He’s Back: Tony Jackson Returns to Scott Hess Racing Sportsman for Select Shows in 2026

Coming just a day after April Fools’ Day, this is no joke — Tony Jackson is returning to the driver’s seat.

The veteran racer will pilot the Scott Hess Racing Sportsman for a select winged and wingless schedule in 2026, after previously announcing that 2025 would be his final season behind the wheel.

Jackson’s return will begin with a pair of wingless events on April 24 at Williams Grove Speedway and April 25 at Port Royal Speedway. He also plans to compete in wingless competition alongside the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars at Lincoln Speedway on May 5th.

“This was always kind of the plan, but I wanted Scott to be able to find someone to race full-time, as I just really didn’t want to do it all that much,” said Jackson. “I wanted to give Chase and the team the time to get going and get racing first, respectively, but we wanted to get the word out and start getting ready to go compete for wins.”

Jackson’s 2026 schedule will be selective, allowing him to balance time away from full-time competition while still competing for victories in the familiar Scott Hess Racing entry. Following a successful 2025 campaign, Jackson credited the support of his sponsors, friends, and family as the driving force behind his decision to come back for a limited run.

“We have a rough schedule kind of laid out, but this gives me the ability to be flexible and make sure my family and business get my attention first,” he said. “If I have something on the schedule and my boy has a ballgame that pops up, that’s going to get my attention and that’s the plan.”

Jackson also emphasized that his return will not take away from Chase Gutshall’s efforts behind the wheel of Scott Hess Racing’s winged Sportsman.

“Chase is already kind of stepping into a tough situation with a car that’s won a lot of races and been successful,” he said. “I want to make sure he can feel confident and appreciated, and I’m sure those guys are going to win a lot of shows together. There may be a few nights where we run two cars here and there, and ultimately the goal for us is to just have some fun, win some races, and hopefully we can both do that for Scott and all our sponsors.”

Additional appearances will be announced at a later date.