Tony Stewart Claims to Be “Creeping in” Closer to Wife Leah’s NHRA Turnaround

Last year, Tony Stewart and his wife, Leah Pruett made a big decision. The pair decided to start a family, which meant Pruett had to take a step back from racing her NHRA Top Fuel Dragster. In exchange, Tony Stewart decided to take her place. But the transition has been far from smooth. The NASCAR Hall of Famer, accustomed to stock racing and short tracks, is yet to get used to rocketing across a 1,000-foot drag strip at over 330 mph.

However, just like his wife Leah Pruett had a dramatic turnaround this time last year, Tony Stewart is showing a similar pattern in his debut NHRA Top Fuel season.

An uphill task for Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart’s first race at Gainesville Raceway was disappointing, resulting in an early exit in the first round of eliminations. He finished 9th in qualifying at the Gator Nations, only to be beaten by Justin Ashley. His next attempt at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip brought new challenges. During Qualifying 1, he posted a 4.839 seconds at 148.95 mph. Then, in Q2, he was plagued by a time system malfunction relegating him to the 13th qualifying position. His Q3 attempts were also unsuccessful owing to inclement weather.

However, the final blow came during the eliminations when Steve Torrence posted a time of 3.695 seconds at 336.65 mph over Tony Stewart’s 8.841 seconds at 76.15 mph, marking the end of his campaign.

Currently, 8th with 291 points after finishing 13th at Route 66 Raceway, Tony Stewart is looking for a resurgence in form, similar to what his wife Leah Pruett experienced last year. She failed to win each of her first 8 races of the season, getting her first victory at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in late June 2023. Then, it took her over three months to secure her second and last win of the season at Texas Motorplex. Despite winning just two races, Pruett finished third, just 57 points, behind leader Doug Kalitta. The difference between winning and losing her first Top Fuel championship was just .0642 of a second.

Over the past few months, Tony Stewart has also seen a steady improvement in form. Having finished 16th in qualifying at Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals, the 53-year-old improved his performance by finishing 8th in qualifying at NHRA New England Nationals. He will now look to secure his first Top Fuel win of the season at Virginia Motorsports Park.

When asked how important was that weekend by drawing parallels to his season compared to Leah Pruett’s last summer, Tony Stewart replied, “Yeah you’re right it’s very very similar. I feel like and I probably was more excited than anybody at the end of the weekend. I mean the guys kind of had their chins down because we lost a close one to Doug, but you know we made four solid qualifying runs.”

Speaking about the progress his team has made, Stewart said, “I’m excited about the progress we had an Indy test that I feel like showed some some things that we were looking for and so the crew chiefs were happy when we left and then had a good weekend to follow it up. So I feel like we’re we’re on the right track but it’s it’s just baby steps, but we’re creeping in that direction.”

However, despite the sabbatical, even Leah has been gaining strides in her career, away from the racetrack.

Leah Pruett’s shift in role for Tony Stewart Racing

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Pruett enjoyed her greatest Top Fuel season in 2023, winning two races and finishing third in the final Top Fuel points standings. Having driven her entire NHRA Pro career under the Dodge and Mopar banner, Pruett’s background involvement during her racing sabbatical will be welcome news, especially since she is considered a fan favorite.

Despite temporarily stepping away, she will continue to be involved on the sidelines as a Dodge Direct Connection and Mopar brand ambassador. This means that she will be involved in various aspects of the Tony Stewart Racing Nitro Organization until she returns to racing.

While Preutt has acknowledged that being in the background is comfortable, particularly given her circumstances and health concerns, she desires to return to racing soon. She said, “Now that I’m in the background, it’s actually a comfortable position for me but it doesn’t override the want to be the one inside the car driving and being competitive. I’m enjoying this other side, but it’s not going to overtake anything else.”