All hands are on deck for the 2026 racing season. And especially for Ram’s much-awaited entry in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Operating under Stellantis, a $41 billion brand, Ram has gone all in to promote its arrival, with the latest reality show competition for its fifth Truck entry. Yet behind the glitz of this new venture, Ram has a desperate reality behind the scenes.

No smooth roads to NASCAR

“If you’re just doing traditional marketing, you’re never going to break through,” Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis told The Detroit News earlier this week. “If I look at GM, and I look at Ford, and I look at us, you can see the numbers — they’re both bigger than me. I’m the small guy. I gotta do something to stand out and be different.” He added that racing in NASCAR “is godawfully expensive.”

Ram announced its return to the sport in June 2025 and, in August, rolled out its plans with Kaulig Racing. Yet as Tim Kuniskis said, the plan was supposed to take root long before. He has been trying to get back in the NASCAR game after Ram and Dodge departed after the 2012 season. But Kuniskis could not do so unless he could create a jaw-dropping marketing strategy that would draw eyeballs beyond the traditional NASCAR fan base.

So that is how the idea of a reality show, with the help of UFC’s CEO and president, Dana White, came into being. Late last year, Ram announced it had signed a multi-year marketing partnership as the truck partner for UFC, PBR, and WWE. Now, it is leaning on White to executive produce the new NASCAR reality series. The UFC icon also appears in the show.

The five-member Kaulig Racing team includes Brendan Queen, Daniel Dye, and Justin Haley. A fourth spot will rotate throughout the season between “free agent” drivers. Finally, the fifth spot will be determined on the basis of Tim Kuniskis’ strategy. The series will be hosted by actor Jacob Lofland and resembles other popular racing documentaries like ‘Drive to Survive’ or ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’.

Behind the glamorous cover of the show lies Tim Kuniskis’ humble motivation. There also lies a noble vision for the sport.

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Throwing the spotlight on newbies

The eight-episode series “Race For The Seat” features 15 drivers. All of them are young and upcoming racers trying to earn a ride in NASCAR Trucks, while living in a house with no access to phones. While this provides a thrilling setting for Tim Kuniskis’ reality show, it also provides a unique talent hunt venture. Most importantly, it prioritizes giving opportunity to aspiring drivers to make their mark in the ‘godawfully expensive’ sport.

“What I was looking for is an engagement that reaches beyond the actual sport itself, the story of changing somebody’s life — to me, everybody loves a story like that,” Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said. “That’s what makes it interesting to me.” He added, “It’s not like we did the show, and we learned some great secret for to make the truck faster in Daytona. If anything, it probably was a distraction for those guys, but they were all about it.”

“This reality show is all about finding up-and-coming drivers and giving them a massive platform,” Dana White said in a news release. “The best always rise to the top in this type of competition.”

As the hunt for the fifth truck driver for Kaulig Racing will start, the excitement can be no less. Let’s strap our belts for an amazing ride.