Earlier this week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. teamed up with YouTuber-turned-racer Cleetus McFarland to drive around the Talladega Speedway in the latter’s drag racing truck. A 1997 Chevy Silverado that features an Earnhardt Sr.-inspired is the truck in question, and NASCAR legend Tony Stewart has taken note of the outing.
As Earnhardt and McFarland went around the track for the former’s detailed masterclass, the 50-year-old also decided to run a competitive lap in the truck. Stewart then had a special invitation for the retired NASCAR driver.
Tony Stewart Reacts to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Running a Talladega Lap in a Drag-Spec Truck
Nicknamed “Smoke,” Stewart is one of the most iconic drivers in the sport’s history. He is the only driver to have won championships in both the NASCAR and IndyCar series. In a NASCAR career spanning from 1999 to 2016, Stewart raced to three Cup Series Championships, followed by his IndyCar triumph in 1997.
Currently burning rubber in the NHRA series, Stewart is continuing with his immensely successful racing career, and he wouldn’t mind it if Earnhardt were to join him.
Speaking at a press conference following his latest NHRA triumph, Stewart invited Earnhardt to try drag racing, and he even has a spare car for the 50-year-old.
“I got a car; I’ll let him take some runs if he wants. So it’s an open invitation, but I think if you watch that whole video, he thought about what we did, and he’s like, whoa. So I thought his reaction was pretty appropriate because it’s kind of what my reaction was the first time I drove Leah’s car in a test, too. So it’s just drastically different than what Dale’s done and what my path was.”
“I got a car, I’ll let him take some runs if he wants.”@TonyStewart reacts to seeing @DaleJr drive Cleetus McFarland’s drag truck. #4WideNats // @NHRA // @ATYLmedia pic.twitter.com/Qi5FDSzWcW
— Taylor Kitchen (@_TaylorKitchen_) April 25, 2025
Stewart added, “Everything we’ve done in oval track racing and dirt track racing, this is what I’ve always said. Everything I’ve ever done is kind of fit in the same giant bubble, but things are on more toward different sides of it.”
Having won the Talladega Cup Series race six times, including a record-setting four consecutive wins between 2001 and 2003, Earnhardt was only out on the track to teach McFarland the ropes around the Speedway. However, he has earned himself an impressive invite from a legendary athlete.
Stewart was born to do just one thing—race anything with four wheels and an engine. He won races in IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series and has now won in the NHRA.
Recently, the 53-year-old won his first-ever Top Fuel event in the NHRA at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And he did so while asserting his dominance. He showcased a 3.870-second, 317.42 mph run to defeat reigning champion Antron Brown.
Meanwhile, McFarland will now hope to make good use of Earnhardt’s teachings as he gets ready to make his debut in the ARCA Menards Series. The 50-year-old will keep a close watch on how the young driver does.