For the briefest of moments, Tony Stewart is back in NASCAR, and it sounded like he never left.<\/p>\n
The three-time Cup Series champion is returning to the Craftsman Truck Series in a one-off appearance at Daytona International Speedway to commemorate the return of RAM and he was in rare form indeed.<\/p>\n
‘Smoke’ ribbed the media and scoffed at NASCAR officials who earned his scorn since his departure from the industry but also showed the softer side that has emerged in recent years as a husband and father.\u00a0All told, it was the best of Tony Stewart in an environment that he had sworn off to anyone that asked him since November 2024.<\/p>\n
For example, Stewart said on Thursday that it doesn\u2019t matter how well the Truck Series race goes on Friday, but he isn\u2019t ever going to run the Daytona 500 again, even though it\u2019s a race he never won.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks for the reminder, Matt,\u201d said Stewart, to a question asked by Motorsport.com. \u201cBecause I never was going to remember that I hadn’t won the Daytona 500.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, again, he\u2019s back so maybe at 54-years-old, there could still be more opportunities?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can lead every lap tomorrow night and I will not be back here for the Daytona 500,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty good after all these years of saying never. You will not see me here for the Daytona 500.\u201d<\/p>\n
Okay, sure, but this is also the same Tony Stewart that said after the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing that he wouldn\u2019t be back at a NASCA R event for a long time either. He left the discipline very frustrated over what direction the industry\u2019s leadership had taken.<\/p>\n
Yet, here he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yeah, I got to quit listening to myself sometimes,\u201d Stewart said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Stewart is the second winningest NASCAR driver all-time at Daytona behind Dale Earnhardt Sr. and had a reputation of being very agitated when someone threw what he deemed a bad block. So now, Stewart has entered a race that has no shortage of bad blocks.<\/p>\n
So is Stewart willing to impact some wisdom on Friday night if need be? His answer to that was Stewart in rare form, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m more than happy to give lessons tomorrow night when if they’re needed,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cI\u2019m not encouraging it but honestly, when I was in the Busch Series back in the day, that\u2019s how I learned my lessons. If I made the mistake, I paid the price for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The implication is that Stewart wouldn\u2019t lift for a bad block.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo normally, when you\u2019re sitting there in the infield, and you\u2019re unbuckling, you got a little bit of extra time to sit there and think about how you got there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stewart said asking that question, and getting this answer, is how Motorsport.com makes its money. But preparing for the race, in whatever form it takes, is how Stewart makes his money.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the one that makes you money and puts money in your pocket,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cIt\u2019s the thing I don\u2019t give two shits about over here. All I care about is doing what I can to get in that truck to get myself in the best position to win the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is not to go out there and try to pick fights all night if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s literally to go out there and know that there are guys that don’t have the experience that we have that are going to go out there and make mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf and when those situations happen, I don\u2019t want to be collateral damage in them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read Also:<\/p>\n
During the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports v NASCAR antitrust trial, it was revealed that NASCAR leadership wanted the Superstar Racing Experience league shutdown. SRX went out of business after the 2023 season.<\/p>\n
Then NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps said he wanted a \u2018knife put into that trash series\u2019 while president Steve O\u2019Donnell wanted the legal department to look into SRX for \u2018looking like NASCAR.\u2019 Phelps left NASCAR after the trial.<\/p>\n
Has Stewart seen O\u2019Donnell in the garage this week?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I have not had that pleasure yet,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cNot at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does he want to talk to O\u2019Donnell?<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m going to do my deal,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cIf I run into Steve O O’Donnell, he’ll have to deal with that part but I\u2019m going to go do me and I don’t really care what he does this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
To prepare for this race, which is in a RAM fielded by Kaulig Racing, Stewart has spent the past month on iRacing. He had his spotter, TJ Bell, spot for him in those races. He will also watch Bell spot for AJ Allmendinger in the Duel at Daytona on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
And as much as things have changed, this is still pack racing at Daytona, and Stewart used to be one of the absolute best to ever do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there’s one thing when you come to Daytona and Talladega that hasn’t changed and that’s the air the air is the same,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cNo matter how much technology has changed, the air hasn’t changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it’s literally learning the truck, it’s learning how it sucks up or doesn’t suck up. It’s what happens when you pull out of the draft. How much does it fall on its face and what happens when somebody tucks down on the door?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, these are things he says he hasn\u2019t forgotten and should come back pretty quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still Daytona and it\u2019s still learning the draft and all that,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cEven though I haven\u2019t raced with these guys, and I haven\u2019t ran a truck here, we know what this air does here and it\u2019s just matter of learning how the truck reacts to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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