Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t attempted the heroics like Tony Stewart or Kyle Larson in his racing career. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver knew how to pilot a stock car, and that was his safe place. But that changed when he collaborated with Garrett Mitchell, better known by his screen name Cleetus McFarland.

The YouTuber made his dream come true competing at the ARCA Series race at Daytona International Speedway this year. Although his race ended in a crash, McFarland linked up with NASCAR’s favorite driver. After a podcast appearance on Dale Jr. Download, the YouTube sensation invited Dale Jr. to take a ride inside the special truck “Dale Truck” at Talladega. Although we’ve seen Jr. brave concussions and wild wrecks in NASCAR, he felt on the edge piloting the #3 Dale Truck at Talladega.

Dale Jr. finally felt what it is like to be a drag racer

The truck that McFarland brought out at Dega is one of his most prized possessions and is unlike any other NASCAR machine. It is almost a dragster with the body of a regular race truck, with the iconic Goodwrench branding and painted black. Now, Jr. was asked to run a lap with a launch as if he was in a dragster, but Jr. didn’t understand the functioning, and on his first attempt, he did a burnout before launching.

“You mash the gas wide open, it’s got twin turbos. Those start spinning up, and that thing gets ready to launch. He’s standing over there and he’ll let you know, ‘Alright, man! Let off the button.” Dale Jr. shared this on the Bless Your Hardt podcast. Well, he didn’t want to spoil the video that McFarland had put out on his channel, but Jr. couldn’t help but describe the feeling where he felt nervous about handling the truck.

“The first run, it was like a jump scare. Like you’re walking through the woods, haunted woods, and somebody comes out with a chainsaw, and you’re like. So the first time I let off the button, it jump scared me, and it was crazy.” Well, this was the first time Dale Jr. truly understood what it was like to pilot a dragster. And after hitting 140 mph, the first thought that came to his mind was Tony Stewart and his ability to compete at the NHRA Top Fuel level.

“10 minutes later, I’m sitting there going Tony f——- Stewart, holy sh–, he went 300, like how? This guy has the same experience as me in a race car, and now he learned to drive a dragster and be one of the best at it.” He added, Smoke finally bagged his first NHRA Top Fuel win at the 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. And just like that, he added another feather to his already decorated hat, all at the age of 53.

Well, apart from sharing his take on his recent collaboration, Dale Jr. also expressed his desire to time travel back to the 1979 Daytona 500 race.

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A trip down memory lane

Jr.’s wife Amy shared this idea about time travel and asked him where he would want to travel if he had an opportunity. Like a true racer at heart, he didn’t think twice and said the 1979 Daytona 500. This was the first NASCAR race that was on national TV, and lap by lap action reached out to the masses at their homes. What made this event a blockbuster was the post-race brawl between Donnie Allison and Carl Yarborough.

But, Dale Jr, knew that he might have missed out on a special occasion in choosing this event. “You could change my mind in an instant but I would probably still fo there.” And this is where Amy brought in Elvis Presley and how she would time travel back to 1969 and witness the comeback of the King in Las Vegas. Now, Jr. is a made Presley fan and he instantly signed up for the gig, “I would have loved to have seen Elvis in Vegas.”

Well, the veteran driver was indeed spoiled for choices, but the 1979 Daytona 500 race wasn’t a bad choice by any means. Which NASCAR race or event would you time travel back to, if you had the opportunity? Do share your picks in the comments.