A couple of legends started off the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Hogging the most spotlight among them is undoubtedly Tony Stewart, a paragon of racing. From fetching championships across motorsport disciplines to still being competitive beyond his prime, Stewart’s laurels are endless. And yet, his return to NASCAR after a decade ended with a rude shock – due to a clash with a rival whom fans did not particularly praise.

Tony Stewart crashes out of Daytona

“Jake Garcia slides into Tony Stewart. Stewart has damage but possibly can continue. Caution,” journalist Bob Pockrass wrote on X, in a post that broke a lot of hearts in NASCAR.

Tony Stewart, a legendary favorite in NASCAR circles, was racing as part of Ram’s Free Agent program with Kaulig Racing. Wheeling the No. 25 Ram, Stewart hoped to harness his past energy which he had used to win 19 races in Daytona. Sadly, disaster broke out on lap 36 of 100. Jake Garcia slid his No. 98 Ford F-150 into Stewart’s Ram, which incurred heavy damage to its left tire.

“Wheel is to the left four inches. I need to slow down. Tire is coming apart,” Tony Stewart said over the radio.

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Eventually, the damage was too much for ‘Smoke’ to continue with his endeavor. So this crash relegated Tony Stewart from the race. His team decided to park the Truck for the night as they were not racing for points. When asked by his crew chief if he wants to do this again, Stewart replied, “Yeah, I’d say there’s a pretty good shot of that.”

Tony Stewart may have had a hint of optimism in his voice. But it was not shared with fans.

NASCAR fans go ballistic on Smoke’s rival

The last time Tony Stewart competed in the sport was in 2016, at the Cup Series finale in Homestead-Miami Speedway. And the last time he competed in Trucks was 2005. Despite this lengthy gap, fan sentiment was throbbing for the veteran – especially when he crashed out. Fans were outraged at Jake Garcia: “Imagine being the guy who junked Tony Stewart.”

Many went too personal on Garcia’s racing background. Many questioned his real talent and highlighted family influence. “This is the problem with nascar in all series you got a bunch of no talent rich kids that alway end up taking out the real talent. wtf is Jake Garcia even doing in the 98 ? Oh his dad had a couple million,” one fan wrote.

Somebody else also agreed with this sentiment. “Why the fuck is Jake Garcia even out there other then his dad having a hog pocket you should have to have a championship and wins in a real series to be able to drive in nascar junk ass no talent drivers are the problem with NASCAR too to bottom,” they wrote.

Garcia returned to his third full-time campaign under ThorSport, and a fan believed he should not have gotten in. “Jake Garcia running out of talent again… ThorSport shouldn’t have fucking given him another chance!” Another fan suggested an alternative route: “Jake Garcia should be in ARCA.”

Clearly, the NASCAR community clutched their heads in despair to see Tony Stewart crash out. Let’s see if the veteran comes back for more races.