WATCH: $300M Dale Earnhardt Jr. stuns Cleetus McFarland with his skills in the Dale Truck at Talladega
26-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently made his way to the Talladega Superspeedway to drive a special vehicle owned by famous YouTuber and part-time ARCA Menards Series driver Garrett Mitchell, better known as Cleetus McFarland. The latter was left overwhelmed by Dale Jr.'s skills behind the wheel of his famous Dale Truck.
For the latest video on his YouTube channel, McFarland invited Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is worth $300 million (as per Celebrity Networth), to Talladega for a ride in the Dale Truck. The vehicle is a powerful drag-style race truck modeled after a 1990s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride and has become one of McFarland's most famous projects. It features a throwback paint scheme that pays tribute to Dale Earnhardt Sr. with #3 on the side of the truck.
During their previous meeting on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, McFarland mentioned racing at Talladega in the ARCA Menards Series in April. Dale Jr. gave him some useful advice for surviving at the tri-oval. However, the exciting part of the video came when Dale Jr. suited up and got inside the Dale Truck.
In a clip shared on X by @Skewcar, McFarland was seemingly stunned by Jr.'s burnout skills behind the wheel of his modified truck. Watch the video below.
The truck initially came with an LS1 engine and a T56 transmission, making it suitable for street driving. However, McFarland has made some serious modifications under the hood to make it the monster it has become. The original LS1 engine was replaced with a 7.0-liter LS7 engine, and after some tuning on the dyno, the truck achieved close to 625 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. describes his feelings of launching the Dale Truck
In a recent episode of the podcast Bless Your 'Hardt with his wife Amy, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained what it felt like to drive the 600 horsepower drag truck and compared the feeling to being on a roller coaster ride. He shared that the truck has incredible acceleration, and it went from 0 to 140 mph in just one-eighth of a mile on the backstretch of the Talladega Superspeedway.
Comparing the situation to being hit by a jump scare, Jr. shared:
"Have you ever been on the roller coasters that take off from a standstill and then go up? It's exactly like that, but multiplied many times in terms of speed. The first run, as soon as I let off the button, my whole body went back in the seat, and my foot literally came up off the floorboard. The gas pedal's up on the firewall, so you have to lift your foot and mash it." (27:05 onwards)
"Like when you’re walking through haunted woods and someone comes out with a chainsaw or Bigfoot jumps out," he added.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to broadcasting duties for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega on Sunday, April 27. The race is scheduled to start at 3:00 pm ET.