Ram will return to NASCAR next year in the Truck Series, a comeback the Stellantis-owned brand believes is the first step toward launching a stock car program in the top Cup Series.

Ram, which left NASCAR after the 2012 season, will race in the third-tier Truck Series alongside rivals Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota. Ram becomes the first new manufacturer to enter NASCAR at the national level since 2007.

Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis made the NASCAR announcement Sunday before the Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Kuniskis has bold goals and ideas — he’s vowed to make 25 product announcements over 18 months — and he said Ram will enter its trucks aggressively with the intention to be disruptive.

“The way we’re going to do it is unlike anyone else,” Kuniskis said. “The reason that we’ve been out of NASCAR for 12 years is a very tough [return on investment]; it is a very tough business decision to make. But when we say we’re back, when we say nothing stops Ram, when we bring the Hemi [engine] back, when we bring some of the other stuff that we haven’t shown you, it makes perfect sense to be back in the space and back up.”

Kuniskis said Ram will tap into NASCAR’s estimated fan base of 20 million “and turn it into 80 or 100 million.”

“We have a plan. We know how we’re going to do it. We think we have a path to get to that. We think people are going to like the way we’re doing it because it’s going to be fun,” he said. “Not ready to share all the details with you yet, but I told you that the experiential piece was going to be just a little bit of how we’re doing it. It’s going to get crazier from there.”

Ram raced out of the starting gate by using the Cup race at Michigan, which is just 90 minutes away from automotive capital Detroit, to announce its return. Ram staged a demonstration of its truck on the frontstretch before the start of Sunday’s race.

Kuniskis anticipates having four to six trucks at Daytona for the opener next February.

John Probst, NASCAR senior vice president and chief racing development officer, indicated Ram may not be the first announcement of a new manufacturer, with talks continuing with other brands. NASCAR last welcomed a manufacturer into the Truck Series in 2004 with Toyota.

“We’re excited that they [Ram] have interest in the Cup Series,” Probst said of Stellantis. “I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say we are very close with one other [manufacturer]. Even with that, there’s one or two others that we’re a little bit earlier in the discussions.

“We all know that a [manufacturer] deciding to come into NASCAR, it’s a big commitment for them. It’s not something that they take lightly. It requires a lot of research and approval at the highest levels. We’re confident right now. We like the position we’re in and think that we’re a pretty good investment for a [manufacturer].”

Stellantis features 14 automotive brands, including Dodge and Chrysler. Dodge raced in NASCAR through the 2012 season and left the same month it celebrated the Cup title with Brad Keselowski and Penske Racing.

“We have cars in our company,” Kuniskis said.

PITTSBURGH — The scuffling Philadelphia Phillies suffered a blow Saturday when they placed first baseman Bryce Harper on the 10-day injured list because of right wrist inflammation before their game against the Pirates.

Harper sat out Friday night’s 5-4 loss to the Pirates, and the move is retroactive to Friday.

The two-time National League MVP and eight-time All-Star is hitting .258 with 9 home runs, 34 RBIs and 8 stolen bases in 57 games. He missed five games from May 26 to June 2 with a bruised right elbow after being hit by a pitch from Atlanta’s Spencer Strider.

The Phillies are expected to play third baseman Alec Bohm at first while Harper is out, with utility player Edmundo Sosa taking over at third.

The Phillies have lost seven of their last eight games, going from leading the NL East by two games to trailing the New York Mets by 2½ games entering Saturday. Philadelphia had won 11 of 12 games before the skid.

Infielder/outfielder Otto Kemp‘s contract was purchased from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 25-year-old, who has yet to play in the majors, was hitting .317 with 14 homers, 55 RBIs and 11 steals in 57 games at Triple-A.

Kemp was the International League Player of the Month in April.

The Phillies also recalled right-hander Daniel Robert from Lehigh Valley and optioned righty Alan Rangel. Rangel, 27, made his major league debut Friday night, allowing two runs in three innings of relief.

This will be Robert’s third stint of the season with the Phillies. The 30-year-old has given up one run in two-thirds of an inning over two games.

Boston Red Sox fans keep hoping top prospect Roman Anthony gets promoted to the majors.

What he did for Triple-A Worcester on Saturday night was the latest evidence of why.

Anthony, ESPN’s No. 1-rated prospect, smashed a 497-foot grand slam for the WooSox in a 10-4 victory over Rochester during an International League game in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The 21-year-old put the WooSox ahead 9-4 in the eighth inning when he drove a 91.1 mph sinker from Carlos Romero deep over the right-center-field wall, a drive that left his bat at 115.6 mph.

According to Statcast, that was the longest home run in affiliated baseball this season.

“Got it and didn’t really miss it,” Anthony said, according to the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester. “So, it felt great.”

Added WooSox manager Chad Tracy: “That ball was murdered.”

In the majors in 2025, only one home run has traveled over 475 feet — a 484-footer hit by Mike Trout against the San Francisco Giants on April 19.

And since Statcast started tracking in the major leagues in 2015, only Nomar Mazara (505 feet in 2019), Giancarlo Stanton (504 feet in 2016), C.J. Cron (504 feet in 2022) and Christian Yelich (499 feet in 2022) have hit longer big league homers than Anthony’s on Saturday night.

A second-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, Anthony is batting .290 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 57 games this season. He has two grand slams.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.