Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart returns to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Oct. 23 at Talladega Superspeedway driving Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 Ram 1500 as part of Ram’s Free Agent Driver Program.
The fall appearance marks Stewart’s second Truck Series start of the 2026 season. He launched Ram’s return to NASCAR in February at Daytona International Speedway as the inaugural driver in the manufacturer’s Free Agent initiative.
“Anytime you can get into a Ram truck and go racing at a place like Talladega, you jump at it,” Stewart said. “Daytona in February was a blast, but this trip focuses on having fun while helping Kaulig Racing learn and build their notebook on superspeedways. Ram put a tremendous amount of heart into this NASCAR return. If my experience helps this team sharpen its drafting package and speed up the learning curve, everyone wins.”
Ram’s Free Agent Program
The Free Agent program is designed to bring legendary drivers and rising stars into the spotlight, giving fans a unique mix of experience and fresh talent behind the wheel of a Ram 1500. Ram has five trucks with Kaulig Racing with the #25 reserved for a different “Free Agent” driver every race. Stewart’s involvement and the Free Agent Program underscore Ram’s innovative approach on and off the track.
“Bringing Tony back behind the wheel of the Ram 1500 at Talladega brings incredible energy to our entire team and NASCAR fans everywhere,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of American Brands, SRT Performance, North American Marketing and Retail Strategy at Stellantis. “That’s exactly what our Free Agent program is all about. We built it to put proven competitors in Ram trucks, let them push the limits, create real-world feedback, and give fans what they came for. Tony is a Hall of Famer anda racer through and through, Seeing ‘Smoke’ back on the high banks at NASCAR’s biggest track is going to be a show.”
The high-profile partnership between Ram Trucks and Stewart generated immediate momentum during February’s season opener at Daytona. Stewart’s return to NASCAR after a decade-long absence drove total television viewership on FS1 to 1.387 million average viewers. That figure marked a 37% increase over the 2025 opening race, with peak viewership surpassing 1.6 million viewers to deliver the most-watched Craftsman Truck Series broadcast since 2016.
Ram Free Agent Driver Roster
The Free Agent Driver Program highlights Ram’s return to NASCAR competition. The manufacturer rotates a star-studded group of championship veterans, rising prospects, and motorsports icons into the No. 25 entry throughout the 2026 schedule. Across the season, the No. 25 Ram 1500 roster has featured Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Ty Dillon, Ryan Newman, Connor Daly, Corey LaJoie, Travis Pastrana, Parker Kligerman, Clint Bowyer, A.J. Allmendinger, Carson Ferguson, Elliott Sadler, and sports car veteran Colin Braun.
The No. 25 Free Agent machine runs alongside Kaulig Racing’s four full-time Craftsman Truck Series entries: Corey LaJoie (No. 10), Brenden Queen (No. 12), “Mini” Tyrrell (No. 14), and Justin Haley (No. 16).
Entrepreneur Matt Kaulig founded Kaulig Racing in 2016 as a part-time Xfinity Series program. The organization rapidly expanded, earning its first of 27 Xfinity victories in 2018 before making the leap to the Cup Series in 2020 and collecting two premier-series road course wins with Allmendinger.
Superspeedway Pedigree & Track Experience
Talladega Superspeedway stands as NASCAR’s largest oval at 2.66 miles with 33-degree banking, generating high-speed drafting and unpredictable pack racing. Across 35 premier-series starts at the Alabama facility, Stewart earned a Cup Series victory in October 2008 alongside nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
In the Truck Series, Stewart holds two victories—winning back-to-back Daytona openers in 2002 and 2003—along with five top-five finishes across seven career starts. His February run at Daytona in the No. 25 Ram 1500 marked his first Truck Series appearance since 2005 and his first NASCAR national series start since 2016.
Broadcast Details
FS1 will broadcast the action live from Talladega Superspeedway at 4 p.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 23
–Kaulig Racing —