Some might find it hard to believe, but the plan was never for Tony Stewart to drag race. Whenever a reporter asked when he was going to transition from owner to driver, he’d respond, “Nice try.”

With a straight face, Stewart’s wife and Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett will back up the claim.

“That most definitely was not ever any type of initial plan," she said. "We’ve been very up-front about what the plans have been as they’ve come.”

Stewart, the jack of all motorsports driving trades and a master of them all, had flirted with Top Fuel even before he and Pruett became an item. He had taken a lap or so behind the wheel of Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster when they were marketing teammates. But, as Stewart believed, Top Fuel was a nice place to visit but not to live. 

Then a funny thing happened along the way to being a spectator. Stewart formed a nitro team, and Pruett, as well as Matt Hagan, left Don Schumacher Racing to join the new operation. 

“He was there supporting me and getting involved, and he goes, ‘I’ve reached a limit to where I can’t relate to you and Matt because I haven’t driven these cars as a driver,'” Pruett recalled. “So that’s what piqued his interest, and that first move was, ‘Okay, if I drive a Top Fuel car, I’ll be able to then be in that conversation, know what they’re feeling, and hearing.'"

Stewart also licensed in Pruett’s Top Fuel car, but quickly realized he needed to be in a Top Alcohol Dragster.

“He does not want to get back in the Top Fuel car after he has been in the alcohol car,” Pruett said. “He goes, ‘I can’t believe Leah, that you let me get in that in 2021.'

“And I go, ‘Yeah, he took the proper steps.' There are many, there’s countless people that have gone from drag racing nothing to drag racing a Top Fueler, and done very well. So, therefore, his other credentials have already qualified him to take the proper small steps in Top Fuel, and he got his license and tested some more.”

Stewart began taking the steps to become a regular drag racer when he began asking Top Alcohol Dragster team owner Rich McPhillips how points work for the divisional and national event schedules. 

“The conversation started out, we were in the Durango, ‘Okay, what’s Tony’s other schedule look like and how many could he possibly do? Because he is just running a car for fun because he is going to be at the track, and this is what he is going to do,'" Pruett recalled. "And by the time we ended that entire discussion, it was, ‘All right, 10 national events, four regionals, but if you do well in the first couple, and how are you going to claim, now we’re talking about potential world championships and what we would need for that.”

Pruett admits it only took 45 minutes for Stewart’s plan to go from a having fun moment to competing for a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Championship. 

“Tony was in the [McPhillips] green car, which had been super consistent and a fast car,” Pruett explained. “That conversation needed to happen. That was in September because McPhillips’ new car was getting finished. And who was it going to get finished for at that point? Was it going to be Mike Coughlin? What other drivers? 

“I said, ‘Tony, this is the time, okay, are we doing this in 2023? Are you running Top Alcohol Dragster? Okay, I guess we are.” 

Stewart is undoubtedly a natural driver, but Pruett quickly points out that his education in drag racing cars is on the fast track. 

“He is experiencing new appreciation for the world of mechanics and drag racing,” Pruett said. “I would say, a little bit of frustrations because he goes, ‘When I’m doing a circle track, I can grit my teeth, and I can find a new line, and I can take risks, and if I’ve got to find another 10th, I can push and find it.' 

“He goes, ‘[here] I can’t push. And that’s frustrating.'

“I don’t think he ever expected to dive into the mechanics as much as he has been, and I think that’s been really rewarding for him working with the McPhillips team in that way.”

Pruett said Stewart’s humility isn’t often seen in the internet world. 

“I think he does know that what he’s doing is good, but he is doing it for the right reasons, and so we’re making sure we bring along as many people and partners and promoting the sport itself,” Pruett said. “It’s not just Tony participating in NHRA and that’s it. In order for us to succeed and stay here, we would love to have a five- and 10-year plan, but we cannot unless this is sustainable financially. The best way for us to make it that way is if we have a platform that continues to grow, so if we can continue to grow the NHRA, we are also helping ourselves and everybody at the same time. 

“We do actually work really hard at taking every opportunity that we can. It’s not just a hobby, it is our work and our life.”