Tony Stewart Hints at Another NASCAR Start in 2026 After Wild Stange Two Wreck at Daytona

Three times NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has shared his thoughts on another potential start in the 2026 season.

Tony Stewart Hints at Another NASCAR Start in 2026 After Wild Stange Two Wreck at Daytona

Tony Stewart (Via @NASCAR_Trucks/X)

The 2026 NASCAR Truck Series opener at Daytona was star studded event, that saw Chandler Smith surviving a dramatic race to win in a photo-finish. While from an entertainment perspective, it was an impressive race, most of the fans didn’t get to see what they came in for. Majority in the grandstands came to a strong run from Tony Stewart, who returned after a decade long break.

The Former Cup champion drove Kualig Racing’s Ram Truck, marking a new beginning for the team and the return of Dodge to the sport. Unfortunately, the Smoke’s race ended on stage after a wild crash. The three times Cup champion was at the wrong place at the wrong time when the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 of Jake Garcia spun out.

Tony Stewart was collected in the incident as his No:25 Truck got stuck between the spun-out Ford and the outside wall. The damage was too significant for the champion driver to continue driving and he was forced to retire. Most probably the decision was made because the teams want racing for points and it wasn’t worth to damage the Truck more.

The veteran did walk away giving fans some hope about a potential return for redemption; despite insisting he will never race again in the pre-race press conference. While appreciating Kaulig Racing for the support and opportunity, the champion racer admitted that he ‘learned to never say never’ with the Truck return, potentially hinting about the future.

Well, I don’t know. I didn’t think I was going to be here 10 years after I retired, so I think we have to learn to never say never. But yeah it’s a great opportunity. I’m so appreciative of Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, Ty Norris, you know everybody at Ram and Kaulig Racing. They did an awesome job.

Tony Stewart said after the DNF.

Tony Stewart insists his team has gained a lot despite the wreck

On the same media session, Stewart took time credit his spotter and crew for helping him run well till he incident. He highlighted how he was slowly griding out a result in the early half of the race, before things went south as he was making a progress.  

Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart (Via IMAGO)

TJ did a great job spotting. Just finally getting in a spot where I felt like I could start hustlin’ and being in the mix there a little bit. Early on, it was just like kinda hang on and knew we needed to take care of it until we got a shot to make pit stops.

Tony Stewart said.

PR wasn’t the only reason behind Tony Stewrat making a comeback to the Truck with RAM, as the team also wanted feedback on their new Truck from veterans. The ex-SHR owner was able to provide them with some solid pointers for their return to Daytona at the end of the regular season.

So, probably needed one more good swing at it to really get to where we could go… So at least they’re building a notebook now. The rest of the guys are out there still digging, so they’ll build a good notebook for when we come back next time.

Tony Stewart added.

The comments from the veteran racer seems to be on point, as his feedbacks will be massive for the team in the coming days. It would be interesting to see how Ty Dillon, who is set to drive the No:25 Truck, will take advantage of it at Atlanta.

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