RACE DAY LINKS: Starting lineup | Full Sunday schedule | Every paint scheme
RICHMOND, Va. -- Tony Stewart was smiling, friendly and even a bit chatty talking with crew members as he left his Richmond International Raceway garage stall long after most drivers had called it a day following final practice for Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The feeling he conveyed Saturday morning was unmistakable. He is happy to be back and there genuinely appears no one more excited to take this weekend's green flag. And it's a good bet he'll receive quite the ovation from the Richmond crowd when he's introduced.
Stewart will start his No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet 18th on the 40-car grid -- his first start since the 2015 Sprint Cup Series finale in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He has spent the first eight races of the 2016 season healing from a broken back -- an injury sustained in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Jan. 31.
In an interview with FOX before the race, Stewart was at ease and smiling, saying the conditions were perfect for his return -- the race is at Richmond, his favorite track, it's in the daytime and the track will get hot, leading to plenty of sliding.
"I just expect to go do what I always do," Stewart said. "Just get in and do the best I can."
Stewart surprised the racing world this week announcing his return to Cup competition via Twitter on Thursday.
There has been a lot of welcoming for Stewart this weekend at Richmond. Although he is co-owner of the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing team and has been at several races in his ownership role, there was no mistaking his eagerness and energy as he returned to work as a driver. And the feeling was mutual, as NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty showed by embracing the three-time champ in the garage.
Stewart didn't have any formal media sessions at Richmond, but addressed his whirlwind weekend in a tweet on Sunday morning.
After making his first start of 2016 here at the .75-mile track, Stewart will qualify and run opening laps next week at Talladega Superspeedway before having Ty Dillon replace him on the 2.66-mile track's high banks.
In between, Stewart is scheduled to participate in a tire test at his "home" track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in preparation for his final Brickyard 400 on July 24.
NASCAR granted Stewart a waiver, giving him an opportunity to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup if he wins a race and climbs to 30th in the points standings by the end of the Sept. 10 regular-season finale in Richmond.
All the drivers within the top 30 in points with a victory automatically earn a Chase bid. If 16 drivers don't have wins, then the Chase positions go in order to those ranked highest in points among the top 30.
"We are glad to have him back," Joey Logano said Friday. "The number 14 has been out there every week but Tony hasn't been in it so it is nice to have Tony back out in his final year.
"I can imagine he wants to go out on a good note and it is nice to have him back in the car and be in that position where he loves to be and try to end his career on a high note."
Richmond has historically been a good venue for Stewart. He has three wins here, 11 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 33 starts. His first career Cup victory was in 1999 at Richmond.