DAYTONA BEACH， Fla. (AP) Tony Stewart is breaking his NASCAR retirement to drive a Ram truck for the first time at Daytona. UFC boss Dana White is along for the ride.

Also on board? The winner of a competition-based reality show in which drivers competed for a seat at Kaulig Racing in NASCARs Truck Series.

Rams re-entry to NASCAR for the first time since 2012 is certainly about competing for wins， testing the waters for a Cup Series return and plugging the product.

For Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis， the comeback is just as much about the craziness were trying to bring to the table.

Ram will race in the third-tier Truck Series alongside rivals Ford， Chevrolet and Toyota. Ram becomes the first new manufacturer to enter NASCAR at the national level since 2007. Kaulig Racing will be Rams anchor partner this season， which opens Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Ram eschewed the traditional path toward finding a driver for its lineup as it promoted its path back to NASCAR.

Ram and Kaulig launched Race for the Seat， an eight-episode reality series that featured 15 drivers competing for a spot on the race team. Ram also announced a partnership with TKO Group better known as the parent company of UFC， WWE and PBR.

White said hes pitched almost daily to partner up with some entrepreneurial start up or to have his One Thrill company help raise brand awareness. He almost always says no.

When Kuniskis reached out to White early last year， the idea of a reality show seemed appealing: UFCs growth early this decade was spurred in part by the The Ultimate Fighters success and other shows such as the Contender series have played a crucial role in turning the MMA company into a billion-dollar business.

White said it was a no-brainer to bring the concept to NASCAR.

The best always rise to the top， White said. The format works. You always find the best guys in the world when youre doing it. Thats basically what I sold Tim on.

TKO and Ram have a five-year deal in place， and the show required Kauligs participation.

I think the only thing thats more expensive than going racing is general marketing and advertising， Kuniskis said.

The YouTube series topped 400，000 views for each of the first three episodes a solid start in numbers White said can blow up over time much as they did with his backing for Power Slap.

What we want to do is get people into the NASCAR Truck racing series that have never seen it before， said White， who was expected to attend the race. Once theres a rooting interest， you want to see if this guy can actually win Daytona.

Timothy Mini Tyrrell emerged as the Seat winner and will join the No. 14 Ram in the Trucks race that includes Brenden Butterbean Queen， Daniel Dye and Justin Haley. Stewart a NASCAR Hall of Famer and three-time Cup champion will make a spot start Friday as part of Rams free-agent program.

Anybody that comes in at this point is going to be at a disadvantage right now， Stewart said. Its going to take a huge investment. Its going to take a huge support system and a lot of manpower to get the program in place. Just to get it in a state where its just competitive when it first hits the racetrack is going to be a monumental task.

Rams return is eased in by new rules guaranteeing a spot in the first three races if one of the trucks fails to qualify on speed. Those trucks will be assigned starting grid positions 37-40. They will earn points but not prize money. After three races， the trucks will need to make the race through the traditional qualifying round.

The Ram partnership marks the first time Kaulig Racing has competed in the Truck Series. Matt Kaulig began his NASCAR ownership in 2016 in the Xfinity Series before expanding to Cup in 2021.

Ram could eventually join Kaulig or another interested team in Cup.

We have every intention to want to get there， Kuniskis said.

Oh， one more thing of note please， just call the trucks Ram. The brand is run by Stellantis.

Its actually Ram thats going back to NASCAR， Kuniskis said. Everybody else in the world calls it Dodge Ram.

___

AP auto racing:

好意思联社佛罗里达州代托纳比奇电 —— **托尼·斯图尔特**（Tony Stewart）将粉碎其NASCAR退役景色，初度驾驶公羊卡车亮相代托纳赛场。UFC总裁**达纳·怀特**（Dana White）也将同车参与。

同业的还有谁？一位通过竞技类真东说念主秀胜出的车手，他在节目中赢得了纳斯卡卡车系列赛考利格车队的参赛席位。

拉姆斯自2012年以来初度重返NASCAR赛事，其主义显著是为了争夺冠军、为重返杯系列赛试水，同期推论关联产物。

关于Ram品牌首席履行官蒂姆·库尼斯基斯而言，此次回首相通关乎咱们试图带来的那种‘淘气’理念。

Ram将联袂竞争敌手福特、雪佛兰和丰田一同投入第三级别的卡车系列赛。Ram成为自2007年以来首个挫折NASCAR寰球赛事的新制造商。本赛季，考利格赛车（Kaulig Racing）将算作Ram的主要合营伙伴，赛事将于周五晚间在代托纳外洋赛说念拉开帷幕。

