The last time Dodge was in the NASCAR Cup Series, Brad Keselowski won the championship in the No. 12 Team Penske Dodge Charger. After his shock exit from RFK Racing was announced, NASCAR’s silly season is in overdrive, with one question being raised: Will Keselowski be the face for Dodge’s revival in the Cup Series? Keselowski has already confirmed that his driving days are not done, and there are those who would love to see him in the mix when Dodge returns.
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Ryan Blaney, who often credits Keselowski as someone who helped him early in his career, hopes there is more to the rumors of Keselowski teaming up with Kaulig Racing as Dodge plans to make their Cup comeback. Blaney was on SiriusXM sharing his thoughts on the role Keselowski played as his mentor, as well as his hopes for Keselowski’s future.
“Brad’s meant a lot to me in my career,” said Blaney. “He was really the one who gave me my start on his truck team and really opened the door for me at Penske, and it was a pleasure to drive for him for a little bit, was a pleasure to be his teammate over at Penske for the years we spent together.”
When Ryan Blaney became the then-youngest driver to get a Truck Series victory in 2012, it was in a Brad Keselowski truck that he made his mark. Keselowski handed the 18-year-old a part-time drive in the Truck Series, and while Keselowski was busy focusing all his energy on winning the Cup title, he had Blaney replace him to complete his Nationwide Series schedule in the Team Penske seat.
In 2013, Keselowski would hand Blaney a full-time Truck seat while Blaney ran a part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series. In the Truck Series that year, Blaney would go on to win the Rookie of the Year award and added two more wins in 2014 and 2015. Since then, Blaney’s career saw him take steps upward before he finally got his first Cup victory at Pocono in 2017 for Wood Brothers Racing.
Blaney and Keselowski’s relationship is clearly one that is wholesome on and off track, probably why the Penske driver was adding fuel to the fire that is the rumor of Keselowski’s possible Dodge reunion.
“I know there’s some rumors out there of Brad returning to Dodge, Blaney said. “You never know; I mean, that could be a possibility. What a heck of a reunion that would be — the guy who was with Dodge before they left and won them a championship. And returning 15 years later. I mean, that would be a heck of a story, so I don’t know where he’s gonna end up. We’ll see. ”
It almost seems like Blaney is doing a better job of selling that story than the media fraternity around NASCAR. It does seem like a fairytale waiting to happen, though.
Keselowski won Dodge’s final Cup title, a first for Penske, in a season dictated by the battle between Jimmie Johnson and Keselowski, one that Blaney calls his favourite battle. It was early in 2012 when Penske announced the shift to Ford from 2013. Dodge bowed out with no customers but the championship to their name.
Keselowski was at the helm of Penske’s transition to Ford, and in that process he also became a mentor-like figure for drivers coming up through the Penske ranks. When Keselowski decided to part ways with Penske and join hands with Roush and Fenway to transition them into RFK Racing, Blaney had already taken up the No. 12 drive, but it was after Keselowski’s departure that he decided to take up a leadership role at Team Penske.
While Blaney dreams of a Keselowski comeback, the timeline for Dodge returning to the Cup Series isn’t solid yet. Dodge’s parent company, Stellantis, has already made its entry in the Truck Series through the Ram collaboration with Kaulig Racing’s five trucks. But they haven’t shown the potential to be a serious competitor just yet.
It is likely that Kaulig will be Dodge’s home for the Cup return as well, although getting a new engine through before the 2027 season seems unlikely. There were reports that Dodge would try to source its engines from other OEMs to the start of the season before eventually coming up with their own NASCAR-approved engine.
The Dodge Charger they have in mind has already been through the wind tunnel, but without an engine that can compete, it would be like entering a race with their legs tied.
If that is the path Keselowski chooses to go down, it wouldn’t be long before he takes up an ownership stake in Kaulig Racing. With the Cup timeline looking less likely for 2027, it would be an easy guess to say that Keselowski takes a year in the Truck Series driving a Kaulig Ram truck while spearheading Dodge’s return to the Cup in 2028. And who knows, he would be the driver to lead Dodge’s Cup revival as a star driver?
Other possibilities look less likely because Keselowski would want a competitive option to drive and also an ownership stake. There aren’t any competitive seats free in the Cup Series currently going into the 2027 season.