The 2026 Daytona opening weekend was about more than just racing, it triggered a shift in the garage. On February 13, Stellantis officially returned to NASCAR, entering five Ram trucks in the Truck Series. This made them the first new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to join a national series since Toyota arrived in 2004.
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But the Truck Series was never the final goal.
For months, rumors have swirled that Dodge is planning a massive return to the Cup Series. A recent report by Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic named 2027 as the exact target date. Now, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell has officially commented on the rumors, giving race fans fresh hopes.
“I want to make sure that they and the sport get it right, so yes, I’d love to see them in 2027. But it’s more important for all of us to make it’s a successful launch for Dodge,” Steve O’Donnell told Sports Business Journal.
The report shared by SBJ stated that engine development usually takes years to develop, and that in turn has kept Dodge from making its return to Cup racing. But it seems like Dodge could partner with current engine builders to speed up the process. There have been whispers about Stellantis partnering with ECR Engines, the sister company of Richard Childress Racing.
Meanwhile, Toyota and Ford have reportedly been distant from such a partnership. Now, it is tough to know whether NASCAR would allow such a partnership between two manufacturers. The other options on the table for Stellantis are to use the Dodge engines from 2012. But how that would fit into the Next Gen problem is a genuine challenge.
SBJ has tried to reach out to Stellantis for their response to this saga, but they’ve remained tight-lipped so far. It feels like if Dodge wants to make its comeback to the Cup Series, an announcement could come soon. But even if the plans are delayed, an ideal window of 2028 would still be open for them.
NASCAR doesn’t want to rush this process either. “They’ve got an incredible group that’s putting all kinds of resources behind it, but we’re also going to be smart about it and make sure that we don’t want to rush to a decision. We want them in for the long term like we would for any one of our partners, so still working closely, still remain hopeful, but we still have got work to do for sure,” O’Donnell added.
However, the prospect of the 4th OEM joining the Cup Series is indeed fascinating for a lot of race fans. Right now, it is a three-horse race between Toyota, Chevrolet, and Ford. There were rumors of Honda looking to join as the 4th OEM, but going by the latest updates and rumor mill, it looks like Dodge is in the front seat.
Behind the scenes, Dodge is moving fast. According to The Athletic, Stellantis recently had a “breakthrough” in its Cup engine development and is already testing a Dodge Charger body in the wind tunnel.
This push perfectly matches Stellantis’s overall strategy. When the Ram Truck Series program was first announced, Ram executive Tim Kuniskis made it clear that joining the lower series was just a scouting mission for the Cup Series.
“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now,” Kuniskis explained. “So how am I going to get to Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to Truck. So however we get to Truck is going to obviously weigh heavily on ‘do I have a path to Cup?’ Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to Truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”
Multiple automakers have left a mark on NASCAR ever since its inception, but Dodge, now under Stellantis, has always found its way back to the ovals.
Dodge first entered NASCAR in 1953, and the legendary driver Lee Petty put them on the board with the first win at Palm Beach Speedway. In 1964, they rolled out the 426 Hemi engine, which would later get banned by NASCAR. The Daytona Chargers took over in 1970, and Buddy Baker reached 200.447 mph in a tire test at Talladega Superspeedway in a Dodge.
The 70s were successful for Dodge as Richard Petty bagged two of seven titles, driving a Dodge car. But financial struggles at Chrysler, the parent company of Dodge, led to their exit in 1984. It looked like they were out for good, but when they returned, they dismantled one of the best driver-crew chief pairings in NASCAR.
In 2001, Dodge returned to NASCAR and poached Ray Evernham from Hendrick Motorsports. He had won three titles with Jeff Gordon, but with a new team, Evernham Motorsports, Dodge found its way back in some style. They had their ups and downs with Ray Evernham and his team, but found their true strength with Team Penske.
The two-car operation took Dodge back to the pinnacle of NASCAR racing in 2012, and Brad Keselowski also won his first Cup Series trophy. It felt like Dodge and Penske were a partnership that could last ages, but Penske decided to join Ford after 2012. And that in turn led to another major decision by Dodge.
Surprised to see their key ally join a rival manufacturer, rumors began to swirl about their potential exit. And it came true when they didn’t turn up for the Gen 6 car test, and just like that, Dodge pulled out of NASCAR again. And now, more than a decade later, they are knocking on the door and trying their best to make their comeback.