TONY STEWART – MOTORSPORT AMERICA PHOTO
Wire Reports – Tony Stewart suggested his return to NASCAR in the Craftsman Truck Series could be longer than just a “one and done.”
Stewart is a NASCAR Cup Series icon. He is a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, winning two as a driver (2002, 2005), one as owner/driver (2011), and one as an owner (2014).
He was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019, but his racing days are certainly not behind him. Recently, Stewart has competed in the NHRA Drag Racing Series, and he is set to return for the Daytona 500 for the first time in 21 years while he is set to join Craftsman Truck Series.
On Wednesday, Stewart took part in a press conference alongside RAM CEO Tim Kuniskis to address his imminent return to the third-tier NASCAR series. The NASCAR Hall of Famer will drive a Ram 1500 for Kaulig Racing while joining the team’s free agent program.
“And Tim likes – I don’t know how many of you guys know Tim Kuniskis, but he likes to dangle carrots. So I would love to sit here and go, ‘Man, this is just one and done.’
“I would say my answer is, I don’t have an answer. I would say, before we spoke today, and before he mentioned that there was a trophy and an award for this particular truck and who gets the most points in it, I would have said this was one and done. But let’s just say, I’ll leave it open-ended at this point.”
The free agent truck will feature drivers from a variety of disciplines, with Kaulig Racing set to reveal the identity in the week leading up to each week. Since the rotating lineup will not be able to compete for the driver’s championship, RAM will separately reward the best performer through its specially created prize program.
The press release announcing the prize did not provide details, nor did Kuniskis reveal it during the media session. But he did suggest the reveal could take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
When Kuniskis suggested the winner could drive the trophy, Stewart said: “You’re killing me. You are absolutely killing me.”