In the days before the most recent Sonoma round, New York Times publication The Athletic reported the Stellantis-owned car maker is looking “increasingly likely” to re-enter stock car racing’s top division.
Dodge sister brand RAM returned to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year via Kaulig Racing.
The same team is also thought to be the top candidate for Dodge in the NASCAR Cup Series.
According to the report, Dodge has already put its Challenger through wind tunnel testing and has made progress with an engine program.
Speaking on Door Bumper Clear, Kaulig Racing boss Chris Rice was coy when the report was put to him.
“I’ll tell you this, we would love to [partner with Dodge],” said Rice.
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“We would love for Dodge to do it but they have not committed to do it yet.
“I appreciate everybody pushing Dodge to do it, I appreciate everybody talking about it.
“We would love to have them here. Yeah, absolutely.
“Are we working hard towards it? Absolutely. Bet you didn’t think we were going to sit still as Kaulig Racing doing nothing.
“Are they coming? Not as of today.”
The Athletic’s report claimed a breakthrough in engine development has enabled Dodge to bring its planned 2028 entry forward to 2027.
Rice said an engine program is the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Dodge walked away from NASCAR at the end of 2012 when Penske, the brand’s engine builder, switched to Ford.
Rice said the hurdles for Stellantis to enter NASCAR by way of the Truck Series were far easier to overcome given the use of a category-controlled Ilmor engine across all four brands.
“Engines are the problem,” said Rice.
“Are they coming back to NASCAR? I can tell you on this show, Kaulig Racing, Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, everybody at Kaulig would love to have them back – yes, immediately, as fast as we can go.
“Get them in the sport. It would be great for the sport. It would be great for Chevrolet, it would be great for Ford, it would be great for Toyota.
“More people in here trying to sell cars would be great, but the engine is the issue.”
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed Chevrolet has wound back its support for Kaulig Racing amid an impending manufacturer switch.
“AJ (Allmendinger) has talked about the lack of sim time, the lack of resources they have, since they’re a ‘Dodge’ team,” he said on his Dale Jr Download podcast.
“Chevrolet has taken back or pulled back some if not all of the support. That’s going to be difficult and I think it’ll get tougher if Chevrolet wanted to make it tougher.
“What is the likelihood of percentage of Dodge racing next year? I think it’s really high.”
Kaulig Racing currently has two charters to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Earnhardt Jr. said another team could conceivably make the switch to Dodge and bolster the brand’s ranks.
“This is what I think happens — I think that Dodge gets their car ready, Kaulig goes into Daytona next year with Dodges,” said Earnhardt Jr.
“I think they will be the only Dodges. Maybe another team flips over, I don’t know who would it might be.
“It would probably be a similar team like Kaulig, it’s not going to be one of the bigger teams.”
Kaulig fielded Shane van Gisbergen in a full-time O’Reilly Series entry in 2024, as well as selected Cup races as part of a development deal with Trackhouse Racing.
Supercars champion Will Brown’s Cup and O’Reilly starts in 2025 also came in Kaulig Chevrolets, before the team shut down its O’Reilly program amid its RAM transition.
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