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Anyone who’s been to an NHRA Top Fuel event will tell you that there’s nothing else like it. Each car makes 12,000 horsepower, and when you get two of ’em lined up, it’s just plain rowdy. Ideally, though, it doesn’t get as rowdy as this. Veteran driver Doug Kalitta and Tony Stewart came together at the end of a 335-mile-per-hour run, and while everybody walked away from the accident, Stewart admits he doesn’t “remember any of it.”
The two drivers went head-to-head during the second round of eliminations at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania. Everything was fine between the start and finish line, with Kalitta’s 335.73-mph trap speed and 3.787-second ET beating out Stewart’s 3.809-second run at 326.71 mph. However, as soon as the parachutes came out, Kalitta’s car violently yanked to the left and into Stewart.
NHRA via FS1 / YouTube
Stewart’s car was swiftly knocked onto its side for a brief, painful moment before returning to its upright position and banging into the wall. When asked by Fox Sports 1 what happened, the 54-year-old explained, “I don’t have a damn clue, honestly.”
“I honestly don’t remember any of it,” Stewart continued. “The first thing I remember, they’re waking me up here. Not sure what happened, but it appears to have been pretty massive. Looking at Doug’s car and my car, I’m glad PBRC builds our cars, because we have safe race cars, obviously. I’m as curious as everybody else as 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.
“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.”
Kalitta said during a post-race interview that the collision was “probably the worst one [he’s] had” in a Top Fuel car. That’s saying something, considering he’s been in the sport for 27 years.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
