There is no coming back from this story, especially for the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, known to NASCAR as the Brickyard, had already seen its share of tragedy long before the first Indy 500 ever rolled off the starting line. While no deaths have occurred at the track since 2015, the legacy of past incidents has fueled rumors that the Speedway might be haunted.

Tony Stewart, like most drivers, had shrugged off the stories in 1999. That year, while staying overnight at the track to complete his double, everything he thought he knew about the Speedway changed.

Tony Stewart’s spooky Double attempt story

Recalling this incident, Tony Stewart’s narration still gives readers goosebumps.

“I’m telling you that night there was so much stuff going on,” he said. “I was going looking around like you’re gonna see somebody at some point or groups of people; it was that loud. And it was like there’s nothing moving; you physically cannot see anything, but you close your eyes, and you can hear everything.”

After closing the chapter on his open-wheel career, Tony Stewart made the leap to Cup racing with Joe Gibbs Racing in 1999. But he had bigger ambitions; he wanted to achieve what few could: the Double.

That meant running the grueling 600 miles of the Coca-Cola 600 and then heading straight to the Indy 500. At the time, no one was allowed to stay inside the Speedway overnight, but the Cup champion had special access. And that is when things got unusual. It was a feeling Tony Stewart couldn’t shrug off.

“I got back about 1:00 in the morning from running in at Charlotte, and I’m not joking, it was alive. The whole place was alive. I’ve told this story to people, and they look at you like, ‘Come on, man,’ and the amount of noise that was inside that place and the activity you could hear was like a movie filled with dreams.”

Some called it a curse; others, something stranger. Whatever it was, the then 28-year-old Stewart couldn’t quite finish the historic feat. Driving the No. 22 Tri-Star Motorsports car, he completed 196 laps, just 4 laps shy of the 200 laps needed to seal the Double.

Undeterred, he returned in 2001 to finish what he had started, proving that determination can conquer the unexplainable. Stewart’s racing career was legendary, but his time as a NASCAR team owner ended on a quieter note.

After years at the helm of Stewart-Haas Racing, he decided to step away at the close of 2024 to turn his gaze to dragster racing, leaving behind a legacy both on and off the track.

However, the story will never be viewed the same, and another NASCAR legend seems to have witnessed something similar.

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Dale Earnhardt’s spooky encounter at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Among NASCAR fans, there is a famous tale about the seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. Although it has never been officially verified, one fan knows the story all too well.

According to the legend, The Intimidator once took a nighttime lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a motorcycle. When he returned down pit road, the story goes, he was as pale as a ghost. Those nearby reportedly claimed he had seen something he wasn’t supposed to.

Whether it’s true or just one of those racing campfire stories, this anecdote has added to the Speedway’s mystique, whispered among fans as a reminder that even the toughest drivers might encounter the unexplained.

And The Intimidator’s son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of NASCAR’s strong voices and a great ghost storyteller, once even detailed a spine-chilling encounter on Earnhardt Sr.’s property.

The haunted stories do not seem to leave the Earnhardt family, but this tale still, in a way, confirms the mystery around the Indianapolis Speedway.