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Report: NASCAR 'very close' to deal with new manufacturer amid Ram return

Nick Profile Picby: Nick Geddes06/08/25NickGeddesNews
NASCAR
Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NASCAR is “very close” to striking a deal with a new manufacturer to join the stock car racing series, NASCAR EVP, chief racing development officer John Probst told Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. Probst’s comments come as Ram, the Stellantis truck brand, announced Sunday it is re-joining the Truck Series in 2026.

Honda has been heavily rumored to be interested in joining NASCAR. Its arrival would make it the fifth OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to come aboard. With Ram back, it marks the first OEM announcement since Toyota joined the sport in 2004. The time gap between Toyota’s arrival and Ram’s re-joining was 21 years. Probst is hopeful the next announcement will come much sooner.

“Well, I hope it does because I’ll probably be retired if it’s 20 years again. But I feel like — we have said this 900 times to you guys and until today I didn’t have any breakthrough news to announce and today we’re proud to welcome Ram back into NASCAR,” Probst said. “I don’t want to jinx ourselves. But I would say we are very close with one other; can’t speak for them. Obviously, it’s their decision to make — [but] we would love for them to decide to come into NASCAR. And even with that, there’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions [with] but also looking pretty positive.

“But we also know an OEM deciding to come into NASCAR — it’s a big commitment for them, and it’s not something they take lightly. It requires a lot of research and approvals at the highest levels, and we’re confident right now, we like the position we’re in and think we’re a pretty good investment for an OEM.”

Honda manager comments on possibility of joining NASCAR

Honda would appear to be the favorite. However, Chuck Schifsky, manager of Honda and Acura Motorsports for American Honda Motor Co., has “no news to share at this time.”

“I am not in a position to speculate as to what Mr. Probst was referring to,” he told SBJ. “I can say that — Honda continues to explore multiple options for our future endeavors in U. S. motorsport. We have no news to share at this time.”