It’s official: Dodge is coming back to NASCAR. Sort of. Almost. In a way.
After 13 years of sitting on the sidelines, the Ram truck brand that used to be part of Dodge has decided it’s time to throw some elbows again—at least in the Craftsman Truck Series. They made the big splash on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, in the hometown shadows of their Motor City rivals, Chevrolet and Ford. Subtle, this was not.
The whole thing was branded “Ram-Demption,” which sounds like a Stallone sequel but came complete with a two-tone concept truck in Molten Red and Gloss Black, a few marketing fireworks, and a very not-subtle vibe that something bigger might be coming. It wasn’t just a return—it was a flex. A tentative one, maybe, but a flex all the same.
Tim Kuniskis, Ram CEO and unofficial prom date analogist, made it clear this isn’t a one-and-done appearance. “We’ll be on track in Daytona in eight months,” he said, then added: “We’re looking for a date to the prom right now.” Translation: they don’t have a team yet, but they’re hoping someone swipes right on a Ram program soon.
The idea is to get four trucks on the grid at Daytona next year, and then—maybe—walk this thing into a full Cup Series return. But even Kuniskis admits how they get to Truck will heavily influence whether Cup happens. So right now, this is a toe in the water. Maybe ankle-deep.
Ram’s last factory-supported race in the Truck Series came in 2013, wrapping up a 17-year run that included three manufacturer titles and two driver championships—Bobby Hamilton in 2004 and Ted Musgrave in 2005. And of course, Dodge proper hasn’t been seen in the Cup garage since Brad Keselowski delivered a mic-drop championship for them in 2012.
Since then, it’s been a whole lot of nothing from Auburn Hills. Dodge was folded deeper into Fiat Chrysler, then Stellantis, and priorities shifted to Hellcats, marketing muscle, and eventually… merging with a French company and relocating the headquarters to the Netherlands. (Yes, really.)
But now—with the Hemi back in production and a Symbol of Protest badge slapped on their V8s—Ram seems ready to throw on its racing boots again. Or at least its work boots with a Goodyear patch.
So what does this all mean? It means we’re getting trucks. Not Cup cars. Not quite Dodge. Just Ram. That’s progress, sure but it’s also a bit like ordering a filet mignon and getting a well-seasoned brisket.
NASCAR’s EVP of racing development, John Probst, says this could be the start of something more. “I don’t want to jinx ourselves,” he teased, hinting that another OEM might be close to joining the party too. But in the meantime, he’s hoping Ram finds its prom date, saying, “I want him to have a date that he wants to have his picture taken with.”
Well, don’t we all.
So yes, Ram is back. Trucks are coming. There’s a sharp paint job, a catchy marketing slogan, and a whole lot of “wait and see.” But for those of us still hoping to see Dodge muscle its way back into the Cup garage? We’re left holding our helmets, staring down pit road, and wondering if that V8 rumble we hear is real—or just another parade lap.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.