NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Even as she continues to support her husband, Tony Stewart, as he continues to battle for the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship, Leah Pruett is also focused on her return to full-time Top Fuel competition in 2026. In a press conference during the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals, Pruett discussed everything that went into her decision to return next season and her goals for the future.

After nearly winning the championship in 2023, Pruett stepped out of the car in 2024 to start a family with Stewart, who took over the controls of the car the last two seasons, and even though she’s been out of the cockpit for the better part of two seasons, she’s not going to feel like starting all over again despite the changes in her life.

“It’s a new dynamic, something I’ve never done before, being a mother back in a race car,” she admitted. “I made my decision to come back earlier this year after testing in Richmond. That Richmond test was pivotal, not just for performance but for something deeper. I’d heard many stories of other women in dangerous sports, whether a professional equestrian, and even Angelle [Sampey] has said, ‘It’s totally gonna change you.’ I’m like, well, I don’t know, until I figure that out myself. So I had different KPIs [key performance indicators] during that test session: Hey, how do I feel? Managing my emotions. Do I still remember everything as naturally as possible? Is my reaction time still there? And I did.

“I was able to [recognize] cylinders out. I was able to lift, actually, quicker than when I had lifted before. Everything came back very natural, and as much love as I have for my son — and he was being watched by our nanny, as she does during race weekends — I did not remember that I had a son and I was a mother until I had to stop and pump and pack my parachutes.

“I was able to prove to myself that I was exactly the same racer that came out, that stepped out in 2023, and in 2025, there I was, right back in. And I was like, if I already came in at a level so high and comfortable, it was very exciting.”

Pruett’s return quickly prompted questions about Stewart’s plans, and within days of the announcement of her return came news that she could be competing against him in Top Fuel if he is able to get funding to drive a new Top Fuel operation being created by Pro Stock powerhouse Elite Motorsports.

Despite Stewart’s earlier proclamations that he never wanted to have to race against his wife, that now looks like a very real possibility, and she was a primary driver in the discussion.

“I knew my husband, and him being on the sidelines is not anywhere part of his DNA,” she said. “Before going public that I was back in a car, I needed to make sure that Tony was going to be driving something. And Tony’s like, ‘No, no, I’ll figure it out, Leah, you make that decision,' so we were fighting with caring about each other more and just personally fulfilling each other’s cup. I said, ‘OK, well, I’m coming out and saying I’m driving. We don’t have you locked in for anything,' and now we have.

“I’m looking forward to racing with and against Tony. Just because we will be in separate teams, we have the marketing alliance with Elite, and, of course, as that team is being built, we are a large part of that conversation, I mean, technically, we’re teammates to some degree.

“I want that car to do so well. I want Tony to do so well. I want to see my student absolutely thrive. I joked with him this week. ‘Of course I want to run against you. So many people got to run against you and beat you.' And he’s like, ‘Not that many!’ But I’ve never been able to beat Tony, from [the board game] Aggravation to go-karts. I don’t even go do that anymore because it’s so embarrassing.

“I think we’ve really matured since he said, ‘No way I’m gonna race against my wife.’ We have matured as a couple, and we are so comfortable and wanting to, and we are racers, and that’s what we do. And I think it is nothing but a privilege to be able to race each other. So why not get to live our dream competing? He jokes about [sleeping on] the couch [if he wins], but I’m like, but it’s gonna be interesting.”

She knows that there’s a very real possibility that one could stop the other from winning a championship. She could stop … he could stop TSR from winning a championship.

"Our entire goal is to operate at the highest level. He wants the team that he owns to continue to do well, and I want my husband to do well and be right there. I think the worst-case scenario would be that one car is doing really well and the other team is not, because [that] actually just puts a heavier load on us as a couple. So you might be enjoying the momentum that you’re having, and you look on the other side of the aisle, and they might be struggling, and you want them to do well. So I think we’ll have the heaviest mental, physical load of everybody. But that truly is who Tony is. He always takes on a ton, but the impressive part is that he’s always able to accomplish a ton at the same time.

"We’ve learned that we can get through anything. We can get through what it’s like to be a driver-owner team dynamic, and then looking out after each other’s personal feelings and wants and needs. And my favorite part, and I think what I’ve learned about him is his emotional maturity. When Tony started racing in NHRA, I always had a streamlined view, like, what does a team need? When I got with Tony, I understood any problem that was happening on the track or within a series. What’s the fan perspective? What’s the series owner’s perspective? What are the TV needs? Then you can step back and go, ‘I understand why that decision was made.’ Might not be the best for the team, but here’s why it is for three, four, and five, it makes sense for them. This is all one large unit, so whether you’re talking about insurance or safety or promotions, rules, regulations, I now have a much more holistic view of how motorsports operates, because Tony’s been doing that as a series owner, a track owner, a team owner, a driver himself.”

The two seasons outside of the car have allowed her to focus on much more than just driving, and she has taken classes to better utilize the new insights and data she has gathered from the outside.

“Me staying out of 2025 has actually, my opinion, helped develop me as a racer in ways that in 2024 didn’t,” she said. “I am more in tune with the race car, with the team, with our technology, than I’ve ever been in my whole life.

“In my professional Top Fuel career, so much of it has been focused on driving. In the last two years, we identified that we were never making it down the track on Q1, so we were not properly prepared for Q2. So focused on hitting our power level correctly for Q1 and that has improved by 33% of our qualifying position and over 50% of our run-completion rate. And that’s just how we’re able to look at our data.”

And while the whirlwind of team-building, sponsorship, and competition could overwhelm some, Pruett says it fuels her.

“We don’t go out and try and look for extra activity and extra hype or anything like that, but I would say it’s our most natural state to be around constant momentum, building momentum,” she said. “And you build momentum with the people that are around you once you are all pulling that rope in the same direction. That’s what keeps our soul happy and constantly moving forward.”