“Looking forward to making this very difficult decision”: When Tony Stewart’s wife Leah revealed her NHRA plans amid ‘uncomfortable’ pregnancy affair
Tony Stewart and his wife Leah Pruett will be blessed with a child in the upcoming weeks. As Pruett gracefully carries her baby bump, Stewart fulfills his duty as a replacement NHRA Top Fuel driver in his owned team, Tony Stewart Racing. But his wife wanted to return.
Racing runs in Leah's blood. Following her father Ron's footsteps, the Redlands, California native began battling in the Junior Drag Racing series at age eight (1996). She continued the upward slope of her performance, clinching the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series championship, and claimed her recent title in the 2018 NHRA Factory Stock Showdown Series, to name a few.
She joined TSR in 2022, but the announcement was made in October 2021, nearly a month before the couple exchanged vows and tied the knot in November. Moreover, as Leah announced in December last year that she would start a family with Stewart, her husband filled in for her in the Top Fuel category this season.
But sitting at home wasn't on Leah's cards as she revealed being 'uncomfortable' and expressed her desire to savor the missing adrenaline rush during pregnancy. In a two-month-old conversation with SpeedFreaks, Tony Stewart's wife talked about making the "difficult" decision to return to drag racing.
"I'm looking forward to making this very difficult decision in November. Can I make the World Finals begin ten months pregnant? I really want to because hopefully Matt (Hagan) and Tony are on the championship lines. So, I hope I'm hobbling around, water breaking on the starting line I don't know. The opposite of that would be me staying home and being uncomfortable of us not being in the chase," Pruett said (5:54).
Leah didn't return to the track, and as per the recent update, she doesn't expect to race in 2025 and Stewart will most likely run another year in Top Fuel.
Tony Stewart heaps praise of 'teacher' Leah Pruett for his Top Fuel journey
Tony Stewart is not new to the drag racing scene. Having won the 2024 NHRA drag racing championship and two Top Alcohol Dragster races, the retired NASCAR legend is well-versed in fielding modified cars that clock up to 334 mph in the blink of an eye.
However, the three-time Cup Series champion took some time to transition into the Top Fuel category, while Leah was proficient in the same. As Stewart replaced Leah in Dragster, the latter helped his 'struggling' husband get up to speed in Top Fuel.
During a recent conversation with Bob Pockrass, Stewart talked about his struggle and expressed gratitude to Leah for her valuable racing lessons. He said (via Fox Sports):
"Luckily, I've got a great wife that's a great teacher, and I got up to speed fairly quickly on what I need to do as a driver to drive the car. We've just struggled."
Tony Stewart is placed 10th in NHRA Top Fuel standings, with a best finish of P2 at Sonoma, and is a Rookie of The Year candidate.