BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN - JUNE 08: A general view of the Ram announcement that its brand will return to NASCAR competition, scheduling a Craftsman Truck Series campaign beginning in 2026 on the midway prior to the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 08, 2025 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN - JUNE 08: A general view of the Ram announcement that its brand will return to NASCAR competition, scheduling a Craftsman Truck Series campaign beginning in 2026 on the midway prior to the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 08, 2025 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Stellantis entering Trucks with Ram; Dodge could be coming to Cup; NASCAR still talking to manufacturers

Ram will return to NASCAR next year in the Truck Series, a comeback the Stellantis-owned brand believes is the first step toward launching a stock car program in the top Cup Series.

Ram, which left NASCAR after the 2012 season, will race in the third-tier Truck Series alongside rivals Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota. Ram becomes the first new manufacturer to enter NASCAR at the national level since 2007.

John Probst, NASCAR senior vice president and chief racing development officer, indicated Ram may not be the first announcement of a new manufacturer, with talks continuing with other brands. NASCAR last welcomed a manufacturer into the Truck Series in 2004 with Toyota.

“We’re excited that they (Ram) have interest in the Cup Series,” Probst said of Stellantis. “I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say we are very close with one other (manufacturer). Even with that, there’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions.

“We have cars in our company,” [Ram CEO Tim] Kuniskis said.

Associated Press