Honda chief responds to bold NASCAR claim about | Sports News

NASCAR’s grid is set to diversify within the coming years, with Ram having just lately been confirmed as a returning Original Equipment Manufacturer beginning in 2026.

The sport is having fun with a host of comebacks, with an deserted monitor being revived by a former Cup Series driver and one other simply being put up for sale after a profitable return to the game. Big-name producers are additionally returning and more might comply with swimsuit. 

Ram would be the fourth OEM on the Craftsman Truck Series grid, alongside Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford, turning into the primary newcomer to the combination since Toyota in 2004. However, a fifth producer might quickly be becoming a member of the combination for the primary time in its historical past. A deal is alleged to be “very close” in accordance to NASCAR Executive Vice President, John Probst, by way of Sports Business Journal.

Probst added that whereas he didn’t “want to jinx” something, he felt they have been “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 with hypothesis Honda might be the producer in query, the company issued a direct response to NASCAR’s claims. 

Chuck Schifsky, supervisor of Honda and Acura Motorsports for American Honda Motor Co., informed SBJ: “I am not in a position to speculate as to what Mr. Probst was referring to. 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.”

What’s more, Honda will not be the one producer becoming a member of he sequence within the not too distant future, with Probst teasing up to two more probably on the desk.

“There’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions [with] but also looking pretty positive,” he stated. “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.”

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Should Honda make the transfer to NASCAR, one crew that could also be trying to be part of forces with the Japanese producer early might be RFK Racing. This comes after it was claimed in February by Essentially Sports, that the crew part-owned by Brad Keselowski might be trying to emerge from “the shadow” solid by Team Penske and Ford.

As for Ram, its plans are to discipline a minimal of 4 vehicles when the 2026 season kicks off at Daytona, though to obtain this, they’ll need to discover at the least one more crew to accomplice with. Furthermore, it seems that whereas Ram and Dodge are actually their own manufacturers, it seems that a return for the latter within the Cup Series may be within the works sooner or later.

“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now,” Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis stated, as per NASCAR. “So, how am I going to get to Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to Truck. So, however we get to Truck is going to obviously weigh heavily on ‘do I have a path to Cup?’ Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to Truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”