NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will replace wife Leah Pruett in her NHRA Top Fuel dragster next season as she steps out of the seat for the couple to try and start a family. Here’s what you need to know:
- Pruett finished third in the Top Fuel championship last year, the best result of her 14-year career. But the 35-year-old felt now was her chance to get pregnant after marrying Stewart in Nov. 2021, and that would mean forgoing a competition in which cars travel more than 330 mph.
- Stewart, who started his own Tony Stewart Racing dragster team after marrying Pruett, ran a Top Alcohol car last season. Top Alcohol is one step below the NHRA’s premier level of racing, but is considered the best step for those who want to move into Top Fuel. Stewart finished second in the point standings and won two races.
- Though Stewart owns the car, he said Pruett and crew chief Neal Strausbaugh decided to offer Stewart the ride. “To make a decision like this has got to be extremely hard,” Stewart said. “I don’t think from a male’s perspective that we can fully grasp it. To be a competitive, professional race car driver and have to make the decision to take yourself out of the seat to start a family is not a position most males would want to be put in. We had discussed starting a…
