Tony Stewart is preparing for a remarkable return to Daytona, but for the first time, it will be behind the wheel of a truck. Although he did run several races in trucks back in the day, it’s been over two decades. ‘Yet undermining Stewart is an unwise idea because even one of his fiercer rivals from back in the day has hyped him up with a strong confession.

7x NASCAR champion comprehends Tony Stewart’s return

Jimmie Johnson, who is also set to race in a truck event later this year, feels that Stewart’s return to Daytona is an idea to help him have fun. But there could be a lot more behind it. The two shared a fierce rivalry back in the day, competing for the championship at their peak. Johnson took the larger number in championships; however, he feels there is some place where Stewart performs better.

“I do feel like he’s [Stewart] going to do what he wants to do,” he told the media. “He wants to come to Daytona and have fun. I’m not sure if there’s anyone better record-wise here than him. He’s got a pretty damn good feel for this place.”

It is worth noting that Tony Stewart never won the Daytona 500. In fact, Johnson has a much better record than Smoke. However, that one event is not the only way a driver can prove their strong performance.

Through the years, Stewart competed on the track in the Nationwide (now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts) Series multiple times and was in the victory lane a whopping seven times. Apart from this, he also won on the track multiple times during the Cup Series’ second visit, and then twice in the International Race of Champions Series. Undoubtedly, he knows the track very well.

While Stewart is returning as part of Kaulig Racing and Ram Trucks’ free agent program, Johnson has yet another reason: “But more than anything, I would imagine Tony really wants to come back once here.”

Considering his racing record on the track, this seems to be an acceptable reason. But will Stewart just run one race, and that would be it? Or will he run more? Now there is certainly an interesting answer to that.

Is Stewart chasing a trophy?

“Tim neglected to tell me ’til today that there’s a trophy.” Of course, Ram Trucks CEO Tim Kuniskis did announce a trophy for the free driver who ends the season with the most points. But Tony Stewart was unaware of this when he signed up for the Daytona race.

While this run wouldn’t have been anything more than a nostalgic return to the track, Stewart now seems more determined.

Being the competitive athlete he has been all his career, it is no wonder that Smoke is now reconsidering his plan to just race once.

“I would love to sit here and go, ‘Man, this is just one and done.’ I would say my answer is, I don’t have an answer. I would say, before we spoke today, and before he mentioned that there was a trophy and an award for this particular truck and who gets the most points in it, I would have said this was one and done. But let’s just say, I’ll leave it open-ended at this point.”

It would be the fans’ delight if Stewart stayed for more races. His NASCAR return, for the first time since 2016, has already got intense reaction from them. Moreover, it might increase the possibility of him going head-to-head against Jimmie Johnson once again when he sets foot in San Diego.