After a storied NASCAR career with three Cup championships and nearly 50 wins, Tony Stewart didn’t retire into silence. Instead, he built a bridge into a whole new world: drag racing. In October 2021, Stewart announced that his team, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), would join the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series starting in 2022, with Leah Pruett in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car.

By 2024, he stepped into the driver’s seat himself, taking over Pruett’s Top Fuel Dragster duties while she stepped back for family reasons. This move showed how much he was embracing the new challenge, not just managing, but pushing himself again at 300+ mph on a straight track rather than in corners.

Now, after a terrifying crash at the 2025 NHRA Reading Nationals, Stewart opened up to Dale Earnhardt Jr., sharing how concussions and mechanical violence have been part of his racing life.

Stewart shares concussion truths

On the latest Dale Jr. Download, Tony Stewart got real with Dale Earnhardt Jr. about the hidden dangers of racing, especially concussions. “I’ve been knocked out a lot. That’s the problem, you know, for us. I think it’s kind of like when people get heat stroke… once somebody gets heat stroke, it’s easier for them to get it again. And with concussions, it’s the same way. If you don’t give your brain time to heal, you’re susceptible to it even more easily,” he said.

Stewart’s words hit home after his September 14, 2025, crash at the Reading Nationals, where Doug Kalitta’s front-left tire failure sent his dragster crossing the centerline at 335 mph, slamming into Stewart’s. The impact flipped Stewart’s Top Fuel dragster onto its side, then into the guardwall, knocking him unconscious.

He woke up with no memory of it. “I don’t have a damn clue… I don’t remember any of it,” he admitted, adding he was left with a headache and a sore left hand. The three days in holding after his 2023 Cancun detention were tough, but this wreck illustrated his point: repeated trauma makes the next one hit harder.

Stewart explained the unseen violence, “We had an event at Norwalk where we literally blew up two qualified runs on Friday… then the next week in Seattle, we blew a motor and I got a concussion… My head… it looks like I’m trying to shove my head through the dash… from the compression of that explosion, and that’s what gives you the concussion.”

Engine blowups in Top Fuel generate shockwaves that jerk drivers violently, even without a wall hit. Stewart’s Seattle incident was a prime example, his head slamming forward from the force, causing a concussion. The variables differ from NASCAR’s ovals, but the risk to the brain is the same, and Stewart’s history, from the 2001 Daytona flip to the 2013 sprint car leg-breaker, shows he’s no stranger to the toll.

He wrapped with the reality, “So you know we talk about wrecks and crashes. It’s not physically crashing the car into a wall. When those things blow up, it is violent… It’s like being inside a trash can and somebody throws a quarter stick of dynamite in… the variables we deal with are different.”

The Reading Nationals wreck, Kalitta’s tire failure post-3.787-second pass at 335.73 mph, veering into Stewart’s lane after his 3.809 at 326.71 mph, was a prime example. Stewart’s car flipped and hit the wall, but both drivers walked away and were examined by NHRA’s medical team.

Stewart’s not backing off on NHRA, he’s doubling down. Elite Motorsports announced Thursday that, once funding is locked, the three-time Cup champ will drive their Top Fuel dragster in the 2026 Mission Foods series.

Stewart secures new NHRA Top Fuel seat

It’s a partnership born from Richard Freeman’s purchase of Josh Hart’s operation and ties to Tony Stewart Racing. Six-time Pro Stock champ Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield will also license in the car, making it a family affair for Elite.

“Having Tony as our driver, adding another Top Fuel entry, we’re taking care of the sport and opening up possibilities. That’s why we’ll have Erica and Aaron get licensed in the car as well. First things first, though, we need to get the program funded, but letting everyone know our intentions will help.” Freeman said.

For Stewart, it means handing back Leah Pruett’s seat after keeping it warm. “I said from the very beginning that I was just keeping Leah’s seat warm and that it was hers as soon as she was ready to come back,” he said. “Well, she’s coming back in 2026 and that Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster is going to have her name on it, not mine.”

His 2025 rookie honors, Las Vegas Four-Wide win, and regular-season title, 18 points from the Countdown lead, prove he belongs. But racing against Pruett? “I still think it’s a terrible idea. It’s a no-win situation for me. If I win, I get kicked to the couch. If she wins, I get to call all my buddies and tell them I got my a– kicked by my wife. Still trying to figure out where this is a positive for me.”

The 2026 season will be Stewart’s third in Top Fuel, with five Countdown races left, but the family showdown adds a fun twist to his post-NASCAR life.