Kaulig Racing announced this past season that they would be partnering with Ram Trucks for the manufacturer's long-awaited return to the NASCAR Truck Series in 2026, and they confirmed that they would be shutting down their Xfinity Series (O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) team to focus on the inaugural season of their five-truck program.
Justin Haley, Brenden Queen, and Daniel Dye have all been confirmed as full-time drivers for the team's first season in the Craftsman Truck Series next year, leaving two seats open.
One of those seats has been confirmed as a "Free Agent Program", with several drivers competing throughout the 25-race season rather than just one.
No drivers have been confirmed for that truck, the No. 25 Ram, thus far, and the team could technically end up going with 25 drivers in 25 races, meaning that speculation as to who could end up in that seat throughout the year has run rampant since the announcement was made.
One big name that has been brought up is Tony Stewart.
The three-time Cup Series champion left NASCAR after the 2024 season when Stewart-Haas Racing shut down, even though partner Gene Haas remained in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series with Haas Factory Team.
Stewart retired from driving after the 2016 season, though he has stayed active in motorsport competition since, running all three seasons of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX). He still competes in NHRA drag racing.
The 54-year-old Columbus, Indiana native did not have any comments about the rumor that he may make his long-awaited return to NASCAR in 2026 with what would be his first Truck Series start since 2005, when he competed for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports at Dover Motor Speedway, but the door is apparently not shut.
Kaulig says one of its trucks, the No. 25, will change drivers each race with driver to be announced the Monday of each race week. No set number of drivers. There had been some chatter about Tony Stewart. He told me yesterday he didn't want to comment on anything NASCAR-related.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 17, 2025
It would certainly not be surprising to see him run somewhere such as Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, which is scheduled to host a race on Friday, July 24. He made his Truck Series debut at the track with Mueller Brothers Racing in 1996 and finished 10th.
Another name that has been mentioned is Kasey Kahne, who started his Cup Series career with Dodge and remained tied to the manufacturer for the first six years of his career.
Regardless of what ends up happening with the No. 25 truck, fans are certainly talking, and Kaulig Racing aren't exactly doing anything to keep from adding to the rumor mill as they presumably near several additional big announcements regarding their new Truck program.
The 2026 NASCAR Truck Series season is scheduled to get underway on Friday, February 13 with the Fresh From Florida 250, which is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.