Slowly but steadily, Tony Stewart is getting to grips with drag racing. After stepping up to replace his wife, Leah Pruet, who took maternity leave, he found the first two races hard before finding his feet. He also recorded his first career NHRA Top Fuel elimination round-wins. But he still desires to see his wife back behind the wheel while soon and doesn’t have any plans laid out for himself.

In December last year, Tony Stewart and Pruet announced that they would be starting a family, with NASCAR’s only ‘Double’ winner taking over the NHRA duties from his wife. While Stewart is currently driving the Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Top Alcohol Dragster, he is unsure of what he’ll be doing next.

What are Tony Stewart’s racing plans going forward?

While Tony Stewart’s wife, Leah, is a professional drag racer, Stewart only used to own a race team in the category before substituting for his wife. Now that he has experienced racing as a dragster, he has developed a liking for this racing category. But he wishes for his wife to return to racing much more than he would like to race in a dragster himself.

On the July 30 edition of Query and Company, Tony Stewart said that Leah is passionate about racing and still talks about returning once they have their baby in November. “I want my wife in a race car. It’s her passion, it’s what I know she loves to do. Obviously, when this little boy in November, who knows how the world’s going to change. But she has every intention of getting back in the car,” he said.

Pruett has been a drag racer for 27 years having started in Junior Dragsters at the age of eight. She has 18 career victories to her name, with 12 of those in Top Fuel and three each in Pro Mod and Factory Stock Showdown. Pruett recorded a third-place finish in the Top Fuel standings last year, a career-high. During the 2023 season, she recorded two victories and four runner-up finishes before taking the hiatus.

As they prepare to welcome a baby boy, Stewart admitted that he wasn’t sure about the responsibility of being a parent and replacing his wife in the cockpit. He revealed,

“I’ll be honest I’m scared to death,” Stewart half-jokingly said. “When we made the announcement here in Indy at the PRI show in December that Leah was going to step out of the car, I told everyone I wasn’t sure if I was more scared of starting a family or driving an 11,000 horsepower car that I wasn’t used to driving yet. Then the more people I talked to I said ‘I’m screwed either way on this.’

But he recalled his wife’s quirky wisdom that had him assured. “She said ‘Well, crackheads do it all the time, and their kids mostly turn out fine’,” Stewart mentioned.

Tony Stewart debuted in NHRA’s drag racing series in the 2023 mid-season. He drove Rich McPhillip’s Mobil 1 dragster, which he brought to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This win was significant for Stewart, as not only was it in his debut season in this motorsport category, but it was also a win in the fourth motorsport category he has ventured into.

His Top Fuel debut in March saw him suffer a first-round loss to Justin Ashley at Gainesville, Florida, followed by another first-round defeat to Steve Torrence at Pomona, California in April. He then earned his first NHRA Top Fuel elimination round-wins at the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, beating No. 2 qualifier Brittany Force. Stewart then overcame Billy Torrence in the quarterfinals before losing to Justin Ashley in the semifinals.

There is little in the way of Tony Stewart when he really wants to do something. But for now, Stewart is focused on helping his wife through the journey of motherhood and seeing her return to the track. So, what does it mean for Tony Stewart’s drag racing career?

Does Tony Stewart have a plan for his racing career alongside Leah?

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Tony Stewart does not have a plan chalked out for himself after Pruett returns to drag racing to back her spot. On Query and Company, he shared that they only have one race car at the moment. While Tony Stewart Racing can attract more investors if the need arises, the same has not been decided so far. If at all Stewart feels like racing, he can very well return to McPhillip’s car next season.

Stewart, at the moment, is happy with the uncertainty around his future. “I kind of like this part of my life. It’s nice to not necessarily have a plan for everything and just call audibles as you go. So, we’ll play the Peyton Manning route; we’ll just walk up to the line and call the shot,” he said.

It is the freedom of choice that he has found for himself that makes him enjoy life, one day at a time. There is nothing bigger than finding peace in building a family and valuing everyone who forms a part of it. And that’s going to be Tony Stewart’s route for leading a life.