Smoke is coming back to NASCAR for a second time this year.
Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will hop in the No. 25 Ram for Kaulig Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 23.
It’s the second time that Stewart - who retired from full-time NASCAR racing after the 2016 season - will race this season for Kaulig in the Truck Series as part of Ram’s Free Agent Driver Program.
Marking the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR after 13 years, Kaulig has fielded five Rams in the Truck Series this season with full-time drivers assigned to four of them, while the fifth has had a rotating selection of drivers that often feature former racing greats.
“Bringing Tony back behind the wheel of the Ram 1500 at Talladega
brings incredible energy to our entire team and NASCAR fans everywhere,” said Tim Kuniskis of Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge and Ram. "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."
Other drivers who have piloted the No. 25 this season include Travis Pastrana, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Parker Kligerman, Carson Ferguson, Conor Daly, Regan Smith and Colin Braun. Allmendinger - who drives the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig full-time in the Cup Series - has the best finish in the No. 25 Ram this season, placing sixth at Watkins Glen.
Stewart kicked off the Free Agent Program on Feb. 13 at Daytona. Stewart, however, was unable to finish after Jake Garcia got loose and slammed into the No. 25 Ram, sending Stewart crashing into the wall.
This will be the ninth Truck Series start of Stewart’s NASCAR career. The 55-year-old has two wins in the series, both coming at Richmond.
“Anytime you can get into a Ram truck and go racing at a place like Talladega, you jump at it,” Stewart said in a statement. “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.”
With roots in open-wheel IndyCar racing, Stewart raced full-time in NASCAR from 1999 through 2016, spending the first 10 years of his career with Joe Gibbs Racing and then the back half as a driver-owner with Stewart-Haas Racing. He won championships in 2002, 2005 and 2011, twice won the Brickyard 400, was the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1999 and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020. The final of his 49 Cup Series wins - which ranks 16th all-time - came in 2016 at Sonoma.
Stewart also won 11 races in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, including seven times at Daytona.
The veteran driver from Indiana has one career win at Talladega, taking the checkered flag in the Cup Series race there on Oct. 5, 2008.
Stewart, who was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, has competed in NHRA, sprint cars and also dabbled in other forms of racing since his retirement from NASCAR.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR legend Tony Stewart to race in Truck Series at Talladega
