Tony Stewart is all set to make his return in NASCAR through the Daytona Craftsman Truck Series, and his fans are waiting eagerly for the same. Throughout these years, Stewart has formed a bittersweet relationship with the sport. As a driver, he achieved the best of glory, but his relationship with the sport soured when he wasn’t happy with the sport’s direction and communication in the later years. But whatever the past has been, none of it is stopping him from making his Daytona return.

Tony Stewart’s return to Daytona despite past NASCAR tension

“Hey would you ever be interested in going and running a truck race next year?” This is how the conversation started, and everything fell into place.

In a recent conversation between Tony Stewart and Tim Kuniskis, Stewart revealed how he didn’t have a pleasant relationship with NASCAR, and in the last few months and years, especially during the dramatic antitrust NASCAR lawsuit, things got more bitter. But one question of whether he’ll like to race once again or not changed so many things.

“I think everybody on this call understands I didn’t have the best relationship with NASCAR and surely over the last 12 months have had more reasons to not have the best relationships, but still at the end of the day, parts of racing and people there made it worthwhile,” Stewart said.

The opportunity sat perfectly with his ties to Stellantis brands like Dodge and Ram, making the Daytona return irresistible. “When the opportunity comes to do something with you, obviously, you know what to do with the RAM brand. Our relationship with the Dodge side…is awesome.”

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Tony’s decision to return to the truck series even surprised his close ones. When Tony told his wife, Leah, about his decision, her eyes widened in disbelief, knowing his history with NASCAR.

“I went back to Leah, I said, ‘Hey, I just talked to Tim, and Tim asked me if I’d be interested in running a truck race,’ and her eyes got really big. She kind of knows the history of my relationship with NASCAR, but she was like, ‘What, you telling me?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think I would be interested,’ and she looked at me like I had three heads, so it took a little bit of convincing—the convincing that I was serious about it.”

Tony revealed that even Kuniskis wasn’t sure whether Tony was being serious about his return or not. The 54-year-old driver will drive the Kaulig Racing No. 25 RAM 1500 truck. This will be Tony’s first time competing in NASCAR since his final Cup season in 2016, and he has not raced a truck since 2005.

Stewart has 19 wins across a variety of series at the Daytona track. “I have raced just about everything with four wheels at Daytona, but never a truck. So when a seat in the new RAM was offered up for their first race back in NASCAR, I didn’t hesitate,” Stewart said in an interview.

So even though Tony has a bittersweet relationship with NASCAR, he’s all in and ready to compete at Daytona.

But while Tony Stewart is occupying the free agent seat with Kaulig Racing for Daytona, the spot is open after that. And there’s someone ready to take that seat.

This unknown driver is ready to take Tony’s spot

He’s not very familiar with the NASCAR garage yet, but could become a star if he gets good sponsorship backing and talent on track. Stephen Mallozzi made a bold video appeal. Where he summed up the harsh economics of grassroots NASCAR racing, where getting sponsorship is not as easy as it looks.

“Here’s my problem,” he started, “Not only am I a law student who works a full-time job, but I’ve also been racing in NASCAR for the last five seasons, and it’s a lot of work to find sponsorships. The thing people don’t realize about NASCAR is that I have to find fifty to a hundred thousand dollars in sponsorships just to cover the cost per race.”

He pitched himself in a very unique and perfect way, and also explained how, for some races, he himself has to fund them by making insane sacrifices for racing because he doesn’t always get sponsorships.

“For some races, I’ve been able to get sponsors, but one time, I sold my car to race. This was my last time in all.”

At last, Stephen concluded, “It’s time for Ram to give me a shot, because nothing says ‘guts, glory, Ram’ like a guy who’s working a job, in law school, and racing a NASCAR all at the same time. Nice to meet you. I’m Stephen Mallozzi.”

His pitch got lots of love and support from the NASCAR fans. Stephen’s highlighted issues brought to light the reality of NASCAR, that how difficult it is for normal racers to get sponsorships and how expensive racing is, because of which many talented drivers go unheard and unseen in this hyperactive world of NASCAR.