NASCAR President Steve Phelps continues to share the belief that the Cup Series will expand with another OEM. In fact, he says he is bullish on the idea.
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Phelps provided the comments during a Race Industry Week conversation with co-host Brad Gillie. He addressed a variety of topics surrounding all three national NASCAR series, but one of the biggest was the possibility of another company joining Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota on the starting grid.
"We are very active in looking at new OEMs that will come to the sport, or we're hopeful will come to the sport," Phelps said. "(There are) varying degrees of conversations that are happening, some more advanced than others, but I'm bullish.
"I think we'll find a new (OEM) that will come race with us in — I'll call short to mid-term."
NASCAR's top series has only featured three OEMs since 2013. The 2012 season was Dodge's final run in the NASCAR Cup Series. Brad Keselowski won the driver's championship in a Dodge to close out the brand's tenure. Team Penske then switched to Ford for 2013 and beyond.
Toyota, Chevrolet, and Ford have led the way in the years since Dodge left the Cup Series. All three have won multiple championships in this stretch while questions have circulated about Dodge's return or another OEM joining the fold. Honda has been a popular name mentioned in the last decade.
Race Industry Week is not the first time that Phelps has addressed the possibility of a new OEM joining the fold. He has addressed this topic several times over the past few years. One recent example is his annual State of the Sport address from Phoenix Raceway.
"What I would say is that we're in different phases depending on the OE," Phelps said on Nov. 8. "So right now, we're in discussion with several OEs about coming in. I won't get into exactly where those are and who they are, but we have an OE that is close.
"And the OE has buy-off from those that are in the racing portion of that. So it really just comes down to the business portion, and can we strike a deal that is advantageous for them and for us? Are we the right fit for their brand? Are we not? I'm cautiously optimistic."
