Questions around Dodge’s possible return to the Cup Series have become a weekly ritual for Kaulig Racing. A report drops, the garage buzzes, and by the next radio appearance, someone is asking the team’s boss for the real story. Everyone has a theory.
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Chris Rice, CEO at Kaulig Racing, got those same questions once again. He wasn’t handing out scoops, and he wasn’t slamming doors, either. What he gave instead was blunt, and it said more than a scoop would have.
“I’m in the same situation I was two weeks ago, three weeks ago, four weeks ago, I’m in the same situation. I’m in now, Matt Kaulig, myself.” Rice said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “And the hurdles are still the hurdles. Are we trying our best to make it happen? Always. It’s nothing that Kaulig Racing don’t do that we don’t keep trying to the last minute. You’re probably going to say. ‘Well, when is the last minute?’ I don’t know that anybody knows when the last minute is.
“I know how long it takes to build a truck program when you don’t have fenders until December 31st. I don’t know when the last minute is. I know what NASCAR has put out and what they’ve said to us and everybody else. I’ll tell you this. I’m glad we’ve given everybody something to talk about, and I’m at the same place I was four weeks ago. I am happy that we’re in this Stellantis group. I’m happy that we’re in the RAM group, and I’m glad that we’re in the talks and there’s not two more people that want this, want Dodge in the sport more than Matt Kaulig and myself.”
There’s no date in that answer and no promise, only effort. His one specific reference point is the Ram truck program, which he treats as proof of how quickly these timelines get tight.
Why the Questions Keep Coming
The latest wave goes back to Tuesday, when Jordan Bianchi reported in The Athletic that Dodge is very close to a 2027 return. The target is the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21, though his sources said talks are still going and obstacles remain. Rice mentioned the report on air:
“Everybody in this sport, I think, wants Dodge to come back. And if Jordan has found out something that we don’t know, good for him; his job is to write and talk about what might be happening in the sport,” Rice said. “I’m just glad to be in a conversation. I’m glad that everybody’s watching every move we make. I love this song that came up; I’m sure that was for me. So I appreciate that, guys.”
Whatever else is true, it all runs through the engine. A Cup engine program takes years, so Dodge is working on a stopgap with ECR Engines, the builder owned by Richard Childress Racing. On paper, that’s an awkward pairing. ECR builds Chevrolet engines for Chevrolet teams, and RCR is staying a Chevrolet team.
Hence the reported conditions: NASCAR, Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota all had to approve, and the Dodge version can’t be a Chevy with new stickers. They agreed because a fourth brand helps everyone and because it’s meant to be short-term.
Time is the quiet pressure. In September, Sports Business Journal reported that Stellantis could push the decision to 2028 or later if a deal couldn’t be lined up in time. NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell told SBJ this summer he’d love to see Dodge in 2027, but that the priority is a successful launch.
Kaulig’s own story fits into this. Ram picked the team for a five-truck Truck Series program last year, and Matt Kaulig said then the team was “going truck racing with Ram.” Today it still runs Chevy engines in Cup, though The Athletic reported in June that it cut ties with Chevrolet to align with Stellantis and aims to become Dodge’s flagship team.
Rice has been just as guarded elsewhere. On Oct. 1, he told the same radio show he’d had no talks with Brad Keselowski about driving a Dodge, “even if Dodge comes back.” The phrasing stays hypothetical.
Why NASCAR Won’t Add Charters
Even with an engine, Dodge needs a seat on the grid. NASCAR has no plans to raise the charter count from 36 to 40, reported The Athletic. It could hand a new manufacturer some, but it and the teams would prefer the newcomer sign with one of the 15 organizations that already hold them.
Money is the reason. A charter is worth around $100 million today. It secures a spot in every points race and a set share of revenue, and issuing more would water that down. Steering Dodge toward an existing team protects that value and, in theory, makes that team better.
The obvious fit is Kaulig. It owns two charters and runs five Ram trucks, and The Athletic reported in June that any Dodge return would almost certainly go through the team. A finished engine deal is still missing.
Competitors aren’t pushing back. Ford’s Mark Rushbrook told The Athletic that Ford welcomes Dodge, as it did Ram in the trucks. Cup hasn’t had four manufacturers since 2012, when Brad Keselowski won the title in a Penske Dodge.
So where does Dodge stand? Closer than it was in June, by The Athletic’s reporting, but still without a signature. The engine plan is unfinished, the charter math points at one team, and the Daytona 500 is a little over four months away. Rice sounds like he’s standing where he stood a month ago, and he isn’t confirming anything.