Tony Stewart Will Return To NASCAR At Daytona, His First Time Competing In The Sport Since 2016

Smoke is back.

Tony Stewart is hopping back behind the wheel, competing in NASCAR next month at Daytona International Speedway for the first time since 2016.

The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2020 inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame retired from the sport following the 2016 season, and hasn’t competed in NASCAR since his final race at Homestead Miami Speedway that year. Of course Tony was still involved in NASCAR as the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, but his team closed up shop after the 2024 season and since then it hasn’t seemed like Tony had much interest in NASCAR.

Of course that doesn’t mean Tony doesn’t still have interest in racing: In 2022, he formed Tony Stewart Racing in the NHRA drag racing series, which fielded cars for his wife Leah Pruett. But after his wife announced in 2024 that she was pregnant with their first child, Tony took over her seat and was named 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year, winning his first race in the series this past year in Las Vegas.

Honestly, it seems like Tony has been disinterested in NASCAR for a while. It doesn’t sound like he was around his race team much in the years before they shut down, and there have long been rumors that he was unhappy with either NASCAR leadership or the direction they were taking the sport.

Whatever the case may have been in the past though, it seems Tony is finally ready to hit the track in NASCAR again.

Kaulig Racing announced today that Tony will drive their #25 truck at Daytona next month in the Craftsman Truck Series, his first start in a truck since way back in 2005.

The race also marks the first race back for Ram, with Dodge and parent company Stellantis announcing last year their return to NASCAR and eventually, the Cup Series, for the first time since 2012. (Stewart also drives a Dodge in NHRA).

Kaulig will be the sole Ram team in the Craftsman Truck Series, fielding 5 trucks for the new manufacturer. The #25 truck, which Stewart will drive at Daytona, has been announced as their “Free Agent program” ride, which will feature drivers throughout the year meant to create storylines and bring attention to both the series and Ram trucks.

Of course Stewart is a pretty good pick for Daytona: He has 19 wins at the track over his career, though he’s surprisingly never raced at the track in the Truck Series:

“I’ve raced just about everything with four wheels at Daytona but never a truck. So when a seat in the new Ram was offered up for their first race back in NASCAR, I didn’t hesitate.”

Obviously this is great for the sport, especially after a tough offseason that saw NASCAR defending itself both in the courtroom and the court of public opinion against accusations that the sport had forgotten where it came from. Bringing back a NASCAR legend like Tony Stewart, and one who still has a ton of fans in the stands, is a pretty good way to reconnect with people who may have tuned out the past couple years.

Plus, it’s just going to be fun to watch Tony wheel around at Daytona with nothing to lose…