It’s official: Dodge is coming back to the NASCAR Cup Series.
After months of waiting and speculation, Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge, announced at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas on Monday, Nov. 2 that it will field cars in the top level of NASCAR in 2027 with the Kaulig Racing team.
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Dodge will unveil its new race car that Kaulig will compete in on Dec. 4 at the Snowball Derby, a large racing event held annually at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. The weekend of racing is headlined by a 300-lap super late-model stockcar race.
This weekend, at NASCAR’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kaulig will unveil its driver lineup for 2027. Kaulig, currently aligned with Chevrolet, fields two Cup Series cars driven by AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon. Both are expected to retain their seats next season. According to The Athletic, Kaulig is also expected to field a part-time third Dodge car for select races, including the Daytona 500.
Tim Kuniskis, head of American Brands, SRT Performance and Direct Connection division for Stellantis North America, shared the news at the SEMA show on Monday evening.
“Everyone said it was impossible to get back in one year. We said, ‘watch this,'” Kuniskis said. “Sure, we could spend three years planning, testing and perfecting … or we could do all three in real time, on the track. It’s going to be exponentially harder this way. But slow has never been part of Dodge DNA.”
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While it hasn’t been officially announced yet, Dodge is expected to use engines built by ECR according to multiple reports. ECR is owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress and provides Chevrolet engines to his team, Richard Childress Racing, as well as Chevrolet-aligned Trackhouse Racing.
Dodge’s road to returning to NASCAR
Dodge’s road to returning to the Cup Series began in June 2025 when Stellantis announced that its Ram brand would compete in the Craftsman Truck Series this season. That happened with Kaulig Racing, too.
The team owned by Matt Kaulig — an entrepreneur, philanthropist, founder of Leaf Home and co-owner of the Cleveland Guardians baseball franchise — decided to pivot from its team in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and started a truck team with Stellantis via Ram. Kaulig fielded five Rams in the Truck Series this season, with four of them piloted by Corey LaJoie, Brenden Queen, Mini Tyrrell and Justin Haley. Tyrrell landed his spot on the team by winning a reality television show on Fox produced by UFC’s Dana White, “Race For The Seat.”
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The fifth Ram truck — the No. 25 — has been Kaulig’s free agent machine that has generated buzz by putting big names and former Cup Series winners behind the wheel. Among the drivers of the No. 25 this season: Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Travis Pastrana, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray.
Kaulig is still looking for its first win with Ram, but has notched 18 top-10s in the Truck Series this season. Haley finished fourth in the No. 16 Ram at Bristol, while Queen won the Rookie of the Year award in the series this season.
It will have been 15 years when Dodge makes its return to the Cup Series at the 2027 Daytona 500.
“This is a very exciting moment for both (Kaulig Racing CEO) Chris Rice and me. We launched Kaulig Racing a decade ago and have overcome so many challenges together, which makes it even more remarkable to be announced as the anchor team for Dodge’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series,” Matt Kaulig said in a statement. “I am proud of the stability and support this partnership brings to our organization, which allows us to build a winning program for many years to come.”
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History of Dodge in NASCAR
Dodge was successful in its last appearance in the top level of NASCAR; Brad Keselowski won a championship driving a Dodge for Team Penske in 2012 – the last year the engine manufacturer competed in the series. Ryan Newman won 12 races in Dodge machines, Kasey Kahne powered Dodge to two Coca-Cola 600 victories, and Ward Burton won the 2002 Daytona 500 in a Dodge.
The history between Dodge and NASCAR goes all the way back to 1953 when Lee Petty powered the No. 42 Dodge Coronet to the manufacturer’s first victory at Palm Beach Speedway. In 1966, David Pearson won 15 races and the Cup Series championship in the No. 6 Dodge Charger. At Talladega in 1970, Buddy Baker became the first NASCAR driver to turn a lap at over 200 miles-per-hour, doing so in a Dodge. That same year, Bobby Isaac secured Dodge’s second NASCAR championship.
Richard Petty won two of his seven championships in a Dodge in 1974 and 1975, and drove a Dodge in 12 of 31 races during his 1972 championship season.
Dodge stepped away from NASCAR after the 1984 season then returned in 2001, before leaving again after Keselowski won the 2012 championship with Team Penske. Between 2001 and 2012, Dodge machines captured 15 checkered flags.
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Since Dodge left ahead of the 2013 season, NASCAR has fielded cars from just three manufactures: Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. Bringing back a fourth manufacturer has long been a goal and priority for NASCAR.
“Dodge’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series is a significant milestone for the sport,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said in a statement. “This commitment speaks to Dodge’s belief in our sport and gives fans another reason to be excited about what’s ahead. The partnership between NASCAR, Tim Kuniskis and the entire team at Stellantis has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have a deep passion for NASCAR and its ability to showcase the world’s top brands, and we can’t wait to see Dodge on the race track for the Daytona 500 and beyond.”
And now, Dodge is finally back, with Kaulig as its anchor team.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodge announces return to NASCAR Cup Series with Kaulig Racing in 2027
