Last season Ram announced a return to NASCAR in the Craftsman Truck Series with Kaulig Racing set to run five trucks in the series.
Kaulig has named drivers for three of the trucks – Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Daniel Dye, and Justin Haley.
Ram Trucks has announced a Free Agent Driver Program for the number 25 truck with drivers from all across motorsports. While safety is paramount, passion will also be considered.
Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis spoke on the program saying, “we said, the key to that is these fans love the teams and they love the drivers, these larger-than-life personalities is who they’re attracted to. You know, they can’t get in and drive the car, but they can live vicariously through these people. So we said, how do we expand that past these three drivers, and that’s where the idea of the free agent car came from.”
Ram is taking applications and is relying on industry relationships.
While the 25 truck will have different drivers throughout the season, the drivers will not be eligible for the Truck Series championship; however, Kuniskis noted, “Ram plans to create its own prize — based on the best individual performance within the program.”
Noting that more announcements are still to come, he added, “I think people are going to be like, ‘OK, not only do I want to drive a NASCAR truck, I want that prize.”
Kaulig Racing owner Matt Kaulig spoke on the program via a news release saying, “it’s a new idea, and exactly the kind of energy we want heading into 2026.”
“I’ll tell you this, if you have ever met or if you know Matt Kaulig, there is no such thing as an aggressive goal,” Kuniskis said. “I mean, that guy wakes up at an eleven every day, man. He’s just going, going and going, and there’s no slowing that guy down. But I will tell you this: Forget about words. Actions mean more than words, and what we’re doing with the four truck and the five truck — the free agent and the other one that we haven’t announced yet — quite frankly, they could be viewed as a distraction, and they are all in. Matt, (Kaulig Racing president) Chris Rice, (Stellantis racing executive) Kevin Kidd, they are all in on this process, and if they didn’t feel comfortable that they were going to be ready for Daytona, this would be a distraction to them, and they’re totally in on this. They already told me how they’re feeling, but now the actions are reinforcing that they’re feeling really comfortable about where we’re going to be in Daytona.”
Ram Trucks will make their return to NASCAR on February 13 at Daytona International Speedway.