Tony Stewart, one of NASCAR’s all-time greatest drivers, is returning to run a race in next month’s season-opening Truck Series event at Daytona International Speedway, a decade after he last competed in a NASCAR national-series event.
Stewart, 54, will drive an entry fielded by Kaulig Racing as part of Ram’s “Free Agent Driver Program” that will see the team and manufacturer place notable drivers in its No. 25 Ram truck throughout the season in NASCAR’s third-tier series. The team made the announcement Tuesday morning — a month out from the Daytona race.
And there are few bigger names than Stewart, who won three championships and 49 races in NASCAR’s premier Cup Series in an 18-year career. He was a first-ballot inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020.
Although Stewart has not competed in NASCAR since 2016, he has not retired from racing altogether. He now competes full-time in the NHRA drag racing series, where in 2025 he had two victories and won the Top Fuel regular-season championship driving an entry sponsored by Stellantis through its various brands.
That association with Stellantis factored into Stewart making his first NASCAR start in 10 years and first Trucks start since 2005. He is a two-time race winner in the series, with both victories coming at Richmond in consecutive years (2002-03).
Stewart waves to the crowd at Homestead-Miami Speedway before the final race of the 2016 season, his last race before retiring. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Ever since Kaulig announced the “Free Agent” program in November, Stewart’s name has frequently been mentioned as a candidate. Stellantis also owns Ram, and Stewart certainly fits the criteria of what it’s seeking with the program, which is to place big-name drivers in the Kaulig truck as a way to promote the Ram brand’s reentry into the Truck Series.
Ram, through the Dodge brand, last competed in NASCAR in 2012. Last summer, Stellantis announced Ram’s return to NASCAR via the Truck Series. The company has said it is also eyeing a return to Cup and hopes to be racing in NASCAR’s top level in the future.
Stewart joins a Kaulig lineup consisting of full-time drivers Daniel Dye, Justin Haley and Brenden “Butterbean” Queen. The team will also run a fifth full-time truck, with the driver to be selected through a reality-show competition.
“Race for the Seat” will feature 15 drivers from the grassroots level vying for the opportunity. The show debuts Jan. 25 on Fox and includes UFC CEO Dana White as an executive producer. White, Kaulig owner Matt Kaulig and Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis will also be on-air commentators.