Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, who is set to make a surprising comeback to the Craftsman Truck Series, has shared his excitement to restore lost glory at Daytona International Speedway this season.
RAM Trucks is partnering with Kaulig Racing to field five trucks this season and Stewart will be the first driver in the new ‘Free Agent’ program, which rotates veteran and up and coming drivers in the No. 25 truck throughout the year. The 54-year-old also extended his long standing partnership with Dodge with his NHRA racing team last year.
During an interview with Peter Stratta, Stewart commented on what his return could mean for NASCAR.
“I went to the Chili Bowl Nationals and people going, ‘You’re getting back in a truck.’ And just everybody was just so excited about it. So, I think it’s a neat thing for us. I think it’s going to contribute a lot to NASCAR and and I think as we all know right now, NASCAR needs all the help they can get right, right this minute,” Tony Stewart said (03:45 onwards)
“I’m not going down there and reinventing the wheel for anybody and and the NASCAR fans. But, to know that starting the big weekend of the 500 with the truck race there, I think that’s going to bring a lot of excitement to it,” he added.
NASCAR reached its peak TV and attendance levels in the mid-2000s, when Stewart was a regular race winner. Since then, ratings and crowd numbers have slipped and the TV audience has shrunk.
Tony Stewart to Get Back in a Truck After Over 20 Years
Tony Stewart has 19 career wins across different series at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in Daytona. But he has never raced a truck there.
Stewart’s last full NASCAR national series start came in 2016 in the Cup Series, and his most recent Truck Series start was in 2005. The NASCAR Hall of Famer focused on team ownership and then shifted his driving to NHRA drag racing, where he won the Top Fuel regular-season championship in last year.
The Indiana native has also said that he accepted the offer from RAM CEO to race in the Daytona’s Truck opener race quickly and saw it as a fun chance to get behind the wheel again.
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