NASCAR generated some excitement among fans and drivers in recent weeks with executives opening the door to a horsepower increase happening this season. With many around the sport also hoping for another manufacturer to be added to the Cup Series, there seems to be positive momentum on that front as well.
On Sunday night’s episode of “The Teardown“, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic said the people he’s talked to inside the sport are now expecting Dodge will eventually become an OEM in the Cup Series.
“People I talk to, there is almost an expectation of it is going to happen at some point. Whether they announce it today, tomorrow or next year. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, you’re going to see a Dodge-branded car back in the Cup Series.”
Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic on a future fourth manufacturer in the Truck Series
Read More: NASCAR execs suggests horsepower increasing coming to Cup Series
Ram made news on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway with its official announcement that it is returning to the Truck Series next season. As a result, it will become NASCAR’s first new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the national series since the Toyota Tundra was added to the truck series in 2004.
In the official announcement, Ram CEO Tim Kinuskis made it clear that this is planned as just a stepping stone for the company. While there is nothing planned in the immediate future, the goal is to enter the Cup Series in the future.
“So how am I going to get the Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to truck. So however we get to truck is going will obviously weigh heavily on do I have a path to Cup? Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”
Ram CEO Tim Kinuskis on his intentions with Dodge’s return to NASCAR (H/T Fox Sports)
Related: NASCAR standings for Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series
There are currently only three OEMs in the Cup Series – Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota – with the costs of operating at the highest level pushing Dodge out following the 2012 season.
As Bianchi detailed for The Athletic, one current holdup preventing a fourth OEM from joining the Cup Series is the uncertainty regarding the new engine rule packages. NASCAR reportedly isn’t expected to finalize those rules for several years, per The Athletic
Over the weekend, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer John Probst told the Sports Business Journal that the sport is ‘very close’ to striking a deal with a new manufacturer to become the fifth OEM in the stock car series. Honda has been heavily rumored, but there is no timeline for when there could be five manufacturers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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