealer email made no mention of a Dodge NASCAR comeback. Maybe that’ll be racing news fodder for next year’s meeting.