Kaulig Racing’s Boss Breaks Silence on Uncertainty over Ty Dillon’s NASCAR Future

Kaulig Racing President Chris Rice finally spoke up on Ty Dillon's future in NASCAR after the 2025 season.

Kaulig Racing’s Boss Breaks Silence on Uncertainty over Ty Dillon’s NASCAR Future

Ty Dillon (via Getty images)

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Ty Dillon is having a rollercoaster of a campaign in the Cup Series this year. The Kaulig Racing star might be in the bottom half of the standings, but he has delivered some standout performances. Now, Kaulig Racing President Chris Rice has finally given clarity over the 33-year-old’s future at the team.

Dillon is yet to renew his contract with Kaulig Racing beyond this season. The No. 10 driver sits in the 32nd spot out of the 36 full-time entries in terms of points. But this only paints one side of the picture. Ty Dillon has shown glimpses of brilliance this season, even knocking out Denny Hamlin in the in-season tournament. He went to the final round of the million-dollar knockout competition, ultimately losing to Ty Gibbs.

Chris Rice revealed that his team was holding negotiations with Ty Dillon for a 2026 contract. Within a couple of days, there would be clarity within Kaulig Racing over the No. 10 car, though it’s unclear if the team would announce it in the public right away.

We’re still in negotiations. I think by Friday we’ll 100% know. We’re real close to having Ty’s deal done again for 2026.

Chris Rice told SiriusXM.

Rice applauded Dillon as a fine driver who has managed to exceed expectations despite having a few downturns in fortune over the course of the year. The Kaulig Racing chief claimed that critics had expected the 33-year-old to only struggle at the back of the field. However, Ty Dillon has actually even been in contention to win races.

We feel like he’s done a good job. He’s had some ups and downs, yes, but he hasn’t done what everyone thought he was gonna do — run around last and be way off the pace. He’s actually been in contention at some races.

Chris Rice added.

Ty Dillon’s massive impact Kaulig Racing

Ty Dillon joined Kaulig Racing as a full-time driver this year. Since then, he has had multiple Top 20 finishes and even a Top 10. This has helped boost the motivation at Kaulig Racing as the No. 10 driver has managed to showcase his talent on-track.

21. Ty Dillon
Ty Dillon

Chris Rice claimed that Kaulig Racing had improved as a team in the Cup Series. Its cars now have the pace to even trouble the frontrunners. Rice pointed out that the team has even been in the conversation to be in the Playoffs because of Ty Dillon’s on-track performances.

The team chief reckoned that Dillon had pushed Kaulig Racing to improve. This goes both sides as Rice expects Dillon to become an even better driver if he continues next season.

Ty has done a really good job for us. The thing that makes us better is we are better as an organization on the Cup side. We run faster; we’ve had speed. To get in the playoffs is really tough. … For us to be in the conversation, I think Ty is part of that. He’s pushed us to be better in certain areas. I think we’ll make him better if he gets one more year in the car.

Chris Rice explained

Certainly, Ty Dillon has a lot of potential left in NASCAR. At 33, there are still many years left in the Chevrolet driver. Kaulig Racing seems like an ideal garage for Dillon. However, the team is not Penske or Hendrick. Kaulig can work as an intermediate place for Dillon before he can get a seat at a top team in the near future.

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