When Dodge left the NASCAR Cup scene after the 2012 season, it did so winning. Brad Keselowski drove the No. 2 Penske Dodge Charger to the Sprint Cup championship that year, giving the manufacturer its fifth and final title before Roger Penske announced he was switching to Ford for 2013. With no top-tier team left to partner with, Dodge pulled out. Now, per a report from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, the manufacturer could be back as soon as 2027.

“Dodge is increasingly likely to enter NASCAR’s Cup Series in 2027 as a manufacturer and is working to finalize its plan, according to multiple industry sources briefed on the situation,” Bianchi reported.

Now, when Stellantis announced its RAM brand would return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the 2026 season, with Kaulig Racing as its five-truck flagship operation, a Cup comeback was always the stated long-term goal. But 2028 was the widely cited safe timeline, given the sheer scope of what’s required: a new body, new engines, wind tunnel testing, and NASCAR homologation approval. But Dodge has apparently moved faster than anyone expected on both of the biggest hurdles.

Per Bianchi’s reporting:

• The Dodge Challenger model body has completed initial wind tunnel testing, which is the aerodynamic foundation for a Cup car.
• Stellantis has had a breakthrough in recent weeks on engine production, the more complicated obstacle.

When/If confirmed, this would make Dodge the fourth manufacturer in the Cup Series for the first time since 2012, joining Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota. However, Dodge’s return will not trigger an expansion of the charter system. Per Bianchi, NASCAR has confirmed to league sources that the number of charters will remain at 36. That means Dodge will need an existing charter-holding outfit, and that team seems obvious to many.

Kaulig Racing, which owns two Cup Series charters and currently races Chevrolet cars in the Cup, severed ties with Chevrolet to align with Stellantis in the Trucks, and was always intended to become Dodge’s flagship Cup entry once the time came.

Kaulig has also been running the 2026 Cup season without factory support from Chevrolet, which was a direct consequence of their Stellantis alignment, as GM’s mega teams (Hendrick, RCR, Spire) naturally deprioritised a defector. A 2027 Dodge Cup program would end that limbo immediately and put the team back into a proper manufacturer ecosystem. Per Bianchi’s report as well: “Any return by Dodge will almost certainly be with Kaulig Racing.”

Which other teams will Dodge return with in the Cup Series?

Kaulig’s two charters are the almost confirmed starting point, but two cars are a thin manufacturer program by any standard. 

Hence, speculation immediately turned to Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing. But Keselowski shut that down quickly: “For those asking — RFK racing has a multi-year agreement with Ford and a commitment from their leadership to return the program to a championship contender.”

Trackhouse Racing has emerged as another most discussed possibility for a second team. Their 2026 season has been a visible disappointment, with their drivers acknowledging the lack of performance from Chevrolet’s program relative to what Toyota’s TRD platform has provided. Per several rumors, Trackhouse has been in preliminary conversations, though nothing is confirmed.