Kaulig Racing, which has competed admirably during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, may bring back the exact same driver lineup for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. Team President Chris Rice explained in a Thursday interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s The Morning Drive that the team is nearing an extension with Ty Dillon, the driver of the organization’s No. 10 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Yeah, so, we’re still in negotiations. I think by Friday, we will 100% know. We’re real close to having Ty’s deal done again for [20]26,” Rice explained. “We feel like he’s done a good job. He’s had some ups and downs, yes, but he hasn’t done what everybody thought he was going to do — run around last and be way off the pace. He’s actually been in contention in some races.”
When Kaulig Racing announced the acquisition of Dillon for its NASCAR Cup Series program heading into the season, the move was met with a lot of criticism. However, Dillon has had stretches of the season where he has put in impressive performances, and the driver even advanced into the championship round of NASCAR’s first-ever In-Season Tournament, where he lost in a head-to-head battle with Ty Gibbs.
Rice feels that if Kaulig Racing can get the deal done with Dillon for the 2026 season that it will only further strengthen the team’s blossoming NASCAR Cup Series program and it will improve Dillon’s on-track performance by having a full season at Kaulig Racing under his belt.
“Ty has done a really good job for us, and the thing that makes us better is — we are better as an organization on the Cup side. We run faster, we’ve had speed,” Rice said. “You know, to get into the Playoffs is really tough. You guys, sitting here talking about Kyle Busch not making the Playoffs, you’re talking about the [RFK] cars not making the Playoffs, the 48 is on the cutline. And for AJ to be in the conversation, we made some pretty bad errors throughout the year. We’ve had some engine failures, we’ve wrecked a couple of times, and everyone can say that, but for us to be in the conversation, I think Ty has been part of that. I think he’s pushed us to be better in certain areas, and I think we’ll make him better. If he gets one more year in the car, he’ll be even better.”
Additionally, Rice confirmed that AJ Allmendinger will return to the team for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as Allmendinger has a long-term contract in place with the organization.
While it looks like the Kaulig Racing NASCAR Cup Series program is just about set as far as its 2026 plans are concerned, speculation continues to swirl about the organization’s future in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well as its potential to form a relationship with Ram in a move to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next season.
Rice has seen and heard all of the rumors involving his race team, and he says if people are talking about Kaulig Racing, that is a good thing.
“Dale Earnhardt said it the best, the late Dale Earnhardt, if they’re talking about you, good or bad, they’re talking about you. That means they’re worried about you,” Rice stated.
As far as the rumor about Kaulig developing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team with Ram Trucks, Rice says that his team has had conversations with the OEM, which will return to NASCAR in 2026, but he says the list of who has talked to Ram is likely longer than the list of teams that haven’t.
“I’ll tell you this, I said it last week, I think everybody in the garage has talked to Ram,” Rice said. “I think everybody has had a conversation with those guys. You know, and Truck Racing, I’ve seen a lot of it here lately. Yes, I’ve absolutely went over there and checked it out. Matt Kaulig went and checked it out, but we went as a race fan, actually. We thought it was cool to go to IRP. He had never been there. I took him to a dirt race, I even said that.”
While they’ve had exploratory conversations with Ram, Rice says there has been no definitive decision made at Kaulig Racing in regard to expansion into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage for next season just yet.
“You know, you asked about the Truck deal, I think it’s still up in the air,” Rice stated. “I think there [are] a couple of teams that'[re] in the mix. But I can promise you one thing: if we get it, I will guarantee I’ll be able to tell you guys, and we’ll be smiling about it. How about that?”
While the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program remains a possibility, Rice shut down the rumor of Kaulig Racing shuttering its NASCAR Xfinity Series program at the end of the season. Rice did, however, explain that the team could shrink its involvement in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next year.
“We are not getting rid of our Xfinity Series [team], I said that last week. I’m going to say it again. Our Xfinity Series [team] is solid. That’s where we came through,” Rice emphasized. “Will we be two cars? Probably. Will we be three cars? Most likely not. You know, we will probably downscale back to two cars. We have to have that sponsorship to help us get through the Xfinity Series. Xfinity Series is expensive, guys. Super expensive.”
It’ll be interesting to see how many race cars — or trucks — Kaulig Racing fields next season and how many series the team is involved in.
