Is Dodge really coming back in 2027? What was supposed to happen in 2028 could happen next year itself. But what’s the hurry? As the talk around their early return to NASCAR grows louder, Denny Hamlin is questioning the actual intent behind the push.
“They [Kaulig] are struggling around 15th in Trucks. I know they wanna get in there, I don’t know how much of that is like just a marketing play versus like, you really really truly wanna compete,” Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast. The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi reported a few days ago about Dodge potentially making a return to the Cup Series in 2027. John Newby had responded to his tweet and added Tim Kuniskis’s words in June 2025, where he stated that they planned to enter the Cup Series from the 2027 Daytona 500.
But Hamlin is questioning the motivation behind this decision, and whether it’s just a publicity stunt. He pointed out the problems Kaulig has to fix before making the move. “You still got to get your simulation…I hear you Corey LaJoie and many others. You don’t have the simulation but others have,” Hamlin added on the podcast.
Kaulig Racing partnered with RAM in Trucks this season, and if Dodge, its sister brand under Stellantis, comes to the Cup Series, it’ll most likely also be with Kaulig. However, apart from Kaulig’s Free Agent seat, the other four drivers – Brenden Queen (14th), Mini Tyrrell (18th), Corey LaJoie (22nd), and Justin Haley (15th) are not doing so great right now. Hamlin’s point is that RAM and Dodge don’t yet have that NASCAR-specific ecosystem like the others. Even if Kaulig welcomes the manufacturer, it will initially lack the years of simulation data that their rivals already have.
The same fact was pointed out by Bianchi, who mentioned that the “accelerated timeline has caught many in the garage by surprise due to the time needed to get a car and engine designed, tested and approved.” Dodge’s NASCAR exit happened when Team Penske abruptly announced in March 2012 that it was switching to Ford. So another big concern is the engine. “Again, that’s a significant investment. Are they gonna do it themselves? Or are they gonna outsource that?” Hamlin wondered.
Nonetheless, Dodge rejoining NASCAR will see the sport having four manufacturers once again after 14 years, and Hamlin is at least happy about that. “The more manufacturers you have, the better it is for the sport,” he said.
Amid Dodge’s return chatter, there was a lot of speculation building up on whether RFK Racing would leave Ford and switch to Dodge. Dodge had won the championship in its last season (2012) with Brad Keselowski and Team Penske. However, Brad Keselowski took to his social media and cleared the confusion. “For those asking- RFK racing has a multi-year agreement with @FordRacing and a commitment from their leadership to return the program to a championship contender,” he said on X. “Any speculation else-wise makes for great internet talk but, it is not based on anything real.”
The talks also gained momentum as RFK will have only two permanent charters next year, with the No. Legacy Motor Club, which bought it from Rick Ware Racing. In addition, Keselowski’s stance addressed any questions about RFK Racing partnering with Dodge, whether they return to the Cup Series in 2027 or 2028.
“It ain’t that easy. It’s not that easy,” said Kaulig CEO Chris Rice on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. He was talking about engines. In the Cup Series, you do not borrow someone else’s power unit. You build your own. That is the rule, and it is the exact reason Dodge left in the first place. When Penske walked out after 2012 and took their Ford deal, they took the engine program with them. Dodge had nothing. Keselowski had just handed them a title, and within months, the whole operation was dead because there was no engine to put in the car.
“The only reason Dodge left, and not many people know this, is because they didn’t have an engine,” Rice mentioned. “Penske had been building the engines. Once they left, Dodge had no engine and nowhere to go.” So, that is the mountain Stellantis is climbing right now. They are working with engineering firm Pratt & Miller to build a Cup engine from scratch. According to reports, there has been a breakthrough in production that makes the 2027 Daytona 500 a real target. If something slips, 2028 is the backup.
Rice wants this to happen. He was clear about that. “Kaulig Racing, Matt Kaulig, myself, and everybody at Kaulig Racing would love to have them back. More manufacturers trying to sell cars is great.” They have not been dormant either. Stellantis used the Truck Series as a warm-up, bringing Ram back for 2026 with five full-time Kaulig entries. That was the easier move. Trucks run a spec Ilmor engine, so no custom build is needed. Just develop the body, find a team, show up. Cup is a completely different ask.
The Charger race body has already cleared wind tunnel testing. That part is done. It is the engine that is not. The rest of the puzzle is mostly in place. AJ Allmendinger is locked into Kaulig through at least 2029 and will anchor the Dodge NASCAR program. The second seat is where it gets complicated. Ty Dillon drives the No. He just hit his 300th career Cup start at Chicagoland. But by most indications, 2027 will not include him at Kaulig.
Here is the problem. Dillon is Richard Childress’s grandson. His entire career was built inside the RCR-Chevrolet world. Putting him in a factory Dodge as the face of a brand-new manufacturer program is awkward and a corporate nonstarter. Rice has already hinted at the wall they have hit, telling the media there are “things going on behind the scenes that we have to work through before we can finish conversations with the ten car.” The leading name to replace him is Josh Berry. He is a free agent after Wood Brothers pivoted to Jesse Love, and he has Cup-winning experience that would actually help stabilize a brand-new manufacturer’s rollout. Justin Haley is also in the conversation; he is already driving for Kaulig in the Ram Truck program, so he is already inside the Stellantis system. Dillon, for his part, will likely land somewhere back in the RCR orbit.
