Dodge will join Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota in NASCAR competition next year.
Following a 14-year hiatus, Dodge will enter NASCAR with Kaulig Racing entering two Chargers to be steered by AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon.
Back in 2012, Dodge ended its previous stint as champions courtesy of Brad Keselowski, who scored the manufacturer’s most recent NASCAR win at Dover Motor Speedway.
This last stint produced 57 of Dodge’s 217 NASCAR victories between 2001 and 2012 as the build towards a Cup Series entry began this season when Kaulig Racing fielded five full-time Craftsman Truck Series entries for the RAM sub-brand.
It marks the first new manufacturer in NASCAR since Toyota’s entrance in 2007 and has been a goal of NASCAR powerbrokers to expand the OEMs participating since the new generation was launched five-years ago.
Dodge’s NASCAR history spans more than 60-years, with Lee Petty taking the manufacturer’s maiden victory at Palm Beach Speedway in 1953, before David Pearson scored a dominant Cup Series win in 1966.
Another milestone was achieved when Buddy Baker completed the first 200mph in NASCAR driving a Dodge at Talladega during the 1970 season
‘The King’ Richard Petty joined the fold and won multiple titles for Dodge during the mid-1970s before the manufacturer bowed out by 1978.
Returning to NASCAR in 2001, Dodge enjoyed solid success during this stint including attracting the legendary Team Penske to its ranks from 2003 leading to Daytona 500 victories and ended its run in 2012 with the Cup Series win.
Dodge’s exit was a surprise after it revealed the Gen 6 Charger in March, Team Penske announced later during the season it was moving to Ford and a new partner was unable to be found leaving the new model un-raced.
Now, a new era begins for Dodge partnering Kaulig Racing in NASCAR presenting an exciting time for the category.