\u201cI know Ram doesn\u2019t do anything small, as you can see by the dealerships and everything else, and I know at Kaulig Racing, we don\u2019t do anything small,\u201d Matt Kaulig said at Saturday\u2019s presentation, where a No. 10 Ram truck with Kaulig branding was unveiled. \u201cSo when we\u2019re going into the truck series, we\u2019re not going to kind of silently come in or just kind of tiptoe our way in. We\u2019re doing it big.\u201d<\/p>\n
And \u201cbig\u201d might actually be underselling it. Kaulig Racing didn\u2019t just dip a toe in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series waters. Instead, they cannonballed straight into the deep end with a bold five-truck lineup backed by Ram. For a team that\u2019s already made noise in Cup and Xfinity, this latest move turned every head in the garage. But behind the flash, insiders say there\u2019s a deeper truth shaping this shocking partnership.<\/p>\n
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Kaulig\u2019s big play in NASCAR<\/p>\n
Kaulig Racing\u2019s quiet ambition just got a megaphone. \u201cWe just got an opportunity to present ourselves, and they liked what they heard and liked what they saw,\u201d Ty Norris Jr., Chief Business Officer, Kaulig Racing, told SiriusXM, summing up how Kaulig landed Ram as a partner. That pitch turned into one of the boldest manufacturer tie-ins in recent memory. Kaulig will field up to five Ram trucks in the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as the anchor team for Ram\u2019s return.<\/p>\n
Kaulig\u2019s ascent isn\u2019t accidental. The team grew from a single Xfinity upstart to a two-car Cup operation in a few short years, and it has a history of leaning into big, splashy projects rather than small pilots. But now, Ram\u2019s commitment changes the math. Officials confirmed the brand is treating this as a factory-backed effort.<\/p>\n
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Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis described the move as aligning with the brand\u2019s \u201cLast Tenth\u201d culture. This means that Kaulig will receive deeper OEM support than a typical single-truck privateer deal. Team president Chris Rice said operations will stay in Welcome, N.C., but that Kaulig<\/a> is scouting nearby properties to expand shop space and logistics as the program scales.<\/p>\n View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n And while the headline is factory money and five trucks, Kaulig is clear that the program won\u2019t be a closed, monolithic operation. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely gonna be having third-party partners on the truck,\u201d Norris said, confirming the team will integrate outside sponsors and co-branding alongside Ram\u2019s core identity. That hybrid model (factory muscle plus commercial partners) lets Kaulig keep seat opportunities open and bring established partners into the fold while Ram underwrites the heavy lift.<\/p>\n For Kaulig, the deal buys stability and scale. For Ram, it\u2019s a loud reentry into NASCAR<\/a> after more than a decade away. And for drivers, engineers, and suppliers, the message is simple. Kaulig\u2019s \u201cgoing big\u201d just became very real. And the garage should be paying attention.<\/p>\n Insider skepticism grows<\/p>\n Known for building methodically, Kaulig Racing has made a rapid jump into fielding ten full-time entries across three divisions. That\u2019s Xfinity, Cup, and now Trucks, a move unprecedented in modern NASCAR. For some, the question isn\u2019t ambition; it\u2019s capacity. \u201cI think it\u2019s great that they wanna make a big investment, a big splash\u2026 but I\u2019m also sort of skeptical,\u201d cautioned insider Jeff Gluck. \u201cFive is a big reach,\u201d he admitted, capturing the garage\u2019s collective wariness about juggling this level of expansion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Insider Freddie Kraft doubled down on the complexity: it\u2019s not just hiring bodies. It\u2019s about integrating cultures, staff, strategy, and brand alignment, especially when Ram-branded Trucks enter a realm where Kaulig also operates Chevrolet-backed Xfinity and Cup programs. Duplicating chassis, parts, and engines while keeping seamless operation across manufacturers introduces a distinctive logistical beast to tame.<\/p>\n Similarly, Tommy Baldwin expressed his opinions regarding the challenges the team will face, especially in the initial phase. \u201cIt\u2019s all about people\u2026 you don\u2019t hire a bunch of people and it works right away. You have to mix people up, change things, hire, get rid of people. There\u2019s gonna be a lot happening over the next five, six months just trying to find the synergy.\u201d<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Despite these doubts, the opportunity is immense. And Ram\u2019s commitment offers rare stability, a counterbalance to many seasonally backed Truck teams. Long-term partners and third-party sponsors are already lined up, signaling broader commercial interest beyond the factory deal.<\/p>\n Whether Kaulig can navigate the operational challenges or succumb to stretched resources remains the key question. In an increasingly competitive NASCAR landscape, even the boldest gambles can falter without flawless execution. And the 2026 Truck Series rollout may well be Kaulig\u2019s most defining test yet. What do you think? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI know Ram doesn\u2019t do anything small, as you can see by the dealerships and everything else, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[425,99],"class_list":["post-113227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}