RAM has made an enormous announcement forward of its return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection within the 2026 season. The brand new OEM introduced the format for selecting their fourth driver on the grid.
The truck producer joined arms with the NASCAR staff Kaulig Racing in August 2025, making them the primary staff with two totally different OEMs below the identical governing physique. The staff will discipline 5 vans within the Truck Collection in 2026 and has opted for a brand new approach to choose its fourth driver.
The truck producer introduced a particular truck, the #25 RAM 1500, that includes free brokers. The brand new entry will discipline drivers from totally different racing backgrounds all through the season. Every race will characteristic a brand new face, and the title will probably be revealed each Monday forward of the race. Reflecting on that, staff proprietor Matt Kaulig acknowledged:
“The Free Agent seat provides us the flexibleness to usher in expertise whereas protecting followers on their toes. Every driver will carry one thing distinctive to the staff. It’s a brand new thought, and precisely the form of vitality we would like heading into 2026.”
RAM has introduced three out of the 5 drivers for the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection. The record contains Brenden Queen, Daniel Dye, and Justin Haley. In the meantime, the fourth driver will probably be introduced on Monday forward of the race, and the fifth driver has but to be chosen.
“You usher in some grassroots younger man that wants that chance”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. on RAM serving as a direct pipeline for the NASCAR Cup Collection
In August 2025, former Cup Collection driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. defined how RAM will work as a “direct pipeline” for the staff within the Cup Collection. The OEM made the announcement public on the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM dealership in Florida, owned by Daniel Dye’s father.
Following the producer’s return to the Truck Collection, Dale Jr. acknowledged that the OEM ought to search for younger abilities or NASCAR veterans nonetheless seeking to compete. He additional defined how it will result in the truck maker’s Cup Collection debut:
“You usher in some grassroots younger man that wants that chance, that everyone can be enthusiastic about. This has completely obtained a direct path to the Cup Collection. All these different packages, there is a path to cup, but it surely ain’t direct. Dodge goes to be a Cup staff within the subsequent yr or two.” [00:30 onwards]
“Should you leap in one among their 5 vans and also you go on the market and win races, you may have supplanted your self as their future. I’d be knocking the door down over a colleague making an attempt to get to Chris Rice to see what alternative can be there for me if I used to be a younger driver on the lookout for an opportunity,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.
The truck model started its journey within the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection many years in the past, in 1995, as one of many founding producers. The OEM additionally clinched the championship title with Bobby Hamilton in 2004 earlier than formally closing the store in 2013.
Edited by Karan Yadav
