Those who paid attention to the transition of power from Leah Pruett to Tony Stewart at the 2023 PRI Show in Indianapolis knew the Top Fuel seat always belonged to Pruett. Stewart was a placeholder, one who took the role seriously and nearly mastered it, but his tenure was temporary.
Pruett’s exit from the cockpit was deliberate. She finished runner-up in the 2023 Top Fuel championship before stepping aside so she and Stewart could start a family. It was a plan the couple never wavered from, even as Stewart earned his own share of success in her car.
Tony Stewart Racing has now confirmed Pruett will return to full-time competition in 2026. She will once again drive the Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, while Stewart shifts back from stand-in to spectator—or perhaps to other projects.
Pruett took 2024 off to welcome the couple’s first child, a son named Dominic. While Stewart climbed into the seat, Pruett remained engaged with the operation, assisting crew chiefs and sponsors with technical initiatives. It was a break from racing but not from the team.
Her perspective shifted in the time away.
“I need to make sure I don’t have an identity crisis of racing my whole life, being in the driver’s seat, not knowing what it’s like to be a mom, being pregnant for all of 2024,” Pruett said. “And so I took on that project manager role, and worked hand in hand with Neil [Strasbaugh] and Mike [Domogala], and then on the Funny Car side, building a couple programs that just filter our data, give us some highlights, insights that are more easily accessible for our time management during race days and qualifying, and setting us up for better Q1. Getting down the track sets up your whole weekend.”
She explained that her work with data programs and technology gave her greater appreciation for crew chief responsibilities.
“I feel like now, when I will be back inside the car, I already had this elevated level of appreciation for the crew chiefs and what they do, but now I have a better understanding, very small, but better understanding of how they do it, and why we’re doing it,” Pruett said. “It just makes me feel like a more wholesome member of the team.”
While Pruett prepared for her eventual return, Stewart made the most of his unexpected opportunity. He was named the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year after finishing ninth in the standings. This season, he has won two national events and clinched the regular season championship at the U.S. Nationals, entering the Countdown as the Top Fuel points leader.
Stewart insisted he never forgot his position. “Three years ago, I wasn’t expected to be in this car anyway, and in this position,” Stewart said. “So this is all just a bonus for me. But obviously, I mean we know how to race for championships, we’ve got a team that has been in that situation before, and I think the way we’ll handle the rest of the season won’t be any different than what we did to get us to this point.”
Stewart insisted he never forgot his position. “Three years ago, I wasn’t expected to be in this car anyway, and in this position,” Stewart said. “So this is all just a bonus for me. But obviously, I mean we know how to race for championships, we’ve got a team that has been in that situation before, and I think the way we’ll handle the rest of the season won’t be any different than what we did to get us to this point.”
The move back to Pruett was always the plan, a fact Stewart emphasized. “From day one that this transition from Leah driving to me stepping in being the replacement ever, the plan all along was at some point that Leah would come back and drive her race car,” Stewart said. “I knew from day one that it was announced that I was replacing her, it was a temporary job.”
That doesn’t mean Stewart is ready to step away entirely. He admitted he has already started conversations about other opportunities for 2026, though nothing has been finalized. “I’m working on … I don’t have set plans yet, we’re working on it,” Stewart said. “There’s definitely some things in the works, just nothing that’s 100% solidified yet. But even if it all falls through and I don’t end up with a ride for next year, I’m excited to see Leah back in the car. We started TSR Nitro because of Leah, and I can’t wait to see her do what she loves to do.”
Pruett’s desire to return was never about convenience or timing. She explained that she and crew chief Neal [Strasbaugh] first discussed testing for 2026 as early as Pomona in 2025. “My eyes have been set on getting back in the car for 2026, since the beginning of ’25, and so I’ve been amped up for a while,” she said.
Even with Stewart succeeding in her absence, Pruett said her role watching from the outside made her stronger. “Absolutely. I would definitely say that,” she said when asked if the team is stronger than when she stepped away in 2023. “We don’t let the shortcomings get us down for long at all. And I would say not all teams do this, I think most don’t, but there’s an entire team meeting at the end of every event on Sunday afternoon when we’re packing everything up, and everything that we did that weekend gets shared. And it’s that transparency that has really brought it all together.”
As Stewart delivered wins in Las Vegas and Chicago, Pruett admitted her joy matched what she felt when driving herself. “I would say that,” she explained. “I love winning when I’m in the car, but man, the excitement, the energy, the knowing the accomplishment of what really took for that pass, that run, that final round to happen, for Tony to accomplish that in Top Fuel, his wins. Absolutely. I’m a Starburst on the starting line because that’s exactly how I feel inside.”
Her enthusiasm is rooted not just in competition but in partnership. “Tony’s true love, besides his family, is winning in everything,” she said. “And so to see him be able to accomplish that with the team just makes me so happy to see that he is fulfilled.”
The family dynamic—husband and wife sharing the same class—has sparked speculation about potential head-to-head competition. Pruett said the idea isn’t entirely off the table, despite Stewart’s past reluctance.
“That was Tony’s side always saying, ‘No.’ He said he would sleep on the couch; there’s lots of couches in the house,” she joked.
By 2026, the Top Fuel seat will once again belong to Pruett, where it always was meant to be. Stewart may have earned wins, a Rookie of the Year award, and a regular-season championship, but he always knew he was keeping it warm.
As Stewart himself put it, “The last two years, this year and last year were about starting a family and somebody had to drive the car. So that’s where I came into play, and now I get a chance to watch my wife do what she loves to do the most, and that’s drive a Top Fuel Dragster.”
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