Rumor: Another Manufacturer Ready to Join NASCAR

Rumors of Dodge’s return to Cup have been growing throughout the NASCAR world after the announcement that three-time Cup Champion and current Cup owner, Tony Stewart would field two NHRA entries with Dodge/Mopar factory support.

In November, NASCAR President Steve Phelps held a “State of the Sport” address to inform the public about the direction NASCAR is heading towards going into the 2022 season. Taking questions, Phelps was asked about recent rumors about Dodge and other manufacturers entering the sport. “Our three existing OEMs are happy about that,” Phelps said. “Our race teams are happy about that. We’re happy about that. It’s been widely rumored that Dodge is one of those or closest. I won’t confirm or deny that. It is important. We’ve made no bones about the fact that we want to have a new OEM in our sport. I think we got delayed with the pandemic.”

But in recent days, as reported by EssentiallySports.com, NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, Steve O’Donnell, suggested a fourth manufacturer may be announced very soon.

“We are in daily dialogue with one (OEM) in particular that’s close to the finish line, depending on who you ask,” O’Donnell said. “It’ll be terrific for the sport if we can get that. But I think ideally if we could ever get to five, that’d be awesome.” Mopar Insiders