NASCAR legend Tony Stewart says he has no plans to race in NASCAR this season after his return to the sport this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
This week, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will make his first NASCAR start since his 2016 retirement.
This return to the sport is a shocking change of course, with Smoke leaving NASCAR entirely after the 2024 season, when his team, Stewart-Haas Racing, closed up shop after fifteen seasons of competition.
Since then, the Indiana native has moved his attention, and ownership, to the Top Fuel division of the NHRA, where he races for Elite Motorsports and owns two entries through Tony Stewart Racing.
In fact, fans may be able to thank his NHRA effort for his return to NASCAR, seeing as Stellantis, which owns Dodge, the brand TSR races in NHRA, is returning to NASCAR with its Ram Trucks brand.
As part of this return, the brand called on NASCAR team Kaulig Racing to field five full-time entries in the series, all of which have headline stories behind them.
Veteran Daniel Dye in the No. 10, former underdog Brenden “Butterbean” Queen in the No. 12, and former Xfinity Series star Justin Haley in the No. 16 were the team’s first full-time drivers, with the other two entries, the No. 14 and the No. 25, saved as special entries.
In 2026, Mini Tyrrell, a late model star, will drive the No. 14 for Kaulig after winning the RAM: Race For the Seat reality TV game show, and the No. 25 will host a rotation of star drivers, with Stewart the first to take on duties at Daytona.
During Daytona media day, Stewart said he was also surprised he was returning to NASCAR, saying that he and many others thought it would never happen.
“Everybody that I’ve known, at least when I quit driving here. . . in NASCAR, we thought you would never see this moment again, and trust me, I’m as surprised as all of you are.” — Tony Stewart
In the lead-up to this event, there was speculation that Stewart, who many thought would never return to a racing or business role in NASCAR, could race at more tracks than just Daytona. However, during Daytona media day, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion said that he has no plans to do so.
Nonetheless, this likely won’t stop any speculation of Stewart getting behind the wheel this season, after all, his time with the NHRA was supposed to be a part-time thing, and now he is the reigning NHRA Top Fuel Regular Season Champion.
Furthermore, some of his former stomping grounds, like Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Richmond Raceway, and Watkins Glen, dot the series’ 25-race schedule.
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