"My parents spent everything they had" - When Tony Stewart's wife Leah Pruett reflected on how her dad's desire led her into racing
Leah Pruett, wife of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, has a successful racing background of her own. The 36-year-old holds 18 career drag racing victories in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
Pruett once opened up about her racing beginnings back in 2020 when she sat down for an interview on Rides & Drives via YouTube. The 36-year-old recalled her father Ron playing a major role in her early racing days.
"I think it really started out with a tiny little go-cart that my dad got my sister and I to rip up and down a really steep driveway and dirt a little bit," Pruett said. (2:40 onwards)
Pruett's parents owned an automotive repair shop and did so for 30 years. Her father was also a land speed racer and because of that, racing is all she knew during her childhood. The 36-year-old also said that her father had a desire to be race with his daughters.
"He was like, 'Man I'd really like to do Motorsports with my two girls. About that time, in 1994, 1992, did the NHRA start the Junior Drag Racing League. So, my sister started when she was eight "I watched her race for about four years. As soon as I was eight years old, I got to race a Junior Dragster, so that was our family hobby and activity." (3:30 onwards)
Pruett added that her family did not have a lot of cars because their parents spent everything on their daughters' racing.
"Cars, just in general, we didn't have a lot, my parents spent everything they had on racing us juniors but he was very proud of his land speed car, and we had a '78 pickup truck and Pantera, it was a showcar he had," the 36-year-old said.
Pruett said that as a kid, enjoyed cruising down San Bernardino with her sister on Thursday and Saturday nights while also seeing car shows. Leah's love for cars is split between the mechanics and the looks.
"Since I was racing, the mechanical portion of it, racing always delivered that for me," Pruett said. "I want to say the sexiness of cars came later for me when I was able to buy my first vehicle and enjoy it by myself and make my own purchasing decisions and really have appreciation for the building of cars different from racing them. Now, I'm fortunate enough to do both." (5:04 onwards)
Tony Stewart recently said he has "no setup sheets" for upcoming parenthood
Tony Stewart and his wife, Leah Pruett are expecting their first child in a few weeks. The 53-year-old said in a recent interview that he didn't know what to expect.
"I mentioned to a lot of my buddies that I have no setup sheets for this," Stewart said. "My racing friends are like, 'Even if you did, you wouldn't be able to use them.' No two kids do the same thing." (4:42 onward)
Stewart and Pruett got married in November 2021. Since retiring from full-time Cup Series racing after 2016, Stewart has made sporadic appearances in the FOX Sports NASCAR broadcast booth and continued to co-own Stewart-Haas Racing until it shut down at the end of this season.