On June 8 this year, Ram announced its comeback to NASCAR. It officially left the sport earlier in 2012, but now it is leaving no stone unturned in hyping up its five-entry return. The car manufacturer will feature in the Craftsman Truck Series under the Kaulig Racing team banner. And this team unraveled its latest information in relation to this comeback – except for the most-awaited details.

No clue about NASCAR’s star-studded entry yet

“The announcement you’ve all been waiting for since August… 😏,” Kaulig Racing wrote on its post on X. The team has finally revealed its five numbers for its upcoming debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with returning manufacturer Ram Trucks. The three full-time drivers announced are Daniel Dye, Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen, and Justin Haley, piloting the No. 10, the No. 12, and the No. 16, respectively. However, the final two trucks, the No. 14 and No. 25, are still unknown to NASCAR fans.

“The key to that is these fans love the teams, and they love the drivers; these larger-than-life personalities are who they’re attracted to,” Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said about the Free Agent Driver Program of the No. 25 entry in mid-November. “You know, they can’t get in and drive the car, but they can live vicariously through these people. So we said, how do we expand that past these three drivers, and that’s where the idea of the free agent car came from.”

A pile of rumors has stacked up surrounding Kaulig Racing’s mystery entries. Prime among them are three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and 18-time Cup race winner Kasey Kahne running a car. However, Kaulig officials claimed in November that none of these stars are under contract. Yet rumors also extend to the winner or winners of a reality TV show that has already wrapped filming. Many expect UFC President and CEO Dana White to be involved. Notably, he wore a Kaulig Racing shirt during face-offs for UFC 322.

Meanwhile, Ty Dillon is coming back to Kaulig’s Cup Series line-up alongside AJ Allmendinger. “This means a lot to me, I’m very grateful, it’s been a wonderful winter, it’s been a little bit of a slow rollout of our announcement, but we’ve kind of all known about it for a couple of months now, and just excited to get it out on the table,” Dillon said.

While Kaulig prepares its line-up, the anticipation is rising. And one of the initially rumored stars, Tony Stewart, also caught attention with a revelation.

The shiniest of them all

While Tony Stewart‘s appearance under Kaulig would have been a showstopper, the legend’s career keeps mesmerizing fans anyway. Stewart has won 49 races in NASCAR’s premier tier, besides collecting many more accolades in IndyCar, USAC, dirt racing, and NHRA. He also owns championships from multiple series. But of all the awards he owns, Stewart prizes one trophy above the rest. That is Goodyear’s trophy, gifted to the Cup Series champion every year. It is a replica of the champion’s car, with intricate details of every driver’s ride carved on it.

“It’s the one that Goodyear does for the Cup champion each year. They do a gold car, and I think it’s 18th scale. It’s a replica of your car. So, it’s gold-plated, and your number and your sponsor logos are all etched in it,” Tony Stewart said while describing the award. And he even has a trophy on his wish list – the Borg-Warner trophy for Indianapolis 500 winners. “Don’t have one of those yet. I’m not going to have one because I probably won’t ever race the new 500 again. But I think it’s a cooler trophy than that.”

Tony Stewart’s star-studded career knows no limit. In the meantime, however, fans can only imagine which legend will wheel a Ram truck until Kaulig’s announcement.