NASCAR chief 'pumped' for Tony Stewart return at Daytona

Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice has admitted that he is pumped for Tony Stewart's NASCAR comeback with the team at Daytona next month.

It was revealed last week that Stewart would soon be racing in the sport for the first time since he retired at the end of the 2016 Cup Series campaign, set to compete as part of Ram's Free Agent program for Kaulig Racing at Daytona International Speedway's season opener.

Stewart will be driving the No. 25 Kaulig Racing Ram truck at the event, which will mark his first outing in the Truck Series since 2005.

“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 explained.

"Ram’s Free Agent program is another great way for me to stay sharp and have a little fun.”

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How Kaulig secured Tony Stewart comeback

Given Stewart's status in the sport as a three-time champion, his return has been headline news, and, in the days following the above announcement, Kaulig Racing chief Rice opened up on the deal in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Rice offered an insight into the negotiations behind the scenes and revealed his excitement to spend time with Stewart during the event.

”If you think about it, RAM, Stellantis, Dodge, everybody, they have a relationship with him through his NHRA stuff,” Kaulig CEO Chris Rice recently explained on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“Tim [Kuniskis] literally asked us about running a fifth truck. We started this with three trucks, and by the time we got to the end of it was like, ‘Let’s do five trucks.’

“And Matt Kaulig and Tim and myself, we’re a lot alike, right? Like it’s like, ‘Hey, we can do anything as long as we put our mind to it.’ And so we did. And his mind was in this fifth truck was go get somebody like Tony Stewart to set it off and do things like that.”

“They actually did the legwork on that,” Rice continued. “You know, talking to him and trying to convince him to do that. We weren’t really involved in much of those conversations, we were involved in them at the 11th hour to really get him over the top.

“I think with Tony coming back and showing that it's great to have RAM back in the sport, that's a big deal.

“Thats a big deal for the sport. That’s a big deal for Kaulig Racing. That’s a big deal for RAM.

“I’m pumped to spend some time with Tony and talk to him about him running his own program and the good and bad."