Dodge Returns to NASCAR Cup Series in 2027 with Daytona 500 Debut

Dodge is returning to NASCAR Cup Series competition and doing it big, with an all-new racecar set to debut at the Daytona 500 in February of 2027, ending a 15-year absence from the top stock-car series. Tim Kuniskis, Stellantis head of American brands, announced the plan right after the preview of the Jeep Wrangler Scramber concept, on the eve of the 2026 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.

“We’re going do it the way racers do it. We’re doing to all that research and development and testing and tuning. But we’re going to do it on track. We’re going back. Dodge is going back to NASCAR, and it’s not Daytona 2030, it’s Daytona 2027, in 3 months. Dodge is back in Cup, right now,” said Kuniskis.

Dodge’s last Cup season was 2012, when Brad Keselowski won the driver championship in a Dodge Charger for Penske Racing. The brand recorded its first Cup victory in 1953. Dodge has not identified the model or technical configuration it will use for its 2027 entry.

Kaulig Racing will serve as Dodge’s anchor team for the effort. The team, which also fields Ram entries in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series, will announce its driver lineup for 2027 during NASCAR Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dodge SRT Racing will oversee the brand’s North American motorsports programs, including its NASCAR effort.

Before the 2027 Cup season officially opens, the new racecar will make its debut at the Dodge Sno-Brawl at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida on December 4, the day before the 59th annual Snowball Derby. First held in 1968. The Snowball Derby is a 300-lap Super Late Model race and one of short-track racing’s longest-running events. It regularly draws top short-track competitors and NASCAR drivers.

At the Sno-Brawl, Dodge will reveal the car that will carry its livery in NASCAR Cup competition. Celebrity drivers will also compete head-to-head in identically prepared Dodge Charger late-model stock cars, in a separate event from the Snowball Derby’s main race.

While Kuniskis announced the Daytona 500 racing debut, he did not disclose how many Cup cars Kaulig Racing will field or whether other teams will participate. Qualifying for the 69th Daytona 500 is on February 17, 2027 and the 200-lap, 500-mile race starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on February 21, 2027, at the Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida.