By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
In what will undoubtedly be seen as one of the most popular “hires’ in motorsports, Kaulig Racing announced Tuesday that three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will return to the sport during Daytona Speedweeks, driving a Kaulig Racing RAM truck in the Feb. 13 Fresh from Florida 250 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season-opener (at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Stewart, a two-time Truck Series race winner, will be making his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start since 2005 and first NASCAR start of any kind since retiring from fulltime competition as one of the most renowned and successful competitors in NASCAR history.
Now a team owner, fulltime competitor and championship contender in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), this will mark the 54-year-old Stewart’s first NASCAR race since the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“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,” said Stewart, who is a 19-time Daytona International Speedway race winner with victories in NASCAR’s Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the International Race of Champions (IROC).
“RAM’s Free Agent program is another great way for me to stay sharp and have a little fun.”
Stewart is the first of an esteemed, yet-to-be-announced list of high profile drivers or “Free Agents” to compete in one-off rides in one of the five RAM trucks that Kaulig Racing will field in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series this year. Brendan “Butterbean” McQueen, Daniel Dye and Justin Haley will be driving RAM trucks fulltime for the team in 2026.
In an innovative program RAM is using as it marks its return to fulltime NASCAR competition, another seat will go to the winner of the “Race for the Seat” program the team has introduced.
“Having Tony Stewart in one of our RAM trucks is the kind of thing you dream about,” said Kaulig Racing owner and founder Matt Kaulig.
“He’s a legend—his name alone brings energy to the sport. We couldn’t be more fired up to have him in our camp as we roll into Daytona for our first race. This is going to be a ride worth watching.”
Not surprisingly, Stewart has a remarkable record even in a brief tenure in the Truck Series – earning two victories (at Richmond, Va. in 2002 and 2003) in only six starts. He finished runner-up in his last Truck race at Dover, Del. in 2005.
“We’re not just returning to the track; we’re rewriting the playbook,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of American Brands, SRT Performance, NA Marketing and Retail Strategy at Stellantis.
“Bringing Tony in as the first Free Agent will generate a crazy amount of excitement, which is exactly why we created the program—allowing fans to watch an all-time favorite driver get back into the seat, but this time, it’s a RAM truck.
“This is about honoring a legacy. Tony represents grit, determination, and the spirit of racing—pure adrenaline for the fans.”
The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series first on-track activity of the season will take place at Daytona International Speedway with a 50-minute practice at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 12.
