RAM’s return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026 with Kaulig Racing was understandably met with plenty of hype.
A new manufacturer in NASCAR? Great! A new organization in the Truck Series with five full-time trucks? Even better! A competent driver lineup comprised of guys at different points in their careers? Excellent, there are plenty of stories to be had there.
The problem is that the manufacturer’s re-emergence into the sport has been all sizzle and no success.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Daniel Dye is no longer with the team after making inappropriate comments on a livestream. Dye competed in only three races before he was suspended by both Kaulig and NASCAR. Dye was later reinstated by NASCAR but released by Kaulig, leading to Corey LaJoie taking over the No. 10.
LaJoie, a veteran driver with plenty of Cup experience, has finishes of 21st, seventh and 34th since taking over for Dye. Despite the obvious extenuating circumstances and tight turnaround for LaJoie, it’s disappointing that he has yet to run inside the top five given his 2025 Truck Series success. LaJoie had seven top 10s and three top fives in nine Truck Series races a season ago.
That pair of numbers regarding LaJoie’s success might be the most telling sign that RAM is yet to literally get up to speed.
There is some good news if you’re someone like me who prefers to look at the glass as half-full: Justin Haley currently resides inside the provisional 10-driver Chase field. Haley is 10th in the standings, four points above Stewart Friesen for the final postseason berth.
Rookie and 2025 ARCA champ Brenden Queen isn’t far behind in 14th, just 24 points out of The Chase. In year one, there is a real possibility that one (or maybe two) RAM/Kaulig driver will make The Chase, or at the very least, be in contention and on the bubble when the regular season ends.
The bad news? Neither Haley nor Queen have been particularly exciting to watch.
Queen, to his credit, has seemed to adjust somewhat quickly to Truck Series racing. He has finishes of seventh at Daytona and 10th at Bristol, and he’s stayed out of trouble so far.
But there hasn’t been much else to cheer about for the No. 12 team. Queen, like LaJoie and Mini Tyrrell, has yet to lead a lap this season. Aside from Daytona and Bristol, he hasn’t finished inside the top 15, with finishes of 16th, 24th, 20th and 27th in the other four races.
Haley is in a similar boat. He led 20 laps in the season opener at Daytona and finished 10th at Atlanta, but doesn’t have another top 10 through six races. The No. 16 team, while consistently running inside the top 15, isn’t more than a top 15 team at the moment.
And then there’s Tyrrell, who is, in all fairness, in his first year of big league NASCAR racing. It can’t be overstated how difficult it is to race at any level of NASCAR, especially with Tyrrell’s relative lack of experience on a national stage.
However, Tyrrell’s numbers have still been uninspiring. He has three 19th-place finishes and three others of 25th or worse. He hasn’t spent a single lap out front. He’s also 21st in the Truck Series points standings; only Frankie Muniz is lower of the 21 full-time drivers in the series.
The No. 25 “All-Star” truck hasn’t been great either. It sits 25th in the Truck Series owner standings, with Carson Ferguson driving it to a 21st-place finish at Bristol on April 10.
Is it necessarily surprising that RAM and Kaulig aren’t lighting the world on fire? No. They weren’t expected to, at least not by any sane individual.
But it is surprising that with a solid driver lineup and a seasoned NASCAR organization in Kaulig behind them that RAM’s trucks have yet to show any amount of race-winning speed. There has yet to be a race weekend where a RAM has captured the attention of the garage.
That may not change at Texas on May 1. It may not change by the time The Chase rolls around in the fall. But if that’s still the case by the end of the 2026 season, it’ll be time for Kaulig and RAM to do some soul/speed-searching in an effort to turn things around for the better.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.
I can’t find it within myself to be bothered about a car company based in the Netherlands (Stellantis), who uses stereotyped tropes about American pride to sell their overpriced trucks, and employs a confirmed wife beater (Dana White) as a spokesperson, not having much speed.
I’d dislike the ads either way, but coming from an import company, it’s just blatant pandering. Mercedes Benz has an American factory…imagine if they tried to market themselves as a patriotic American brand. Torches and pitchforks would be out, despite this being no different than what Stellantis is doing. Oh, and most HD Ram trucks are not made in the US.
I know some Frontstretch commenters are prone to hyperbole, so by all means look up any fact above for confirmation.
If RAM figures it out, fine. If they don’t figure it out, fine. I don’t really care either way.
Yeah, I keep politics out of my sports/entertainment choices, but I draw the line on certified wife beaters. Kareem Hunt in the NFL is one. I’m not throwing Ram out over the slimy Dana White.
I hope Kaulig figures it out, I give them 2 years to find a footing,