NASCAR is “very close” to securing the entry of a fifth manufacturer following Sunday’s news that ꦆRam will join the T🥂ruck Series in 2026.

Over the Michigan race weekend, it was revealed that Stellantis bran𓆉d Ram will compete in the Truck Series, with theꦬ company CEO’s  Tim Kuniskis driving a Ram 1500 concept race truck to celebrate the announcement.

Ram’s arrival marks the end of a two-ꦆdecade drought for a new car brand int🐎o NASCAR, with Toyota being the last to join back in 2004.

Now, NASCAR is already working h🗹ard to get another OEM onboard, with EVP John Probst revealing that talks are in an advanced stage with another brand.

Asked if the wait for the fifth manufacturer won’t be as long as the 20-year-old wait for Ram, Probst told SBJ: “Well, I hope it does because﷽ I’ll probably be retired if it’s 20 years agaiꦿn/

“But I fee🐠l like -- we have said this 900 times to you guys and untꦕil today I didn’t have any breakthrough news to announce and today we’re proud to welcome Ram back into NASCAR.

“I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say we are very close with ꦫone other; can’t speak for them - obvioꦕusly it’s their decision to make - [but] we would love for them to decide to come into NASCAR.

“And even ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚwith 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 dec🍃iding to come into NASCAR -- it’s a big commitment for them, and it’s not something they take lightly.”

Probst acknowledged that bringing a ✃new manufacturer into the sport is a long and complex process: “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.”

Another Probst fell short of revealing the name of the said manufacturer, both Honda and Stellantis are widely rumoured to be evaluatin🌃g a foray into NASCAR.

Honda did not deny it was in talks with NAS🦄CAR when queried on 🐲this subject.

“I am not in a ജposition to speculate as to what Mr. Probst was referring to,” Chuck Schifsky, manager of Honda and Acura Motorsports, told SBJ.

“I can say that -- Honda continues to explore mul༒tiple options for our future endeavors in U. S. motorsport. We have no news to share at this time.”