Dodge Returns To NASCAR Cup In 2027 On A Timeline Everyone Called Impossible
Dodge left NASCAR Cup Series racing in style, taking the 2012 championship with the No. 2 Blue Deuce Charger in the brand’s final year in the series. Fourteen seasons later, that title remains Dodge’s last word at the top level of stock car racing. A quick comeback looked like a long shot, and Tim Kuniskis, who heads American Brands, SRT Performance and Direct Connection at Stellantis North America, says everyone considered a one-year turnaround impossible.
Dodge’s story in NASCAR Cup goes back more than 70 years, to the brand’s first win in 1953. Over the decades that followed, Dodge helped shape and push the series forward, and its run ended on a high note with that 2012 title.
Ram’s return to NASCAR competition took the first step back, restoring a factory-backed presence at the track and giving Stellantis a foundation for a bigger move.
Stepping up to the Cup Series in a single year looked like a far harder job. “Everyone said it was impossible to get back in one year. We said, ‘watch this,’” said Kuniskis.
Dodge Is Officially Back In NASCAR Cup For 2027
Dodge is officially returning to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2027, and Kuniskis shared the news on November 2 at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Dodge’s message is that gasoline-powered performance is back at the center of the brand.
Dodge will do its learning in public, and Kuniskis didn’t hide how tough that will be. “Sure, we could spend three years planning, testing and perfecting … or we could do all three in real time, on the track,” he said. “It’s going to be exponentially harder this way. But slow has never been part of Dodge DNA. LFG.”
Dodge To Team Up With Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing will serve as the anchor team for both Dodge and Ram. Dodge SRT Racing is spearheading the effort and leads all North American motorsports programs, including NASCAR and NHRA.
That gas-first message shows up in the showroom too, where the 2027 Charger Super Bee Launch Edition makes 600 hp and the Scat Pack makes 550 hp.
Kaulig Racing will announce its 2027 driver lineup during NASCAR Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first of two big moments leading into the new season.
The second stop is the 59th annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, a 300-lap Super Late Model race first held in 1968. Dodge will host The Dodge Sno-Brawl there, putting muscle car-loving celebrity drivers head-to-head in equally prepared Charger late-model stock cars.
The Derby is also where Dodge will reveal the race car wearing its livery in Cup competition. Fans can watch the reveal on December 4 through a FloRacing livestream and on the NASCAR Channel.
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