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Smoke Returns!

Smoke is hoping to kiss the bricks one more time.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 08: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Ford, celebrates with team owner, Tony Stewart, after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 08, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

NASCAR Hall of Famer driver Tony Stewart announced plans Wednesday to drive in the Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 4. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2020 Hall of Fame inductee will headline the race held on the 14-turn, 2.44-mile road course.

The 48-year-old Indiana native has competed in 18 Brickyard 400s, five Indianapolis 500s and four IROC Series races at the famed track. He is a two-time Brickyard 400 winner (2005, 2007) and a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. He retired from full-time NASCAR racing after the 2016 season.

"Everyone knows what Indy means to me, so I can't think of a better place to race on Fourth of July weekend," said Stewart, who grew up 45 minutes from Indy. "The date is already circled on my calendar."

Tony Stewart, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean drive the No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang in a demonstration run at Circuit of the Americas
AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 31: Former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart of United States prepares to drive the No.14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang in a demonstration run during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of USA at Circuit of The Americas on October 31, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Stewart has eight road-course wins in the Cup Series, trailing only Jeff Gordon, and notched his 49th and final career victory in 2016 at Sonoma Raceway in California.

The Indiana 150 will mark Stewart's 95th start in the Xfinity Series and his first since the winning the 2013 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. It also will mark Stewart's first NASCAR start since the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"People sometimes say, 'We miss seeing you behind the wheel,' and I'm like, 'Well, you've just got to go to different places now,'" said Stewart, who has 23 wins in an assortment of sprint car races since retiring as a full-time NASCAR driver. "I'm racing 100 times a year in a sprint car, but seeing some of these road-course races – especially the Roval at Charlotte – piqued my interest a bit. … All of it has led me back to the place I've always called home – Indy."

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