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Tony Stewart asked Kaulig Racing for one change before his second Truck Series start of the season, a different steering box, but his return at Talladega Superspeedway ended after 16 laps when he was collected in an eight-truck crash on Friday.
Kaulig CEO Chris Rice told the story on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday, the day before the Love’s RV Stop 225.
The steering box request
Stewart drove Kaulig’s No. 25 Ram in the season opener at Daytona in February. Rice said that after the race, the three-time Cup Series champion asked about the steering box.
“He got done at Daytona, and he’s like, ‘Man, what steering box do you guys have on this thing?’” Rice said. “He’s like, dude, I need, I gotta have such and such steering box. So we worked on it. We tried to find it, and we had to order one and get that.”
“They don’t make them anymore,” Rice said. “And you call Tony and tell him, he says, ‘Man, what in the world? How do they drive these steering boxes like this?’”
Rice said the team’s trucks were in better shape for Talladega than at Daytona, where Stewart was also caught in a crash.
“Daytona was our first race, so guys and girls worked really hard to get these Talladega trucks ready,” Rice said. “And I’m just super excited to have Tony back and love Tony in the truck.”
Stewart’s help since Daytona
Stewart races for Dodge in the NHRA, and Kaulig fields Ram trucks, both Stellantis brands. Rice said Stewart kept checking in on the team after Daytona.
“The thing Tony didn’t quit doing is, he kept checking on us,” Rice said. “He was like, where can he help? What can he do? You know, what do we need?”
Another early exit
The crash came on Lap 17, when Stewart Friesen’s truck wiggled in Turns 1 and 2 and was hit by Andrés Pérez, NASCAR.com reported. Eight trucks were involved, including Stewart’s and Cleetus McFarland’s.
“Definitely wanted to make it a lot further in the race today than that,” Stewart said. “Everyone started wrecking and they came across the track and got me. That’s just hard restrictor plate racing at Talladega.”
“I wanted to get a chance to race, because I really enjoy working with Kaulig Racing and Ram,” he said. “Kaulig is making progress and Ram is doing a good job marketing this sport.”
Sammy Smith won the race in overtime for his first career Truck Series win.
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