Tony Stewart may not have wanted to comment on the rumor – or, quite frankly, anything related to NASCAR – back in November, when there were rumblings of him being a part of Kaulig Racing's new "Free Agent Program" at some point during their first season in the Truck Series with Ram Trucks.
But behind the scenes, it was a different story.
For the first time since 2016, Stewart is set to compete in a NASCAR race. The Dodge NHRA driver is set to run the Truck Series season opener, the Fresh From Florida 250, for Kaulig Racing at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 13, marking his first Truck Series start since he ran second at Dover Motor Speedway in 2005.
Tony Stewart returning to NASCAR
Stewart, whose involvement in NASCAR came to a halt after Stewart-Haas Racing shut down following the 2024 season, has made six career Truck Series starts. He won at Richmond Raceway in both 2002 and 2003 for Andy Petree Racing.
He has never run a Truck Series superspeedway race, but when he most recently competed in a non-Cup Series national race at Daytona in 2013, he won, then driving for Richard Childress Racing in the O'Reilly Auto Parts (then Nationwide) Series.
Though he never won the Daytona 500, he is a four-time Cup winner at Daytona, and he also owns seven Daytona wins in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Kaulig Racing entering a new era
Kaulig Racing, which plan to run five trucks full-time in 2026 after pausing their O'Reilly Auto Parts (formerly Xfinity) Series program, have promised to make their Free Agent Program fun for the fans, and fans should not expect Stewart to be the only big-name driver who gets behind the wheel of the No. 25 Ram at some point during the 2026 season. After all, Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice still have to fill the entry for 24 more races.
Kasey Kahne is another driver who has been rumored to return to series, not only due to his past ties to Dodge but because of the fact that he owns five Truck Series wins in six career starts, with the lone non-win being a runner-up finish. He hasn't raced in the series since 2015, but he returned to NASCAR for the first time since 2018 with a single O'Reilly Auto Parts Series start in 2025.
As for Kaulig Racing's full-time lineup, they still have a vacancy behind the wheel of the No. 14 truck. Daniel Dye is set to drive the No. 10 truck, rookie Brenden Queen is set to drive the No. 12 truck, and Justin Haley is set to drive the No. 16 truck.
The Fresh From Florida 250 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Daytona International Speedway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, February 13.