Tony Stewart Confesses “55 Pound” Disadvantage Troubling Wife Leah’s Former NHRA Team

Hailed by Sports360AZ’s Devon Henry as “a champion on pavement, a champion on dirt,” Tony Stewart stood ready to conquer a new challenge. Taking the charge of Leah Pruett’s former Top Fuel Dragster, Smoke’s weapon for a shot at glory in drag racing.

The 3-time NASCAR champion will get behind the wheel of the 11,000 horsepower ride for only the third time this NHRA season at Chandler, AZ. However, disclosures with Henry reveal an “unforeseen difficulty” Smoke faces with the absence of his semi-retired drag racer wife at Tony Stewart Racing.

Tony Stewart vs the Scales: 55 Pounds Make a Big Difference in High-Horsepower Racing

Preparing for his first elimination round win in the Top Fuel category, Smoke explained some ‘weight distribution’ hurdles. He told Henry, “Well, it’s not very flattering but my wife’s about 55 lbs lighter than I am so you know you can imagine for the crew chiefs that tune these cars, that weight is a big deal to them. So obviously just trying to figure out what this car needs for my weight. The weight difference between Leah and myself but um yeah it’s everything about this is way different than anything we’ve ever done before…”

As the conversation continued, the reporter made an interesting observation. “I don’t know what record book to look in to find someone who has won a NASCAR race, a 410 sprint car race (as a driver), or even as an owner, a NASCAR race, and a 410 sprint car race in one state. Now… you have a chance to become an owner and driver winner on pavement, on dirt, and on a drag strip.” Henry then asked Stewart what the moral of his incredible story was in Arizona.

Stewart’s answer laid out an amazing shout-out to the newest home of TSR in the Grand Canyon state. He announced, “We did it all at some point, so yeah. Cole (Custer) winning the Xfinity championship at Phoenix for us was awesome last year. we moved out here to Arizona we live in Lake Havasu now so this is kind of a home race for us, we feel like. So it’s a big deal, I mean. we’ve had really good luck in Arizona… had a lot of fun in this state.”

The 11,000s are ready to battle, and Tony Stewart’s ‘temporary’ SRT/Dodge dragster will certainly look to make display more consistent showings this season.

Read More: Tony Stewart Submits His NHRA Team’s Reins to Wife Leah Pruett in 4 Words After Opening Struggles