Stewart in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time in NASCAR Return at Daytona

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Tony Stewart was just biding his time, getting a feel for his Kaulig Racing Ram in the early stages of Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race at Daytona before his night took a turn for the worse.

Running three-wide on the outside toward the back of the pack, Stewart was seemingly content with getting the handle on his truck right before making a charge back to the front when the No. 98 Ford of Jake Garcia broke loose off of Turn 4.

Garcia’s truck washed up the track into Stewart’s Ram, sending them both into the wall. Though Stewart was able to keep driving after the contact, it was determined that the damage was too much to continue to be competitive and the decision was made to retire after 39 laps.

Wrong place, wrong time for Tony Stewart. pic.twitter.com/Uy8hTwsfaf

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 14, 2026

After the mandatory ride to the Infield Care Center, Stewart debriefed his return to NASCAR for the first time since 2016 and first Truck start since 2005.

“We just kind of were content to be on the bottom until we got a couple laps in and kind of let everybody settle in. But it didn’t seem like anybody was in the mood to be very patient and cautious,” Stewart said.

“Guys that were aggressive, you could tell they were confident with their trucks. So, we just kind of got in a spot where we felt comfortable and then each time we had an opportunity to come and make a change chassis wise, we did that.”

Stewart added that the changes that his pit crew was making to his truck were trending in the direction of getting him more comfortable, but it just wasn’t in the cards for him to bring it home in one piece.

“The closer the truck was getting balance wise, I was definitely having more fun,” said Stewart.

“It was fun to come back here. It’s fun to watch the style these kids run. I mean, you could tell the guys that their trucks felt good right out of the gate and they were aggressive and it’s like, man, I wish I had the confidence to do that, but it was getting more fun when the balance was getting closer to where we needed it to be.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do the middle of the three-wide deal. I wasn’t comfortable enough with that and we weren’t tight enough to do that, but the swings we were making, it was getting the balance a lot closer to where we could do that.”

Stewart continued, noting that it was fun being back in the garage area as a driver – even if it was only for two days and a short-lived night on the Daytona high banks.

“The whole week was fun…But it’s nice to see a lot of people that I know and it’s not like we haven’t been down here as an owner, but it’s nice to come back down here as a driver and know for two days I got to be a race car driver at Daytona.”

So, what’s next? Is there another return in the future for Stewart and this Ram team or was this truly a one and done?

“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,” Stewart said.