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via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 28: Tony Stewart 314 TA Mobil 1 McPhillips Racing Top Alcohol Dragster talks with fans and his wife, Leah Pruett 777 TF Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster during the Motorsport, Herren, USA, Dragster Drag Race Nevada Nationals on October 28, 2022, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by Jeff Speer/LVMS/Icon Sportswire AUTO: OCT 28 NHRA Nevada Nationals Icon221028007 | Credits: Imago
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/imago1017530034h.jpg)
via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 28: Tony Stewart 314 TA Mobil 1 McPhillips Racing Top Alcohol Dragster talks with fans and his wife, Leah Pruett 777 TF Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster during the Motorsport, Herren, USA, Dragster Drag Race Nevada Nationals on October 28, 2022, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by Jeff Speer/LVMS/Icon Sportswire AUTO: OCT 28 NHRA Nevada Nationals Icon221028007 | Credits: Imago
A few months earlier, Tony Stewart‘s better half and drag racing queen, Leah Pruett, unveiled her plans for a sabbatical from the drag strip for some family time. Her husband Tony Stewart has stepped further into the world of NHRA, taking on his wife’s responsibility in her nitro-powered Top Fuel dragster. But recently, racing enthusiast and popular reporter Kelly Crandall uncovered a lesser-known side of Leah Pruett from back in the day.
Crandall poked fun at the racer, tagging her team for confirmation on whether the quote in the image read what it said.
NASCAR reporter’s post about Leah Pruett draws attention
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The post from RACER writer Kelly Crandall has been causing all ‘the smoke’. She posted a picture of Leah Pruett alongside a boombox and a fund bucket that seemingly had a Tony Stewart reference.
The reporter, obviously curious about the fund bucket that read, “beer fund,” asked in her tweet for confirmation on the Tony Stewart reference. She tweeted, “I need confirmation from @TSRnitro that the beer fund bucket in Leah Pruett’s pit reads, “If you ask where’s Tony, you pay.” Hilarious.”
It seems Pruett was done with people asking the whereabouts of her husband. The tweet got attention as more and more fans started commenting on the post, while the views kept on coming.
I need confirmation from @TSRnitro that the beer fund bucket in Leah Pruett’s pit reads “If you ask where’s Tony you pay.” Hilarious. pic.twitter.com/nTdt1AazJc
— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) February 10, 2024
One NHRA fan even mentioned the same comment: “Haha, I remember when she did that at Brainerd.” Another user went back in time, mentioning the time he dropped in some pennies: “I remember Alex Laughlin and Jim Dunn Racing had a big water jug in front of their trailer at Indy for the same thing It had a few pennies in it.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Tony Stewart’s wife Leah Pruett gets emotional as she vacates her racing haven for husband Tony Stewart
Pruett’s lesser-known thought process behind stepping away from NHRA
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Last year, drag racing queen and #3-ranked NHRA Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett shocked the racing world with a wild announcement, revealing her intention to step away from the sport for a brief period to start a family with her husband, Tony Stewart. While there is a chance for the racer to return, motherhood could push her further away from the sport.
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In the wake of her announcement, Stewart was roped in as her replacement as the NASCAR veteran readies to take on the challenge in his debut Top Fuel season. As per Autoweek.com, Leah Pruett revealed the thought process behind her decision, despite coming so close to success and not building on it. She said, “I didn’t think that I needed any more motivation to win a championship or to drive a race car, but being that close is definitely a driver. But I think what some might not consider is that I don’t think in one dimension.”
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/Leah-Pruett-Tony-Stewart.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
USA Today via Reuters
Motorsport, Herren, USA, Dragster Drag Race Winternationals, Feb 18, 2022 Pomona, CA, USA NHRA team owner Tony Stewart right with wife, top fuel driver Leah Pruett during qualifying for the Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports, 18.02.2022 14:07:17, 17719188, NPStrans, Tony Stewart, Leah Pruett, NHRA, Auto Club Raceway, Pomona PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 17719188
She further explained her cause: “I look at Tony and I as a unit. And whether I’m in the seat or he’s in the seat, that feeling of gratitude and excitement and thrill that you get from winning in the seat . . . it’s not the same, but it’s not a higher or lower level of excitement and enjoyment.”
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While the racer herself says that there will be that “element of missing being in the seat,” she said, “Seeing Tony, I’ve seen him win multiple times now, and that heart-happy feeling that I have is something that I’m definitely totally OK with and looking forward to feeling that when he’s in my car doing his thing.”
READ MORE: Leah Pruett Calls Her Final Race the “Superbowl of All Drag Races” Before Her Sabbatical from Racing