"He's awesome": Dale Jr. gains renewed respect for Tony Stewart after driving Cleetus McFarland’s truck 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his newfound respect for fellow former NASCAR driver and current NHRA Top Fuel dragster driver Tony Stewart. After testing Cleetus McFarland’s drag racing truck, Dale Jr. admitted he would rank Stewart’s NHRA career "near the top".

Stewart had joined NHRA, driving for his team, Tony Stewart Racing, last season to replace his wife, Leah Pruett. He started the 2025 season after earning his Rookie of the Year honors last year and won his first race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 13. A few days later, Dale Jr. drove the NASCAR Craftsman Truck at Talladega, which popular YouTuber McFarland had modified for drag racing.

During the recent episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, the NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner described the intense experience of going from 0 to 140 mph in the eighth of a mile. He also said the acceleration left him lightheaded and totally unprepared.

"I just shot forward like an amusement park, and it made me light headed. And that's unbelievable. It was, it was it really, I wasn't ready. My body was not ready for it," Dale Jr. said (00:32).

"In like, two years, Tony Stewart has become successful and he goes twice as fast as this...I didn't appreciate what Tony had done, yeah, as much as I did after I drove that truck, I was like, that was fast. I can't imagine, I can't imagine how what your body goes through to go twice as fast in an eighth mile," he added (01:35).

Stewart is the only driver to have earned championships in both the NASCAR and IndyCar Series, and has also won races in several other racing series, including USAC and IROC. Dale Jr. further mentioned that he would rank Stewart’s NHRA career highly among his other achievements.

"I admire. I love Tony Stewart. He's awesome. We all know that he kicks ass, but dang. I honestly feel like I really didn't put his NHRA career anywhere near the other things that he's done in racing. But now I gotta say that I put it near the top," Dale Jr. added (02:18).

Stewart currently trails NHRA points leader Shawn Langdon after his third straight final appearance during the last event in Charlotte on April 27.

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"I'll let him take some runs" - Tony Stewart's open invitation to Dale Jr.

Tony Stewart also reacted to Dale Jr. driving the drag truck and invited him to take his dragster for a spin. During a press conference on April 26, he said:

"I got a car, I'll let him [Dale Jr.] take some runs if he wants. So it's an open invitation."

Dale Jr. later replied to the invitation and said he would consider it, as long as it was safe.

Meanwhile, Stewart is about to be the first to race all Chicagoland circuits: the oval, dirt track, and drag strip. He and his teammate Matt Hagan in the TSR Funny Car are set to compete at the sixth NHRA Drag Racing Series event of the 2025 season this Friday, April 16.