Tony Stewart Said He’d Never Return To NASCAR. So Naturally, He Did
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 13: Tony Stewart, driver of the #25 Ram RAM, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
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Among life’s guarantees—taxes, death, and airport food that tastes like regret—there was another one for the last decade: Tony Stewart won’t be returning to NASCAR.
The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Hall of Famer made that abundantly clear this week ahead of his—wait for it—return to NASCAR. Yes, the man who swore off the sport a decade ago was back. For one race. In the Truck Series. Because Ram is returning to NASCAR and apparently when Ram calls, Smoke answers.
It wasn’t on his radar. Since stepping away from the Cup garage in 2016, Stewart hasn’t exactly been sitting on a porch somewhere whittling wood. He’s been busy strapping himself into a Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA, where the cars accelerate like they’ve been kicked by a deity. He also owns a team there, fields Funny Cars, and carries sponsorship from Dodge. In other words, the man is not short on horsepower.
Still, NASCAR? That door was shut.
Until it wasn’t.
“I’m as surprised as all of you are,” Stewart said. “But it is a unique opportunity to do this with Ram and through our partnership with Dodge and Stellantis. And Tim Kuniskis (Ram Trucks CEO) literally asked me last year if I would be interested in running a truck race. And I thought, you know, it kind of sounds fun.”
At the time, he didn’t take it seriously.
“I didn’t think I would hear much more out of him from it,” he said. “But got another phone call and that was the one that I knew was the confirmation that, yep, we’re going to be driving a truck race somewhere. And here we are.”
And where is “here”? Of course it’s Daytona International Speedway. Because if you’re going to reappear in NASCAR after a decade away for a race, you might as well do it at the most bombastic cathedral of speed in America.
“Literally, I mean, this is Ram’s coming out party,” he said. “So, you know, what better way to support Ram and Dodge and Stellantis than to do it at the biggest showcase of the year at the first race of the year at Daytona.”
Stewart has history at Daytona. Eleven wins here: four in the Cup Series and seven in what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The place suits him. Always has.
“It’s fun to do it with a brand that I’m passionate about and at a track that we’ve had some success at,” he said.” … all in all, it’s nice to be back.
But here’s the twist. For all that success, he never won the big one—the Daytona 500. And, according to Stewart, he never will.
“We can lead every lap (Friday) night and I will not be back here for the Daytona 500,” he said. “I’m pretty good after all these years of saying never. (But) yeah, you will not see me here for the Daytona 500.”
That’s about as definitive as Stewart gets. Which is to say, not very.
This version of Tony Stewart is different. Older. Married. A father to 15-month-old Dominic, who is rapidly approaching the Terrible Twos like a rookie barreling into Turn 1. His wife, fellow NHRA racer Leah Pruett, and Dominic were with him for the weekend. The mission this time isn’t domination. It’s enjoyment.
“I said, ‘I have a feeling no matter what happens in this race, whether we get wrecked on lap one or whether we win the race, that it’s just going to be a fun week.’
And that’s kind of the mentality that I’m coming down with. I didn’t think about that when I came down here. I didn’t set expectations. I didn’t set goals other than to just do the best I could do the entire time we’re here.’”
The fun began before he even reached Florida. Stewart drove his motorhome to Daytona from Indiana through West Virginia and Charlotte, joking that he tucked in behind some NASCAR haulers for drafting practice—“not at the rate I wanted it, but it was fun.”
At the track, the tone stayed light. During his press conference, Leah and Dominic wandered in. So what does she think of this little NASCAR detour?
“She’s questioning her sanity of whether she made the right decision, marrying me for making the decision to come to Daytona to race,” Stewart quipped cracking a smile. “But she’s very supportive of this. She’s excited. Obviously, she’s been with Dodge a lot longer than I have, and she has a fantastic relationship with him. So to understand why we’re down here and doing this with Dodge and Ram and Stellanis, I mean, she knows how important that is to all of us.”
So for this visit, he had more than fans.
“It’s neat. I think it’s an opportunity that she never had to literally come to a NASCAR event and watch me drive in NASCAR,” he said. “So, we get to have Leah here and we get the cherry on top. We get Dominic here too, who will have never had that opportunity, obviously. So we kind of get a two-for-one deal getting my family to be a part of this with us.”
Soon the NHRA season fires up again. There are gaps in that schedule. Logical minds might see opportunity.
Stewart sees something else.
Tony Stewart, wife Leah and son Dominic in the media center at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday Feb. 12, 2026.
Greg Engle Forbes
“I have a wife and a son,” he said smiling. “I also like those gaps as well and would prefer I not keep booking those gaps open…I’m not planning anything else.”
He was even firmer earlier.
“Have you not known me long enough?” Stewart said chuckling when pressed, again, about a return. “When I tell you something, you can damn sure write it down in the book and underline it in capital letters. That is what it’s going to be.”
Then he paused, almost as if he was caught up in a moment of self-reflection.
“I said that I was never coming back to NASCAR, and here I am 10 years later.”
Translation: when he left in 2016, he meant it. Or at least he thought he did.
“I got to quit listening to myself sometimes,” he said. “Yeah, I’m learning to not trust me too.”
After the press conference, Stewart and Leah lingered, catching up with old friends in the media. Before long, Dominic was the star of the show, and the once-fiery competitor who used to scowl at half the garage was down on the floor playing with his son.
A permanent return? Maybe. Maybe not. But watching Tony Stewart laugh instead of glare, it was clear something has shifted.
So yes, add it to the list of life’s certainties: Tony Stewart won’t be returning to NASCAR. But now add: Probably.
And if he never does? After everything he’s won, everything he’s risked, and everything he’s now gained, who could possibly blame him?
Either way, one thing is certain: Tony Stewart is having a hell of a lot of fun.
