Kaulig Racing and Ram Trucks revealed the details of their “Race for the Seat” competition on Jan. 9. The competition will determine who drives the team’s fifth and final seat in the 2026 Craftsman Truck Series.
It will have a reality show format with the tagline, “15 Drivers. 10 Challenges. 1 Seat.” The first episode will premiere on FOX on Jan. 25, with the remaining 7 episodes airing on Ram’s YouTube channel.
The winner will join Kaulig Racing as the fifth full-time entry for the 2026 Craftsman Truck Series season and drive the No. 14.
Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis explained the reasoning behind the “Race for the Seat” program.
“We said, the key to that is these fans love the teams, and they love the drivers, these larger-than-life personalities is who they’re attracted to. You know, they can’t get in and drive the car, but they can live vicariously through these people. So we said, how do we expand that past these three drivers, and that’s where the idea of the free agent car came from.”
Team owner Matt Kaulig shared his enthusiasm in a press release, saying, “It’s a new idea, and exactly the kind of energy we want heading into 2026.”
Drivers competing for a spot with Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race for the Seat:
Austin Beers
Mike Christopher, Jr.
Mini Tyrrell
Cody Kelley
Casey Kelley
Carson Ferguson
Kade Brown
Ryan Gemmell
Chase Burrow
Jonathan Cash
Tanner Reif
Landon Huffman
Grant Griesbach
Jared Fryar
Trevor Ward
Kaulig Racing’s full-time lineup also includes Brendan “Butterbean” Queen (No. 12), Daniel Dye (No. 10), and Justin Haley (No. 16). The fourth entry (No. 25) will feature rotating drivers from Ram’s Free Agent Drivers Program.
You can catch all the action in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and the NASCAR Racing Network, with radio coverage provided by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
