Three-time NASCAR Cup Champion Tony Stewart is set to make a one-time return to NASCAR competition. At 54 years old, Stewart, who currently pilots a Dodge Top Fuel dragster in the National Hot Road Association, will take part in the opening truck race at Daytona International Speedway, representing Ram\u2014a sister brand of Dodge\u2014marking their entry into the sport.<\/p>\n
Both Dodge and Ram fall under the Stellantis umbrella. Stewart will be behind the wheel of the No. 25 truck for Kaulig Racing, a team that plans to feature several drivers this season as part of Ram\u2019s innovative program that highlights different stories for each race.<\/p>\n
Stewart last raced in NASCAR during the final event of the 2016 Cup season and hasn\u2019t driven a truck race since 2005. So, why the return at Daytona? Stewart boasts 19 victories across various racing series at this iconic track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve raced nearly every day at Daytona in four-wheel vehicles, but I\u2019ve never competed on a track,\u201d Stewart shared. \u201cWhen the opportunity came to race with Ram as a part of their free agent program for my NASCAR comeback, I jumped at it. It\u2019s a fantastic way to stay sharp and enjoy myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaulig Racing is the only team running the Ram program this year with five trucks. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis openly hopes to see Dodge back in the Cup Series by 2027 or 2028; Dodge last raced in the series in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not merely getting back in the game, we\u2019re redefining our approach,\u201d Kuniskis stated. \u201cBringing Tony in as our first \u2018free agent\u2019 driver will ignite huge excitement\u2014the very reason we developed this program. Fans always love seeing a favorite driver return, and this time it\u2019s in a Ram truck. Tony embodies perseverance, grit, and the true racing spirit, delivering pure adrenaline to fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fan Take:<\/strong> Tony Stewart\u2019s return sparks incredible excitement, bridging NASCAR\u2019s rich history with its future potential. This move not only revives a beloved legend\u2019s presence but also signals Ram and Dodge\u2019s serious commitment to shaking up the sport in the coming years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three-time NASCAR Cup Champion Tony Stewart is set to make a one-time return to NASCAR competition. At 54 years old, Stewart, who currently pilots a Dodge Top Fuel dragster in the National Hot Road Association, will take part in the opening truck race at Daytona International Speedway, representing Ram\u2014a sister brand of Dodge\u2014marking their entry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[853],"tags":[114],"class_list":{"0":"post-38473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}