Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett had a great offseason, becoming a part of her husband Tony Stewart’s new drag racing team – Tony Stewart Racing.
The start of the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season has been forgettable.

Pruett took a small step to change her fortunes capturing the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot at the Four-Wide Nationals with a 3.741-second elapsed time at 328.06 mph at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I was super stoked we made two full pulls in a row, and for it to hold,” Pruett said. “So actually, with the scoreboards being much farther past than our finish line, sometimes you can see what you run. I wasn't able to see, but I knew that it was better than our 76 from before, but I think more than anything, I'm excited for Neal (Strausbaugh). As a lead crew chief for a team, his first year doing that, and now it's our fourth race. For him to be in this spot, that's the confidence that is the building blocks of what's going to take this team to that next step.”

Pruett lost in the first round of Pomona, Calif., and Phoenix and didn’t qualify in Gainesville, Fla., when qualifying was shortened by rain.

“Tomorrow's a whole new day and there's a ton of incredible competition, so I'm just enjoying this moment right now, enjoying the three points that come with it, using what we had today,” Pruett said. “That's the great thing that tomorrow is exactly like today, basically, condition wise. We'll be in lanes two and three. Those seem to have absolutely no problem. We can just keep picking away at it, and that's what we've been wanting and hoping for is those opportunities. And it all kind of started from testing in Indy that we did last week just to get more runs. So, we're happy."

Considering how tough the season has started, Pruett is happy about the resolve of her crew.

“Impressed, I think would be the word because to not qualify in a race out of the gate, pretty much in a season can be disheartening, I guess, on one hand,” Pruett said. “But the other one, the attitudes that these individuals have on this team about... got it out of the way. Get it out of the way early in the season and let's get it. Our teammate has won and we're right on their heels. I've never been around such positive minded individuals when you've had dark long, incredibly insane hours and supply chain issues and chassis, and all the problems that we had and then for them to continue with the positive mindset.”

Pruett acknowledged having the support of her team has been a plus.

“They've helped me, and I feel like I'm in a rut on my starting line,” Pruett said. “Here's the thing: I'm going to get out of it. All great drivers do. They're there right beside me and have my back of getting out of it. They've supplied me with a car that I can drive, and it goes straight, and it hooks and doesn't carry the wheels 300 feet. For all of us, we're in a new atmosphere, besides it just being Tony Stewart Racing. We have created an atmosphere that we enjoy racing in and eventually we will succeed. Today is a very good start to showing that.”

If Pruett keeps the No. 1 qualifying spot it would be the 13th of her career.

Pruett’s teammate – nitro Funny Car driver Matt Hagan qualified No. 1 in Phoenix in and won in Gainesville, Fla., – and has been there for Pruett as well.

“I'm standing quite a ways away from Tony, and I see on the other side they smoke, and Matt's excited,” Pruett said about Hagan’s win. “You're never supposed to get excited until the actual win light comes on, right? Because anything could happen. Then finally, the win light came on and I just jumped. It never crossed my mind of who would be the first one to get a win for Tony Stewart racing, because that's not our mentality

“Hagan goes, ‘Leah, that was really cool to see genuine happiness. I know you probably wanted to get that first win.’ And I'm like, ‘It is just about getting that first win.’ 

We are one team, all the team. We say it internally, externally, we live that. Yeah, I guess it would've been cool, but this is not just mine and Tony's race team. This is Matt, Tony and Leah and Neil and everybody. The sooner the win came the better and the sooner our win comes the better.”
A DNQ, like Pruett had in Gainesville, could be a huge setback for some teams, but not TSR.

“We were definitely able to move past that one pretty fast, because of the situations that were surrounding it,” Pruett said. “It was the call out. We only got one run down the track. The rain just annihilated that entire week. And so, it's not like we had four attempts and we couldn't find ourselves. There were other great teams that didn't qualify too. Like I said, we just get that one out of the way. And more than anything, from the athlete side, is that the mental preparation.”
Pruett also addressed what it is like competing in a Four Wide national event. 

“This last quad that we were in, the individual in lane three, what seemed like took, seemed like it was seven years,” Pruett said. “Forget about seven seconds. But it seemed like seven years for him to stage. And that's not a problem at all. You just have to be prepared for that and just be in that same mindset. That's what these runs are for is to prepare for Sunday. Each curve ball that gets done at you like that is just making you better for when it really counts.”

This weekend Pruett is carrying the Code 3 Associates banner.

“Code 3 Associates is a 501c3 where they go to disaster areas and rescue animals and bring them back to their owners,” Pruett said. “So, they have trained staff and then they're in conjunction with One Cure, which is veterinary clinics across the country as well as research centers researching cancer in dogs and its correlation with humans and human cancer research. Code 3 is for those individuals who are out there that deep dive into tornado stricken, hurricane-stricken areas where the humans and we have been able to get out, but their loved ones and their pets are still there. They rescue them just as they would rescue people and bring them back to safety.”

Pruett said the ties to Code 3 was a relationship developed in the past.

“They have been a partner with Tony and Stewart-Haas NASCAR teams for a number of years,” Pruett said. It stemmed all from our love of animals. Tony's a huge animal lover and so am I. It all kind of works together. You never think you're racing for canines, but it's cool.”