Tony Stewart’s name no longer appears on NASCAR entry lists or ownership filings, marking a clean break from the series he was once a big part of. He does not race stock cars, he does not analyze them on television, and he no longer owns the team he built with so much enthusiasm. Instead, Stewart has redirected his competitive instincts toward NHRA Drag Racing, a move that ended up truly rattling him.
Advertisement
This pivot began when his wife, Leah Pruett, stepped away from driving to focus on starting a family, and Stewart slid into her seat. The transition delivered results, but it also produced a moment that shook the drag racing world and left many concerned about Stewart’s well-being.
That concern goes back to September 14, 2025, during the second round of Top Fuel eliminations at Maple Grove Raceway. As the pair streaked through the shutdown area, Doug Kalitta’s dragster drifted across the center line beyond the finish and made contact with Stewart’s machine in the left lane.
The impact turned Stewart’s dragster onto its side before it slapped back onto all four tires and slammed into the left guard wall. Kalitta’s car crossed back over the center line before coming to rest. Both drivers climbed out on their own, alert and responsive, and then underwent on-site evaluations by NHRA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Surface, who cleared them without further treatment.
When Stewart later addressed the incident on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, he removed any hint of blame from Kalitta, explaining that his fellow competitor did everything possible to avoid catastrophe once control slipped away. Stewart acknowledged, however, that the hit carried consequences.
“I’ve been knocked out a lot. That’s the problem. I asked Leah ‘Why do they keep asking me if I’m okay?”, he said, stressing why repeated questions followed him in the days after the wreck.
Pruett urged him to watch the replay with a specific focus on understanding why everyone was asking if he was fine. “And she goes, ‘Watch the replay. Don’t watch the tires, don’t watch the pipes, and the cylinders going out,’ she goes, ‘just focus on your head, watch your head.’ I watched the replay in slow motion, my head it looks like I am trying to shove my head through the dashboard. It goes forward so fast.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. observed that Stewart looked sluggish as he exited the car, a detail that only fueled speculation. Stewart waved it off with dry humor, noting that he rarely walks fast even on his best days. Still, he admitted to feeling discomfort later.
“I felt like somebody dropped a 15-pound bowling ball off the top of a large stepladder on top of my head for about six straight hours. But that got better,” he said.
.@TonyStewart is the definition of bad-to-the-bone. #BestOfDaleJrDownload@DaleJr | @NHRA pic.twitter.com/BZMOiCzAEs
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) December 20, 2025
The stiffness that followed felt familiar, echoing the soreness drivers experience after heavy crashes in NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, or sprint cars. The 54-year-old driver compared it to walking around like a telephone pole, muscles locked and aching.
However, Stewart’s remedy reflected a racer’s instinct. He believes the fastest way to loosen everything up is to climb back in the cockpit and drive, letting motion work out the knots.
