Leah Pruett is set to return to NHRA competition next season after taking time off to start a family with NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart

FILE - Leah Pruett and her husband Tony Stewart speak during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Leah Pruett will return to NHRA competition next season, a little over a year after welcoming a son with NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart.

Stewart has been driving the Top Fuel Dragster for Tony Stewart Racing since Pruett stepped aside ahead of the 2024 season to focus on starting a family. Their son, Dominic, was born in November of that year.

Pruett has spent the last two seasons still involved in the day-to-day operations at TSR, where she worked with partners on marketing initiatives and assisted the crew chiefs with technical projects.

“I’d first like to thank Tony, the team, and our partners for allowing me the necessary time on my hiatus to start our family, learn motherhood, and welcome me back,” Pruett said. “Tony has done an incredible job behind the wheel, as many would expect, but I know how much he’s devoted himself to being the best ‘driver replacement’ he can be, and I couldn’t be more proud and thankful for him.”

Pruett said a test at Richmond earlier this year “validated my eagerness and passion for racing Top Fuel” and she delayed announcing her 2026 return as she and Stewart kept their focus on the current season.

Pruett, who began drag racing when she was 8 years old, is a 12-time NHRA Top Fuel winner. Pruett finished a career-high third in the 2023 Top Fuel standings — the best of her 14-year career.

Matt McAlear, the CEO of Dodge, said the Tuesday announcement feels like Pruett “is coming home.”

“We appreciate the incredible job that team owner and motorsports legend Tony Stewart is doing filling in for Leah in the race car as the couple starts their family with son Dominic, and we will continue to root for Tony as he fights for the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel championship,” McAlear said. "But Tony has always said it was Leah’s race car, and we totally support the Stewarts’ decision and look forward to a successful future ahead at the dragstrip for Dodge and Tony Stewart Racing.”

Stewart finished the 2024 season ninth in the Top Fuel point standings and earned the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year title. In 2025 thus far, Stewart has earned two Top Fuel victories at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois.

He clinched the 2025 NHRA Regular Season Championship at the 71st Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and he enters the Countdown to the Championship at Maple Grove Raceway in the Top Fuel points lead. His plans for 2026 are undecided.

“I’m excited to see Leah get back in a race car,” Stewart said. “She’s done such an amazing job of becoming a mother and going through a whole year of pregnancy and our first year with Dominic. I know deep down inside that she wants to drive that race car really bad, so I’m just excited to see her get that opportunity again.

"I appreciate what she’s done to help our family and help this entire race team. She’s been a very critical part of this team’s success and projects that we’re working on, so she hasn’t sat on her hands by any means, but first and foremost, I know she wants to drive that car more than anything.”

Pruett will be teamed with existing Funny Car driver Matt Hagan, a four-time Funny Car champion who earned TSR’s first championship in 2023. Hagan earlier this year signed a multi-year contract extension with TSR.

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