At the end of Stage 1 at the Nashville Superspeedway, every Kaulig Racing Ram truck was already a lap down. It fueled questions about Ram’s long-awaited return to NASCAR and whether the program was in over its head. But inside the organization, panic is not part of the plan.

While critics see a disastrous start, Kaulig Racing Chief Business Officer Ty Norris believes the growing pains are temporary and refuses to hide behind excuses as the manufacturer searches for its first breakthrough moment.

Ty Norris refuses to accept Kaulig Racing/Ram’s reality

“We didn’t start getting parts until December, and I have a long list of all the things you want to say their excuses, but no one cares about that,” Norris said on May 31. They only care about getting these trucks on the racetrack, making them competitive. Winning some races, doing real burnouts on the front stretch, is something that is our goal.

“There’s no reason why we can’t with the support that we have from RAM and all of the history that Kaulig Racing has of winning and the hanging banners as well.”

If there was one thing to learn from Ty Norris’ evaluation of Kaulig Racing’s new Ram Truck Series program, it was that he really doesn’t care about justifications.

It is hard to deny the reality that the organization faces. No Kaulig Racing truck has finished in the top five throughout the first part of the season. AJ Allmendinger’s (a free agent) sixth-place finish at Watkins Glen was the team’s best performance. Right now, Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen is ranked 14th, and Justin Haley is ranked 13th. With only 10 drivers advancing to the Truck Series playoffs, the two best drivers of Kaulig Racing remain on the wrong side of the cut line.

Nashville just made their worries worse. It was a depressing reminder of how much work has to be done before the manufacturer can compete with NASCAR’s well-established Truck Series powerhouses.

Norris’ confidence is coming from his experience.

“Thirty-five years ago I started in this sport and I’ve lived so many great runs and so many great opportunities,” he explained.

Dale Earnhardt Incorporated provided one of those chances, but success did not come right away. The company spent years developing its staff, processes, and infrastructure before making a breakthrough in 2000, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the team to its first Winston Cup victory at Texas. It took DEI four seasons to reach Victory Lane, despite having one of the greatest names in the sport associated with the business.

Norris also had a similar journey with Michael Waltrip Racing. In 2002, the team began competing in the Winston Cup Series, but victories were frustratingly elusive. The company struggled for years before celebrating its first victory in 2009, when David Reutimann triumphed at Charlotte Motor Speedway, despite significant investments and expanding resources.

Norris isn’t stressing out over Kaulig’s present difficulties, because he knows there’s still some distance to be covered before those wins come; their partnership with Ram began less than a year ago. Norris also thought Kaulig could do it earlier than expected.

“I don’t really see that window is going to be that long with this group. I see this program really hitting a stride towards the end of this year.”

Norris is certain that improvement will happen sooner rather than later because of Kaulig Racing’s established infrastructure, Ram’s factory support, and an experienced leadership team. Whether that optimism proves correct remains to be seen.