“I got one hell of a headache and banged my left hand up”: Tony Stewart bedazzled by “massive” crash in NHRA

Tony Stewart, a NASCAR legend, was involved in a major crash in the NHRA race in the Reading Nationals. Following the incident, Stewart said that despite the crash, he was fine.

Tony Stewart was involved in a massive and violent crash during the most recent NHRA race, the Reading Nationals, which also involved Doug Kalitta. The accident happened when the front left tire of Kalitta failed to work after the race, and the two Top Fuel dragsters crashed into each other at high speed. Stewart was in an unconscious state and lost a few minutes before becoming conscious again, only to remember that rescuers awakened him.

He talked of having a bad headache and hurting his left hand, but assured that he was okay, as he had suffered worse crashes in his sprint car racing career. Both drivers were fine despite the extent of the accident that led to an early end of the run in Round 2.

"I don't have a damn clue, honestly. I don't remember any of it. The first thing I remember, they're waking me up here. Not sure what happened. It appears to be pretty massive. ... I'm as curious as everybody else is to what happened. I just know that we're not where we're supposed to be at the end of a run here. So, just confused," Kelly Crandall reported on X.

He further penned:

"I got one hell of a headache and banged my left hand up. But I've been through sprint car crashes way worse than this, I'm pretty sure. We're good. We're good. We're fine. I promise we're fine."

Kelly Crandall

@KellyCrandall

Tony Stewart, "I don't have a damn clue, honestly. I don't remember any of it. The first thing I remember, they're waking me up here. Not sure what happened. It appears to be pretty massive. ... I'm as curious as everybody else is to what happened. I just know that we're not

Tony Stewart started to race in this category on a full-time basis in 2024. He became a regular-season NHRA Top Fuel champion in 2025. He has competed in the finals of events such as the Pomona Winternationals, among others. Stewart got his first Top Fuel victories at the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and again at Chicago, where he also recorded the best elapsed time (E.T.) of his career at 3.679 seconds. He also received his first No. 1 qualifier award in Bristol in 2025 and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Bristol.

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Tony Stewart to expand NHRA racing footprint with Elite Motorsports alliance

Tony Stewart Racing has entered into a significant alliance with Elite Motorsports to strengthen its presence in the NHRA Drag Racing Series. This partnership combines TSR’s Top Fuel and Funny Car efforts with Elite Motorsports’ extensive programs across Pro Stock, Mountain Motor Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Competition Eliminator classes. By pooling resources, both organizations aim to offer enhanced sponsorship and hospitality opportunities, creating a more robust platform to attract partners and compete more effectively across multiple NHRA classes.

"Our partnership with Elite Motorsports and Richard Freeman and his group is unique. It’s taking all of our assets that we have with TSR and Elite Motorsports … and creating a situation where we have a lot to offer partners and potential partners down the road. We will be pooling our assets together and working together to try to fund these race cars. This is a unique strategy that Richard came up with, but I really buy into the concept of it," Tony Stewart said in a team statement.

Elite Motorsports is recognized as the largest professional drag racing team in NHRA, boasting star drivers such as Erica Enders and Jeg Coughlin Jr.