Ram品牌在重返NASCAR赛事之际，放手了为车队物色车手的传统神态。

拉姆（Ram）与考利格（Kaulig）纠合推出八集真东说念主秀节目《竞速席位》，15名车手将通过角逐争夺车队参赛经验。拉姆同期晓谕与TKO集团完结合营，该集团以旗下领有终极格斗冠军赛（UFC）、世界摔跤文娱（WWE）及干事公牛骑手（PBR）而着名。

怀特暗意，险些每天皆有东说念主找他洽谈合营，但愿与他的“One Thrill”公司联手创业或进步品牌著明度，但他险些老是圮绝。

客岁岁首，当库尼斯基斯干系怀特时，真东说念主秀的构念念显得颇具引诱力：UFC在本十岁首的起飞，部分收获于《终极斗士》的凯旋，而《竞争者》等系列节目也对这家综及格斗公司发展为价值数十亿好意思元的企业起到了要津作用。

怀特暗意，将这一看法引入纳斯卡赛车是件笃定泰山的事。

怀特暗意：“最优秀的东说念主总会脱颖而出。这种模式很灵验，易游国际当你付诸实际时，总能发现世界上最顶尖的东说念主才。这基本上即是我劝服蒂姆的要津场地。”

TKO与Ram已完结一项为期五年的契约，且该行为需要考利格（Kaulig）的参与。

库尼斯克斯暗意：“我合计惟一比投入赛车比赛更烧钱的，即是闲居的营销和告白了。”

这部YouTube系列剧的前三集每集不雅看量均突破40万次——怀特称这一数据开局正经，并暗意其热度会像他此前辅助的《Power Slap》赛事一样随技艺捏续飙升。

怀特（White）暗意："咱们的主义是引诱从未不雅看过NASCAR卡车系列赛的不雅众参与其中。"他展望将出席本次比赛。"一朝不雅众对车手产生辅助倾向，他们就会念念望望这家伙是否真能在戴托纳（Daytona）夺冠。"

蒂莫西·"小米尼"·泰瑞尔（Timothy "Mini" Tyrrell）成为"席位"争夺赛的胜出者，将加入14号Ram车队投入卡车系列赛，同场竞技的还有布伦登·"黄油豆"·奎恩（Brenden "Butterbean" Queen）、丹尼尔·戴伊（Daniel Dye）和贾斯汀·哈利（Justin Haley）。纳斯卡名东说念主堂成员、三届杯赛冠军得主托尼·斯图尔特（Tony Stewart）将于周五算作Ram车队解放车手琢磨的一员投入本站赛事。

“现阶段任何加入的东说念主皆将处于弱势，”斯图尔特暗意，“这需要大皆投资，需要纷乱的辅助系统和多量东说念主力才略落实琢磨。光是让格局在初度亮相赛说念时具备竞争力，即是一项粗重的任务。”

笔据新规，若卡车因速率不达标未能获取参赛经验，拉姆车队的回首之路将更为顺畅，他们将在前三场比赛中确保一个席位。这些卡车将被分拨在第37至40位的发车位置。固然能获取积分，但无法领取奖金。三场比赛事后，这些卡车仍需通过传统的排位赛来争取参赛经验。

与Ram的合营美艳着考利格赛车初度投入卡车系列赛。马特·考利格于2016年以Xfinity系列赛为开头挫折NASCAR赛事统统权规模，并于2021年将业务扩张至杯赛。

拉姆最终可能加盟考利格车队或其他有意向的杯赛车队。

库尼斯克斯暗意：“咱们鼓胀有意愿完结这一主义。”

另外还有小数需要谛视——请平直称这些卡车为Ram（公羊）。该品牌隶属于斯特兰蒂斯集团旗下。

库尼斯克斯暗意："骨子上是公羊品牌将重返纳斯卡赛场，但群众其他地区仍民风称其为说念奇公羊。"

好意思联社赛车专题：