Just a few months after his first NASCAR start of the decade, NASCAR legend Tony Stewart says he is “pretty sure” a return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is in his future.
Tony Stewart’s first exit from NASCAR was the usual goodbye tour, but his second, this time from ownership, was less ceremonious.
Since his retirement in 2017 and his exit from ownership at the end of the 2024 season, most fans figured that Stewart was done with the sport as a whole.
But this season, with the return of Ram Trucks to NASCAR, Stewart, who is aligned with Ram’s sister-brand Dodge through his NHRA team and his own efforts in drag racing, finally came home.
Stewart served as the first of Ram and Kaulig Racing’s Free Agent drivers for its No. 25, with the Hall of Famer headlining a stacked field for the Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona.
In a recent interview with former Stewart-Haas Racing driver turned FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick, Stewart reflected on this bold decision to make his first NASCAR start in nearly a decade at a track as unpredictable as Daytona.
“It was somewhat a suicide mission to go run that race,” Stewart said. “I felt like I was doing the right thing for the company and for Kaulig, helping those guys out, so that’s why we picked Daytona.”
The self-described suicide mission was just that, as Stewart crashed out of his first NASCAR Truck Series race since 2005 after just 39 laps.
While some fans thought this was it for Stewart, a bad start in what was supposed to be a highlight return to NASCAR, Smoke is up for more.
During his interview with Harvick, when asked if he would do it again, Stewart said he is “pretty sure” he will be back for more.
“I’m pretty sure I’m gonna do it again.” — Tony Stewart
Harvick even, perhaps jokingly, said they should do the same race, with Stewart responding, “All right, let’s sit and figure a race out.”
While he has yet to announce his next start with Kaulig, or if he will actually do so, there are some great options for Stewart to return to the series down the road.
If he wanted to go to a road course, the series still has races at Lime Rock Park and Naval Base Coronado.
If Stewart were interested in a short track, he could race at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the first time in his NASCAR career or even at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, a track close to his hometown, Columbus, Indiana.
Still, any race would have to work around his schedule in the NHRA Top Fuel class, where Stewart, who races for Elite Motorsports, is pursuing the championship and currently sits fourth in points.
One option could be the August 14 race at Richmond Raceway, a weekend in which the NHRA has no events on its schedule.
Alongside his three Cup Series wins at the track, Richmond is the only track where Stewart has won a Truck Series race, doing so twice in 2002 and 2003.
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