NASCAR Rumor: Both Hyundai and Honda eye Cup Series, Dodge Eyes Trucks (3rd Update)

Another sign pointing towards Dodge returning to the NASCAR Truck Series has been found in the promotional packet local dealers are issuing to partners and employees.

For example, Wisconsin Dodge dealer Jerry Brickner is under the impression Dodge is indeed returning to the Craftsman Truck Series after attending a virtual ‘go to market’ meeting with corporate this week. In an email shared and screen shot by someone in the loop and passed onto Sportsnaut, Dodge dealers are anticipating a RAM activation to include its participation in the division next season.

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Dodge would then target a return to the Cup Series by 2028 with NASCAR working through several options to incorporate various engine platforms under a BOP style regulation system. (Update: This would be done through torque sensors, which have since been added to the 2025 rule book for test sessions in advance of this possible solution to incorporating various power plant types.). More at  Sportsnaut

The latest scuttlebutt says that Honda will exit IndyCar after the 2026 season and enter NASCAR in a big way, presumably starting in 2027.

Wasted money to design and build  purebred 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engines and support 16-18 entries each year for the Indy 500 got nixed in the 11th hour because Roger Penske’s Chevy Engines (he owns Ilmor) were not ready really irked Honda.

The continued absence of a new initiative to reduce the eight-figure yearly costs is a concern.  And a third engine manufacturer never materialized. Meanwhile the IndyCar grid has expanded putting more pressure on Honda to supply engines

In April 2024, Team Penske Chevy drivers Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were heavily penalized for illegally using the push-to-pass system. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) President David Salters was not happy. He said at the time, “Having that in the background is not helpful, is it?”

NASCAR President Steve Phelps said there’s legitimate reason for optimism in adding a fourth carmaker to the sport.

“We are having robust discussions with a number of [original equipment] partners that someday, if I had to guess and were a betting man, something is going to hit. I just don’t know with whom or the timing of that,” Phelps said. “I know that’s an answer I’ve given repeatedly over the last five years, but they’re facts. There’s no BS in the comment I just made.”

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Asked what’s been the toughest part in closing the deal with a fourth, Phelps said it’s been multifaceted, but pointed out that some carmakers don’t make V-8 engines, which NASCAR uses, and that the investment is massive. Entering NASCAR would likely require a nine-figure commitment, industry executives have estimated.  Sports Business Journal

According to Toyota Executive Ed Laukes, both Honda and Hyundai are eyeing a possible entry into the NASCAR Cup Series if Hybrid engines are adopted.

Hybrids are in favor with consumers

Sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles made up 18.9% of all new light-duty vehicle sales in the U.S. last year, according to S&P Global Mobility, up from 12.3% in 2022 and 8.5% in 2021. A total of 1.6 million EVs were sold in the U.S. in April, which was down 25% compared to April 2023.

Signs of trouble with the EV sales are not hard to find. Most consumers feel they are too costly, too heavy, and their range is an issue.  And with reports they pollute the environment more that ICE powered cars, consumers begin to question their viability.

Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR, has a unique point of view because he’s in racing and one of the largest car dealers in America. He told the Robb Report publication that his dealerships in Northern California have a waiting list for Lexus hybrid cars but have to “put big discounts” on Lexus EV cars.

“The customer is going to dictate what you build,” Hendrick told the publication. “I’ve been in the automobile business for almost 50 years, and you can’t force customers to buy what they don’t want. We were too aggressive with the EV market.”

Ed Laukes, a former senior executive of Toyota Motor North America, told Adam Stern of SBJ, the rise in hybrids presents an opportunity for NASCAR to move away from its outdated engine technology and get its product back to being more relevant to carmakers. NASCAR uses an eight-cylinder gas engine that is not compatible with those used in the new cars that Americans drive, limiting the marketing potential of current manufacturers in the sport and making it more difficult to bring in additional ones, analysts say.

“Relevance to the industry has always been at the forefront for all the [carmakers in racing],” said Laukes, who consults for Joe Gibbs Racing. If NASCAR allowed the carmakers to soup up one of their road car engines into a NASCAR engine, “now you have relevance and you bring your cost way down because you’re already working on that type of driveline,” he added.

Prospective car companies have told NASCAR they will join only if NASCAR can offer a compelling narrative for consumers with hybrid cars or sustainable fuels, according to a person familiar with the matter per Adam Stern of SBJ.

Car companies play outsized roles in racing relative to other sponsors. For example, Toyota was the biggest national TV advertiser during NASCAR races in 2023 at $3.8 million, according to iSpot.tv. NASCAR has been in discussions with Honda to persuade the Japanese giant to become its fourth manufacturer, joining Chevrolet, Toyota and Ford, and Laukes mentioned Hyundai as another brand that could see NASCAR as a viable marketing platform.