This season Dodge returned to NASCAR with five entries into the Craftsman Truck Series when Kaulig Racing fielded five Ram Trucks with Mini Tyrrell, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Brenden Queen, and a “guest truck” that featured some of the biggest names in NASCAR driving the truck each week.
Now, after a 14 year absence, Dodge is making a return to NASCAR with Kauling Racing moving to Dodge where they will field two Dodge Charges beginning at Daytona International Speedway in February for the Daytona 500.
NASCAR Chief Executive Officer Steve O’Donnel spoke on the return of Dodge saying, “Dodge’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series is a significant milestone for the sport. This commitment speaks to Dodge’s belief in our sport and gives fans another reason to be excited about what’s ahead. The partnership between NASCAR, Tim Kuniskis and the entire team at Stellantis has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have a deep passion for NASCAR and its ability to showcase the world’s top brands, and we can’t wait to see Dodge on the race track for the Daytona 500 and beyond.”
John Probst, president of NASCAR Event Management added, “I think it shows not only the strength of the North American car market, but also the value that NASCAR plays with these OEMs – Original Equipment Manufacturers – in that market as the premier motorsports in North America.”
Kaulig Racing owner Matt Kaulig spoke on Dodge coming to Kaulig via statement saying, “this is a very exciting moment for Chris Rice and me (Kaulig CEO’s). We launched Kaulig Racing a decade ago and have overcome so many challenges together, which makes it even more remarkable to be announced as the anchor team for Dodge’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series. What a monumental time to be a member of Kaulig Racing.
He added, “we realize what a responsibility this opportunity presents to the men and women of Kaulig Racing, and we are ready to rise to the occasion. I am proud of the stability and support this partnership brings to our organization, which allows us to build a winning program for many years to come.”
John Probst noted, “it’s something that we’ve talked about for a long time, and sometimes we talk about it so much and it didn’t happen that you almost feel like you lose credibility at some point. But it’s certainly a proud moment for us, for our industry to welcome Dodge back. And I think that’s the key: Welcome them back. And I think that even through the process of looking at which OEM should we target, it was never a doubt that Dodge was always number one. Dodge belongs over here, and it’s good to welcome them back.”
He added, “when an existing OEM submits a new model or a brand-new OEM submits a brand-new car, that involves about an 18-month process of CFD testing and wind tunnel testing. And then once they fit in the box of the performance characteristics, we then go one step further and we get the actual production panels for that car and make sure that with the actual production panels, they’re still in the box. So that’s this exact same process that we went through with this one.”
While it appears that things with Dodge have happened quickly, Probst said, “it certainly looks like that, but I can tell you that it’s been a lot of trips to Detroit with Steve O’Donnell, [Chief Operating Officer] Ben Kennedy, myself, trying to talk to all these OEMs and show them the strength of our sport. But I think that also it shows that once an OEM makes the decision to get in, it really doesn’t have to take that long until they’re on the race track. So, I hope this is encouragement for some of the others that may be still looking to go ahead and just make the commitment because it can happen quicker than some of our OEMs have taken in the past.”