Tony Stewart’s NASCAR comeback isn’t stopping at Daytona.
The three-time Cup Series champion will climb back into a NASCAR race truck at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 23, giving Stewart a second start in the Craftsman Truck Series this season and another turn behind the wheel of Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 Ram 1500.
Stewart, 55, made his first NASCAR start in a decade when he raced at Daytona International Speedway in February. At the time, the appearance was billed as a centerpiece of Ram’s return to NASCAR and the debut of its new Free Agent Driver Program.
Eight months later, Smoke is coming back. And Talladega isn’t exactly a quiet place to do it.
“Anytime you can get into a Ram truck and go racing at a place like Talladega, you jump at it,” Stewart said. “Daytona in February was a blast, but this trip focuses on having fun while helping Kaulig Racing learn and build their notebook on superspeedways. Ram put a tremendous amount of heart into this NASCAR return. If my experience helps this team sharpen its drafting package and speed up the learning curve, everyone wins.”
Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Comeback Gets a Second Chapter
Stewart’s Daytona appearance carried plenty of nostalgia. His Talladega return has a little more substance behind it.
This time, Stewart isn’t simply helping Ram celebrate its NASCAR comeback. He’s returning to a program that now has months of racing behind it, and his experience at two of the sport’s most unpredictable tracks gives Kaulig another veteran voice as it continues developing its superspeedway package.
That’s a role tailor-made for Stewart.
Few drivers bring his combination of experience and versatility. Stewart won 49 Cup Series races and championships in 2002, 2005 and 2011 before stepping away from full-time Cup competition after the 2016 season. His résumé also includes victories in IndyCar and USAC, and retirement from NASCAR hardly meant retirement from racing.
Talladega was also the site of one of Stewart’s 49 Cup victories. He won there in October 2008, finally breaking through after repeatedly coming close at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
Now he’ll return in a truck instead of a Cup car.
“Bringing Tony back behind the wheel of the Ram 1500 at Talladega brings incredible energy to our entire team and NASCAR fans everywhere,” Tim Kuniskis, Head of American Brands, SRT Performance, North American Marketing and Retail Strategy at Stellantis, said.
“That’s exactly what our Free Agent program is all about. We built it to put proven competitors in Ram trucks, let them push the limits, create real-world feedback, and give fans what they came for. Tony is a Hall of Famer and a racer through and through. Seeing ‘Smoke’ back on the high banks at NASCAR’s biggest track is going to be a show.”
Stewart’s Daytona Return Drew a Massive Audience
There was another reason to bring Stewart back: people watched.
Stewart’s February return at Daytona averaged 1.387 million viewers on FS1, according to figures released by Ram. Viewership peaked above 1.6 million, while the average represented a 37% increase over the 2025 season opener.
It was also the most-watched Craftsman Truck Series broadcast since 2016.
Stewart was the first driver selected for Ram’s Free Agent Driver Program, which has turned the No. 25 into one of the more unusual entries in the Truck Series garage this season.
Rather than assigning one full-time driver to the truck, Ram and Kaulig have used the seat to cycle an eclectic group of names through the series. The roster has included Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Ty Dillon, Ryan Newman, Connor Daly, Corey LaJoie, Travis Pastrana, Parker Kligerman, Clint Bowyer, A.J. Allmendinger, Carson Ferguson, Elliott Sadler and Colin Braun.
Kaulig’s four full-time trucks are driven by Corey LaJoie, Brenden Queen, “Mini” Tyrrell and Justin Haley.
But Stewart remains the biggest name attached to the experiment.
His Daytona start ended a 10-year absence from NASCAR competition. His next one comes at a track where drafting experience, patience and instincts can matter as much as outright speed.
It also changes the way Stewart’s 2026 NASCAR return looks in hindsight.
Daytona could have been a one-night comeback built around Ram’s arrival. Instead, Stewart will suit up again eight months later and head for one of the wildest races on the schedule.
Smoke’s NASCAR comeback officially has a second act.
Tony Stewart Returning to NASCAR for 2026 Talladega Race