Tony Stewart Returns to Ram for Talladega Truck Race
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 24, 2026
Stewart Returns
Tony Stewart is back in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and Kaulig Racing will put him in the No. 25 Ram 1500 at Talladega Superspeedway as Ram keeps its Free Agent Driver Program moving. The Talladega run will be Stewart’s second Truck Series start of the season, and it gives him another chance to work inside a superspeedway setup that rewards drafting, track position and patience. Stewart said the appearance is about having fun, and he said it also gives Kaulig Racing a chance to improve its superspeedway notebook and drafting package. That makes the start more than a fill-in ride. It gives the team a live test in the kind of race where clean air can change a truck’s feel in a hurry and where one small move can alter the whole day. Stewart already opened Ram’s NASCAR return at Daytona International Speedway as the program’s inaugural Free Agent driver, and he also drove the Ram entry in the season opener there. That race ended in crash damage after he started 15th and finished 36th, but it gave Ram its first look at how the truck and the program worked in competition.
Ram Program
Ram’s Free Agent Driver Program rotates notable drivers into the No. 25 entry, and Ram said the idea is to pair proven stars with the team. The rotating seat gives the company a clear way to keep the truck in front of fans while bringing different veterans into the same equipment. Stewart fits that approach cleanly. He brings experience, he already has a race in the Ram program and he returns to a track where driver feel and drafting judgment matter as much as raw speed. The setup also keeps Kaulig Racing focused on the truck’s performance instead of on a fixed lineup. Each run gives the team another set of notes on how the No. 25 handles in traffic, how it responds in the draft and how it behaves in race conditions that leave little room for error. He also gives Kaulig another superspeedway data point in a season where every run can shape the next one. The truck stays constant. The driver changes. That is the point of the program, and Stewart now steps back into it at one of NASCAR’s toughest drafting tracks.
Daytona Viewership
Ram said Stewart’s Daytona race drew 1.387 million average FS1 viewers, a strong number that came with a 37% increase from the 2025 opener. Ram also said it was the most-watched Truck Series broadcast since 2016. Those figures give the program a measurable early marker and show the kind of attention Stewart can bring when he enters the seat. The audience number also adds weight to the Free Agent Driver Program, which Ram has built around rotating recognized names through the No. 25 truck. Stewart’s first outing for the brand ended with crash damage and a 36th-place finish, but the television response still gave Ram a clear return in visibility. That matters for a program built to blend competition and exposure while keeping Kaulig Racing in the superspeedway conversation. The Talladega start now gives Stewart another run in the truck and gives Ram another chance to measure how the program performs when a major name is paired with a drafting-heavy race. Between the returning driver, the rotating entry and the viewership spike from Daytona, Ram has another reason to keep the No. 25 truck active and in the spotlight.
