For the first time in his career, Tony Stewart will be racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway.
Submitted photo
Kaulig Racing is kicking off its Free Agent Driver Program in style in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series by naming three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart as the first driver in the No. 25 Ram Trucks entry for the Feb. 13 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
The announcement was made on Tuesday and came as season preparations were well underway for Kaulig Racing, which is partnering with RAM to field five Truck Series entries this season. Daniel Dye, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen and Justin Haley are driving full-time for the team, with a fourth truck going to a rotation of free-agent drivers like Stewart and the fifth truck being driven by the winner of the “Race for the Seat” reality TV series.
The Hall of Famer Stewart hasn’t driven in a NASCAR national series race since 2016 in the Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing. His participation comes on the heels of NASCAR revealing that The Chase championship format is back, a system in which Stewart won two of his three championships.
“I’ve raced just about everything with four wheels at Daytona, but never a truck. So, when a seat in the new Ram was offered up for their first race back in NASCAR, I didn’t hesitate,” Stewart said in a team release. “Ram’s Free Agent program is another great way for me to stay sharp and have a little fun.”
Stewart has started six times in the Truck Series across five seasons from 1996-2005 and won twice, in 2002 and 2003 at Richmond Raceway, in the No. 33 Chevrolet for Andy Petree Racing. Daytona has been home to plenty of success for Stewart, including four points-paying Cup wins, seven O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victories, three exhibition Clash wins and three Duel at Daytona qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
Kaulig’s entrance to the Truck Series delivers Ram back to the series for the first time in over a decade, last winning with Ryan Blaney in 2012. To return with Stewart, who won the 2025 Top Fuel regular-season championship driving for Dodge in NHRA drag racing, Ram brings back a familiar winner to NASCAR competition to start 2026 with a splash.
“We’re not just returning to the track; we’re rewriting the playbook,” Tim Kuniskis, Head of American Brands, SRT Performance, NA Marketing and Retail Strategy at Stellantis, said in a release. “Bringing Tony in as the first Free Agent will generate a crazy amount of excitement, which is exactly why we created the program — allowing fans to watch an all-time favorite driver get back into the seat, but this time, it’s a Ram truck. This is about honoring a legacy. Tony represents grit, determination, and the spirit of racing — pure adrenaline for the fans.”
The Truck Series gets underway this season with the Fresh From Florida 250 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway (FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
O’Neal takes win in Wild West Shootout
Rolling into Round 2 of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts, all three divisions delivered exciting racing throughout Sunday evening at FK Rod Ends Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona, presented by Low Voltage Solutions.
After finishing second on opening night, Hudson O’Neal of Hope found redemption on Sunday’s $10,000-to-win feature event, fending off a hard-charging Mike Marlar in the closing laps. Starting from the outside of the second row, O’Neal tracked down Bobby Pierce and grabbed the lead on Lap 10. He then withstood multiple challenges from Marlar to secure his first-career Wild West Shootout victory.
O’Neal admitted he had concerns after the heat race, noting in his FloRacing interview, “I was a little worried after that heat race because Kevin (Rumley) told me we’ve got to change something because we’re not good enough to win right now.” He credited the turnaround to his crew chief, adding, “He made some changes, and they were definitely spot on.”
O’Neal’s win came behind the wheel of the Rumley Enterprises No. 6 machine.
Marlar, who made a strong challenge for the top spot multiple times, ran second to O’Neal after pulling off fifth on the starting grid. Bobby Pierce rounded out the podium in third, while Garrett Alberson and Jonathan Davenport completed the top five.
Sam Mars won the Pro Power Super Late Model dash and chose to start at the tail of the field, a move that would earn him hard charger honors in the 40-lap feature. The Wisconsin driver charged from 25th-to-14th, claiming the $500 Rio Grande Waste Services Hard Charger Award. His crew also collected an additional $1,000, courtesy of the Low Voltage Solutions Hard Chargin’ Crew Award.
Blake Adams took the checkers in the Shocker Hitch X-Modifieds feature presented by Border Tire for the second consecutive night. He put on a show on Sunday evening, charging from sixth to first in the 20-lap event. Ken Schrader and Jake Smith rounded out the podium in the $1,000-to-win main event.
Cade Dillard initially appeared to secure his second checkered flag of the event, but was disqualified during technical inspection for a muffler infraction. Fayetteville, Arkansas’ Tyler Wolff inherited the $2,000 victory, while Blake Adams and Jason Noll rounded out the podium. Dustin Sorensen, who had originally finished third, also was disqualified for a muffler infraction.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to sports@therepublic.com
