DAYTONA BEACH, Fla — Tony Stewart said a decade ago that he would never return to NASCAR, but he spent part of Thursday afternoon back in the Daytona International Speedway Media Center.
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He wasn't answering questions as a team owner; this time, he was back in a familiar role while answering questions about his driving career and a Truck Series start with Kaulig Racing.
Did this surprise one-off start make Stewart's wife, Leah Pruett, question her sanity? He joked that this was the case. But he also explained that this NASCAR return presented an opportunity that he didn't believe was previously possible.
"I think it's an opportunity that she never had to literally come to a NASCAR event and watch me drive in NASCAR," Stewart said. "We get to have Leah here, and we get the cherry on top. We get Dominic here, too, who will have never had that opportunity, obviously.
"So we kind of get a two-for-one deal, getting my family to be a part of this with us."
The 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked the last time that Stewart suited up for a NASCAR race. He closed out his Hall of Fame career at the intermediate track, and then he never looked back.
Stewart continued to be involved in NASCAR as a team owner, but he ultimately departed the sport entirely after the 2024 season. He kept his focus on NHRA and his fledgling drag racing career.
Pruett did not get to experience any of Stewart's NASCAR driving career. They did not start dating until 2019, and they didn't announce their engagement until 2021. They did not welcome their child, Dominic, until 2024.
The family did not get to experience a NASCAR race weekend together, but that will all change at Daytona International Speedway. Stewart will take part in pre-race ceremonies with Pruett and Dominic by his side, and he will embrace this new milestone moment in his life.
But no, that does not mean he's coming back for any other starts after Daytona.
"I'm not planning anything else," Stewart said emphatically. "... It is one and done. That's what we said in the press deal."
