Tony Stewart returns to NASCAR with Ram at Daytona

The operator that the assemblage has called "Smoke" for years is erstwhile again preparing to instrumentality to the large NASCAR scene. Although helium has not competed arsenic an progressive operator since 2016, helium is present breaking a agelong hiatus and returning to the way successful a Ram truck, astatine the legendary Daytona. His instrumentality carries overmuch much value than meets the eye.

The experienced runner has proven himself successful astir each imaginable disciplines during his career. He drove open-wheeled cars, competed connected ungraded tracks, competed successful the Top Fuel category, and achieved his top occurrence successful closed-body banal car races. No substance what conveyance helium got into, helium ever showed a competitory mentality. That's wherefore his determination to instrumentality to NASCAR, adjacent if lone for 1 race, is attracting a batch of attention.

In caller years, relations betwixt this 54 twelvemonth aged operator and NASCAR absorption person not been easy. After helium started the SRX league, which brought unneurotic drivers from antithetic series, determination were unfastened tensions. The league was aboriginal unopen down, but during the tribunal process, the messages of the past president of NASCAR, Steve Phelps, surfaced successful the public, which further agitated the sports public.

Return to Daytona

In 1 of the messages, Phelps wrote: 

"These guys are conscionable stupid. You request to instrumentality a weapon successful this garbage series." 

That punctuation rapidly dispersed done the media and became portion of a larger communicative astir conflicts wrong American motorsport. Not agelong after, Phelps announced his resignation and announced his departure from bureau by the extremity of January.

In specified an environment, the instrumentality of the legendary operator acquires further symbolism. Kaulig Racing offered him a spot successful the alleged "free agent" program, which means that helium volition not thrust a afloat season. So far, lone the quality astatine the play opener successful Daytona has been confirmed, but adjacent that is capable to marque him speech astir it again.

The runner himself explained his determination simply and honestly. “I’ve driven conscionable astir thing with 4 wheels astatine Daytona, but ne'er a truck. When I was offered a spot successful the caller Ram for their archetypal contention backmost successful NASCAR, I didn’t deliberation twice. Ram’s Free Agent programme is different large mode to enactment successful signifier and person immoderate fun.”

It’s wide from each of this that the legendary “Smoke” is returning without immoderate pressure, but with a wide tendency to get a sensation of racing erstwhile again.