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 NASCAR's Truck Series.
Ram's 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 we’re 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 Ram’s 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 he's 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: UFC's growth early this decade was spurred in part by the “The Ultimate Fighter's” 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 you’re doing it. That’s basically what I sold Tim on.”
TKO and Ram have a five-year deal in place, and the show required Kaulig’s participation.
“I think the only thing that’s 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 there’s 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 Ram's free-agent program.
“Anybody that comes in at this point is going to be at a disadvantage right now,” Stewart said. “It’s going to take a huge investment. It’s 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 it’s just competitive when it first hits the racetrack is going to be a monumental task.”
Ram’s 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.
“It’s actually Ram that’s going back to NASCAR,” Kuniskis said. “Everybody else in the world calls it Dodge Ram.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
FILE - Cars race during the Busch Light Clash NASCAR exhibition auto race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Feb. 3, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog ended a contentious four-day visit to Australia on Thursday that brought comfort to Sydney’s Jewish community traumatized by a recent antisemitic mass shooting, but also attracted large-scale demonstrations protesting the civilian toll of the Gaza war.
Herzog has been dogged by protesters who label him a war criminal as he visited Sydney, the national capital Canberra and Melbourne in the first Australian visit by an Israeli head of state in six years.
Authorities estimated 10,000 protesters shut down several downtown Melbourne streets with a rally Thursday evening as Herzog left the country. The largest protest of his visit was mostly peaceful, with only a single demonstrator facing a charge of assaulting a police officer, a police statement said.
Earlier, Herzog challenged protesters to target Iran, which he described as an "empire of evil” that had killed tens of thousands of its own citizens.
Addressing a Jewish community gathering in Melbourne under tight police security, he referred to Iran's ambassador to Australia being expelled six months ago over allegations the Revolutionary Guard had directed antisemitic arson attacks in Melbourne and Sydney. Australia's two largest cities are home to 85% of the nation's Jewish population.
“I say to all those protesters outside, go protest in front of the Iranian embassy or whichever embassy they have,” Herzog said.
Earlier in his Australian visit, Herzog said such protests were mostly attempts to “undermine and delegitimize” Israel’s right to exist.
Herzog and the Australian government agree he was invited to support a community reeling from a Dec. 14 attack, allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group, on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler, who accompanied Herzog during his Australian travels, appealed to protesters to consider the grieving Jewish community.
“The community in Sydney is feeling extremely uplifted and seen following his visits,” Leibler said.
Herzog’s critics take issue with another stated purpose of his visit. Herzog told The Associated Press in a statement last week his visit would “reinvigorate” bilateral relations and “dispel many of the lies and misinformation spread about Israel over the last two years.”
“Now that means his visit is not a visit to mourn, but it’s a visit that is political, that is in fact propaganda,” Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti said. “So his view seems to be different from the Australian government’s view as to the purposes of his visit.”
Sidoti was one of three experts appointed by the U.N.’s Human Rights Council to an inquiry that reported in September last year that Herzog, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had incited the commission of genocide in Gaza.
Bilateral relations have been strained over the plight of Palestinian civilians since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023, particularly since Australia decided to recognize a Palestinian state six months ago.
Herzog said on Thursday his discussions with Australian political leaders and “opinion shapers” this week had been “conducted with candor, open-mindedness and a great deal of mutual respect.”
“I found serious partners who are willing to hold serious conversations and address the vile rhetoric, the misinformation, the shameful antisemitism head on,” Herzog said.
Police said a planned visit on Thursday to the ruins of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, which Iran is accused of torching in late 2024, had been cancelled due to security concerns.
Anti-Herzog graffiti left overnight at a Melbourne University campus was removed early Thursday.
“The university stands firmly against antisemitism. Racism, hatred and violence have no place in our society or our nation. We became aware of the offensive graffiti on the edge of our Parkville (suburban) campus this morning and immediately sent cleaners who swiftly removed it,” a university statement said.
On his first day in Australia on Monday, Herzog laid a wreath at Bondi Beach. He also met survivors and bereaved families.
He addressed the media at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday, describing his visit as an opportunity to reset bilateral relations on a “new beginning and a better future.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at a Jewish community event in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Demonstrators gather in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, to protest the visit to Australia by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Demonstrators gather in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, to protest the visit to Australia by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - Demonstrators gather in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, to protest the visit to Australia by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at a Jewish community event in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
