When Tony Stewart announced his return to NASCAR, it sent a ripple of happiness among the fans. The legendary driver, popularly known as “Smoke”, has always been connected to NASCAR, at times as a driver, if not a driver, then as a team owner. Last year, he was neither. Nonetheless, the three-time Cup Series champion has agreed to drive in the Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona as part of Kaulig Racing’s new Free Agent program, and the latest announcement has turned some heads.

Tony Stewart’s truck is here

After parting ways with NASCAR in 2024 as the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, Stewart wrapped up his involvement with NASCAR once and for all. One would say he did it to focus on the NHRA competition, where he runs Tony Stewart Racing. But RAM’s strategy has somehow brought him back, and now that he is here, Kaulig Racing has just released the first glimpse of what Stewart’s truck will look like.

It’s a complete ‘Smoke’ show, as they have managed to promote both RAM’s and Stewart’s comeback together on it. On the hood and back is written “RAM is back”, whereas there’s “Welcome to the Smoke show” written all around the truck.

Stewart will drive the #25 Truck for Kaulig. With this, he will become RAM’s first competitor of the Free Agent program within the Truck Series.

“I’ve 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 about his return. “Ram’s Free Agent program is another great way for me to stay sharp and have a little fun.”

Stewart’s last race in the Truck Series came in 2005 at the MBNA RacePoints 200 at Dover. He continued racing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series, though, with the final races being the 2013 DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, and the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This means the 54-year-old will drive a NASCAR racecar for the first time in 10 years, and a truck after 21 years. But after seeing the look of the truck, the fans don’t seem very convinced.

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Fans shared a surprising reaction to Tony Stewart’s Daytona ride

At one glance, it seemed that a majority of fans liked the Yellow-Black RAM 1500 Truck, but it faced a lot of criticism. From calling out the color choice of the paint scheme to asking about the sponsorship, there were many.

A fan, who called the Truck “sweet”, but then warned that Stewart should be aware of the upcoming wrecks at the Daytona International Speedway. “This truck is sweet but there is likely an impending crashout from Tony after the talent level isn’t up to his standards.”

Another fan questioned the color choice of Stewart and Matt Kaulig’s team, Kaulig Racing. Calling it a huge downgrade compared to the last, here’s what another fan wrote, “Matte black under the lights? Incredible? Is it some kind of self convincing? Guys, when your actual racing liveries look like a huge downgrade to the early presentational one – that’s the warning sign.”

When someone like Tony Stewart is returning to the sport, racing sponsors should have flooded his truck with their brands. However, in reality, the difference was big, as there was no visible sponsor. Mentioning this, here’s what another fan wrote, “Couldn’t even get a sponsor for a legend of the sport.

Another fan did not like the paint scheme and called it boring. The fan wrote, “Boring ass scheme.”

However, not all fans disliked the paint scheme, and numerous fans wrote about having the diecast model of the truck.

Moreover, some fans also imagined how it would feel to see the #25 Kaulig Racing RAM Truck in the victory lane. Here’s what he wrote about this: “It would be so sick to see this doing some burnouts after a win.”

Besides the Fresh From Florida 250 at the Daytona International Speedway, Tony Stewart will also participate in four more races in 2026. It will be interesting to see how fans react once the paint schemes land on the track.