DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tony Stewart had plenty of speed at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night, but he did not have the opportunity to contend for the win. Instead, he headed to the garage earlier than expected.
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Another driver sent Stewart to the garage. Jake Garcia got loose in the middle of a three-wide pack on Lap 35. The ThorSport Racing driver tried to correct, but he swerved right. Garcia's truck slammed into the left side of Stewart's truck, which sent it into the outside wall.
Wrong place, wrong time for Tony Stewart. pic.twitter.com/Uy8hTwsfaf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 14, 2026
Stewart made it back to pit road, but he had significant damage to both sides of the No. 25 Kaulig Racing Ram 1500. The team attempted to make repairs, but they ultimately decided to pull the plug on the night.
After all, points did not matter to Stewart. He just wanted to win. The extended time on pit road meant that he would not be in contention for the Truck Series win.
"It was starting to get fun where we could at least get up there and mix it up a little bit, get in the middle of that stuff," Stewart said after exiting the infield care center.
"So not sure what happened underneath us, but (he came) just across the nose. That's just part of it."
Stewart said before the Truck Series race that this was a one-and-done effort for him. However, he made different comments over the radio after the crash. He told his team that "there's a pretty good shot" that he would want to make another start for the Kaulig Racing Truck Series program.
Stewart was the second "star" guest driver in the Daytona race who failed to complete all of the laps. Cleetus McFarland brought out the first caution of the night on Lap 6. He lost control in the tri-oval and slid into the inside SAFER barrier. This hard hit ended his night.
