The Dodge folks apparently aren’t messing around with their NASCAR comeback.
While the 2026 return is limited to the Truck Series, Dodge has plucked a Cup Series legend off the sidelines for the season-opener Feb. 13 at Daytona.
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Tony Stewart, three-time Cup Series champ, NASCAR Hall of Famer and stock-car-racing retiree since 2016, will drive one of Kaulig Racing’s five Dodge Rams (the No. 25) suited up for the coming season.
Tony Stewart retired from NASCAR in 2016 but not from racing. He’s spent the past several seasons as a team owner and driver in NHRA.
Kaulig and Dodge are setting aside one of the five trucks as a “free agent” ride, and after the season starts, they will announce the coming week’s driver on the Monday of every Truck Series race week. Former NASCAR star Kasey Kahne is rumored to be among those who will get the call this year. They got way out ahead of that time frame with this one.
While Stewart’s one-off deal might surprise some, it’s not a total shocker, since he owns a Dodge-backed Top Fuel team in the NHRA.
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Dodge also hiring a NASCAR driver from a reality show
The “rent-a-driver” program isn’t the only marketing angle Dodge and Kaulig are working this season. Prior to Daytona, they’re hosting a reality show to see who gets another of the five Dodges this year.
The show is called “Race for the Seat,” and it debuts Jan. 25 on Fox. The winner will be announced prior to NASCAR’s Speedweek at Daytona, which begins Feb. 11 (Wednesday) with Daytona 500 pole qualifying. The Truck Series opener will be on Friday, following Thursday’s Daytona 500 Duels.
Kaulig’s other three drivers for the coming season are Daniel Dye, Justin Haley and “Butterbean” Brenden Queen.
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Tony Stewart no stranger to Daytona, and winning there
During Stewart’s long career, he started just six Truck Series races, spread out between 1996-2005. He won two of those six races, both at Richmond.
At Daytona, he won four Cup Series races — all of them the summertime 400-miler. He won half of the 14 Daytona starts he made in what’s now known as the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He also won two IROC races there (one on the road course), three qualifying Duels and three preseason Clashes when they were known as the Budweiser Shootout.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tony Stewart gets new Daytona ride a decade after NASCAR retirement
