Dodge announced it is returning to NASCAR Cup Series racing, with Tim Kuniskis making the call official while previewing the Stellantis display ahead of the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas on November 2, 2026.
Kuniskis, head of American Brands, SRT Performance and Direct Connection at Stellantis North America, framed the timeline as the central challenge. “Everyone said it was impossible to get back in one year. We said, ‘watch this,'” he said. “Sure, we could spend three years planning, testing and perfecting … or we could do all three in real time, on the track. It’s going to be exponentially harder this way. But slow has never been part of Dodge DNA. LFG.”
The move caps a Cup absence that dates to 2012, the brand’s last year in the series, when the No. 2 Blue Deuce Dodge Charger took the championship. Dodge’s Cup history stretches back to its first win in 1953.
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The return builds on Ram’s reentry into the series through Kaulig Racing, which becomes the anchor team for both Dodge and Ram. Dodge SRT Racing will spearhead the Cup effort and oversee all North American motorsports programs, including NASCAR and NHRA.
Several events lead into the 2027 campaign. Kaulig Racing will reveal its 2027 driver lineup during NASCAR Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The program then moves to the 59th annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, where Dodge will stage The Dodge Sno-Brawl, a head-to-head celebrity shootout in identically built Charger late-model stock cars. Additional race details are set to come later.
Dodge will also unveil the car that carries its livery in Cup competition at the Snowball Derby, with the stock car reveal streaming December 4 via FloRacing and airing on the NASCAR Channel through FloRacing. A 300-lap Super Late Model race that debuted in 1968, the Snowball Derby ranks among short-track racing’s most prestigious events.
The Cup return coincides with Dodge leaning back into gasoline performance. Its current lineup is headlined by the 600-horsepower 2027 Charger Super Bee Launch Edition, which the brand bills as the strongest-performing SIXPACK Charger to date and a muscle car that tops the field on specific horsepower.