Kaulig Racing is set to announce its fourth full-time driver for the truck series, but it will take its time unveiling the driver.
An eight-episode series “Race For The Seat” featuring 15 drivers getting behind the wheel of cars trying to earn the full-time ride — while also all living in a house together with no cell phone or computer access — will start airing Jan. 25, with the first episode at noon ET on FOX.
The remainder of the series will air on Ram’s YouTube channel and on FS1. It was produced by Dana White’s Thrill Sports Productions and features Jacob Lofland (of the popular series “Landman”) as the host.
The series follows the drivers as they compete in late models — they couldn’t compete in trucks because of NASCAR’s testing rules — at tracks such as South Boston Speedway and Virginia International Raceway. The competition and filming took place in November.
“What I was looking for is an engagement that reaches beyond the actual sport itself, the story of changing somebody’s life — to me everybody loves a story like that,” Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis told me. “That’s what makes it interesting to me.”
The show was a heavy lift for Kaulig in securing track time and working on having cars prepared — with little to gain as far as knowledge for an actual truck race. It was all about putting drivers under pressure and finding the one that they hope they can turn into a star.
“It’s not like we did the show, and we learned some great secret for to make the truck faster in Daytona,” Kuniskis said. “If anything, it probably was a distraction for those guys, but they were all about it.”
The drivers came from various short-track grassroots series as Ram looked for a way to find an up-and-coming driver to go along with the Kaulig full-time lineup of Brenden Queen, Daniel Dye and Justin Haley. The winning driver from the show should be eligible for the entire truck season despite likely not having much NASCAR experience.
The 15 drivers who will compete for a full-time spot in the truck series with Kaulig Racing.
The fifth Kaulig driver will rotate throughout the year with a mix of drivers with vast racing experience and possibly more drivers trying to make a name for themselves.
“I like to throw as much as you can at something,” Kuniskis said. “And I think the combination of the TV show, the free agent new driver every single weekend, and then the ecosystem of [White’s] TKO pulling that every one collectively, it provides us a pleasant tailwind going into Daytona, no matter how we carry out.
“You’re going to need to inform the story even when we do not have essentially the most profitable day on the observe.”
The involvement of White within the Kaulig program shouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a shock as White sported Kaulig Racing gear at a latest UFC struggle weigh-in.
“This actuality present is all about discovering up-and-coming drivers and giving them an enormous platform,” White mentioned in a information launch. “The perfect at all times rise to the highest in this kind of competitors.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports activities. He has spent a long time overlaying motorsports, together with over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seashore) Information-Journal. Comply with him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
