Leah Pruett shares words of affirmation for husband Tony Stewart’s $2.25 Million donation for pediatric care 

Former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's wife Leah Pruett, shared her feelings about her husband's foundation, which just donated funds to Hemby Children’s Hospital in Charlotte. Taking to her social media on January 22, Pruett expressed her joy about the collaboration between the Tony Stewart Foundation and the hospital, which will soon open an Intermediate Care Unit with the NASCAR driver's name.

Sharing a post from her husband that details how their $2.25 million donation and the significance of their partnership with the hospital, Leah Pruett wrote (via X, formerly Twitter):

"So happy to see this come together 🙏 "

The Novant Health Foundation, who run the Hemby Children's Hospital where the Tony Stewart unit will be opening, also took to their Instagram to share an image of the driver delivering the donation cheque, as well as images from the event commemorating the creation of the Intermediate Care Unit.

The organization's account added a caption describing the benefits that the donation will bring, which include six beds, a higher nurse-to-patient ratio, and additional provider workspace.

Leah Pruett, a two-time NHRA champion, and Tony Stewart, a three-time Cup Series champion, have been married since 2021 and recently welcomed their first child, Dominic James, born in November of last year.

Pruett took a step back from competing in the NHRA Top Fuel category after she got pregnant last year, and was replaced by her husband who drove in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, finishing in ninth place last year.

Discussing his plans for 2025 in early December last year, the former NASCAR team owner said (via Drag Illustrated):

“I’m going to be back in the Top Fuel car again next year. Leah has decided she wants to be a mom this first year. I’ll be honest, she is literally just over two weeks from having Dominic and I am pretty confident in about two to three weeks, she’ll be ready to get back in a Top Fuel car.”

Tony Stewart will be driving the #9 dragster for his own team this year, once the NHRA season begins in March at the Gainesville Raceway.

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Leah Pruett describes the uncertainty of planning a family and having a racing career

Pregnant NHRA driver Leah Pruett stands alongside the dragster of husband, top fuel driver Tony Stewart during qualifying for the Carolina Nationals - Source: Imagn

In September of last year, Leah Pruett described the challenges of trying to become a mother whilst also having a career as a racing car driver. At around the same time, a policy was announced that was spearheaded by Pruett regarding female drivers in the NHRA who were pregnant and how it would work to replace them while they do not lose their place in the championship standings.

In an interview discussing her involvement in getting the policy in place, she was asked about how her plans to become a mom were made with her career in mind. She said:

"I think the true realization for this was when I found the challenges in becoming pregnant weren’t as easy as, “Let’s try and get pregnant.” There were a lot of unknowns that you cannot schedule. My body needed time, and whether it was two months or six months or a couple of years, I couldn’t plan my life or my racing career because I didn’t know what my body was going to do." [via NHRA]

Speaking about how these uncertainties played a part in the decision-making process, Pruett said:

"It was a very uneasy time when you have something you’ve done your whole life, which is concern yourself with your team, your partners, your fans, and everything surrounding racing. I had to make what I considered one of the hardest decisions of my entire life, and that was to not race in 2024, that I was going to double down and hopefully become pregnant with our treatments, and I hope that this works, and I don’t waste a year not being in the seat."

During her time racing in the NHRA, Leah Pruett has accumulated 18 wins, 12 in the Top Fuel category, and three each in the Pro Mod and the Factory Stock Showdown category.