Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

Kaulig Racing pausing Xfinity Series program to focus on Cup, Truck programs

Meby: Nick Geddes10/29/25NickGeddesNews
Kaulig
Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice confirmed Wednesday that the organization is pausing its NASCAR Xfinity Series program. Rice said they will have to put all of the focus on its Cup and Truck Series programs in 2026.

“We have made a choice that we need to focus really hard on our Truck program and our Cup program to push it forward,” Rice said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “So, you guys will see us back in Xfinity Series in the coming years, but we got to pause it for a little bit. And we got to sit back and push ourselves to build five wonderful trucks for Ram and also keep our Cup program where it’s at.

“It’s been some emotions for me over the last month as we made this decision. It’s not like we want to, we really don’t have a choice, honestly. We gotta make sure that the Ram trucks are where they need to be. Those guys have taken a huge chance on us, and we gotta show them we’re behind them to build this pretty big.”

Kaulig, which currently fields three Xfinity and two Cup cars, is making its Truck debut next season, anchoring Ram’s return to NASCAR. Kaulig intends to run five full-time trucks with Ram. ARCA Menards Series champion Brenden “Butterbean” Queen was announced earlier this month as one of the team’s drivers.

Rice admitted the decision to pause its Xfinity program was emotional for him and the organization. They debuted in the series full-time in 2016, winning 27 races in 10 seasons. AJ Allmendinger won a pair of regular season championships in 2021 and 2022.

Kaulig Racing making big moves ahead of 2026 NASCAR season

For now, the full focus will be on Cup and Truck. Rice said that they will return to Xfinity competition in the future.

“We got a lot of people as you’ve seen in that picture. I’m very thankful for everybody that has made that program — 27 wins, so many top 5s, but we gotta pause it until you see us come back, and I believe you know why I’m saying that,” Rice said. “I think that’s gonna be fun when we come back but right now, this week is pretty tough on me, I’m not gonna lie to you. That’s been our bread and butter, that’s been our place. I said it leading into this, we were not leaving the Xfinity Series, but we really guys and girls and everyone listening, we didn’t have a choice. We gotta build two sets of sim, and I know the listeners don’t understand what that is but man, that’s a big task for Cup and Xfinity.

“To do both of those, we just can’t do it. We gotta focus on our Ram trucks, and we gotta focus on our Cup program. That’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna show Ram that we’re here, and we’re gonna try to win a lot of races for those guys and make every Ram fan happy but also keep our Cup fans happy. I hope everybody understands that, and I hope that when we do come back, they have open arms and welcome us back as much as we love the Xfinity Series. We’re not quitting the Xfinity Series, we’re pausing. We will be back.”