"I couldn't stand not racing": When Leah Pruett fought to stay in the NHRA amid setbacks

NHRA driver Leah Pruett, who has accumulated 18 career wins over multiple series in the national drag racing competition, was once unsure of her future in the sport. In 2007, the driver was stuck looking for funding for a seat she had earned with Don Schumacher Racing in the Funny Car category and in an interview from February 2011, Pruett describes how she found a solution to her problems which enabled her to keep her racing career going.

After 2005 NHRA Funny Car Champion Gary Scelzi announced his retirement, his team's owner, Don Schumacher, interviewed 30 people as a replacement, and ended up choosing Leah Pruett to test out the car in Indianapolis. After rounds of testing on multiple tracks, which also allowed Pruett to earn her NHRA Nitro Funny Car Competition License, the then 19-year-old was selected to be Scelzi's replacement. However, after the economy took a turn around the same time, Pruett lost out on funding from primary partners Oakley and Mopar causing her to have a seat but no sponsorship to back her. But, she didn't give up as she said (via Hot Rod magazine):

"I couldn't stand not racing, so I did what a lot of racers would do: race something that comes along. I got into Holy Toledo [the Jeep Funny Car.]"

While the Jeep Funny Car decision didn't yield any notable results, Leah Pruett would join the 2009 Sacramento Raceway's Funny Car Fever event with a souped-up 1969 Ford Mustang replica, where she would make the first 250 mph-pass in Nostalagia Funny Car event history.

In 2010, the driver would get a chance to race for Funny Car owner Steve Plueger, but once again didn't have sponsors, until she stumbled on a creative solution.

"It comes down to a week before the March Meet, and I am cold calling places in Bakersfield: restaurants, hotels. I see 'adult entertainment venue, Dj Vu.' I've seen them in different motorsports before. I give them a call. 'Hey, I'm racing in Bakersfield and it's a pretty big event. It's a good fit, a lot of men come out and whatever.' Within an hour, they call back and say, 'Yeah, let's do it.' I am blown away."

She would go on to win that specific March Meet, beating 31 other Funny Car drivers, and that same year, Leah Pruett would go on to win the NHRA Heritage Series Championship, marking the first of her future drag racing successes.

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Leah Pruett explains the reasoning behind her degree from Cal State

Tony Stewart (left) with wife top fuel driver Leah Pruett during qualifying for the NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, November 10th 2023 - Source: Imagn

During the time of the interview in 2011, Leah Pruett was pursuing her undergraduate degree at California State University in San Bernardino. She explains that even her studies are in pursuit of helping her career, specifically education in understanding the business of racing so she can get more sponsors.

"I am graduating with a bachelor's in communications with an emphasis in mass media and a minor in sports and entertainment marketing. I dedicated my studies to something that benefits my pursuit of sponsorship in racing." [via Hot Rod Magazine]

In 2025, Leah Pruett has reduced her involvement in the world of NHRA racing to give more time to her family, which includes her newborn son Dominic, who she welcomed in November of last year with her husband, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.