Tony Stewart and team cheer for wife Leah Pruett amid break from NHRA racing

Former NASCAR Cup Series Champion and NHRA driver Tony Stewart and his wife Leah Pruett will be blessed with a child soon. Pruett frequently visits her husband on the dragstrip, fulfilling his duty as a replacement driver for his wife. Stewart Racing Nitro team members are missing Purett and recently posted a video of rooting for her.

Pruett has competed in the National Hot Rod Association since her childhood and is a 12-time NHRA Top Fuel National event winner. She met Stewart via FaceTime after Don Prudhomme introduced them, and the duo started dating in 2019. They got married in 2021.

The 12-time NHRA winner announced her break from the series last year in December to focus on starting a family with Tony Stewart. She had her career-best finish in the 2023 season, finishing third in the NHRA series. Since then, Stewart has driven his team's car as a replacement driver.

In the recent video posted by the Tony Stewart Racing Nitro team, the three-time Cup Series champion was seen standing among his peers and team members rooting for his wife. He used the cutout of Leah Pruett he brought to the team dinner last night.

The team showcased its enthusiasm and captioned the video:

"Leah! Leah! Leah!"

Tony Stewart currently ranks tenth in the NHRA standings ahead of the final race at Pomona Dragstrip scheduled for Sunday, November 17, 2024. He is a competitor for the Rookie of the Year title after his astonishing performance. The 53-year-old finished as a runner-up in the Sonoma race. However, he is not sure about continuing racing for her wife in the 2025 season.

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"Ultimately going to be Leah's decision": Tony Stewart's response on replacing his wife in the 2025 season

Tony Stewart has recently ceased operations of his NASCAR Cup Series team Stewart Haas Racing after the championship race at Phoenix Race held on November 10, 2024, and is ready to race in the NHRA series as the replacement driver for his wife.

Stewart was recently featured in an interview with FOX Sports and opened up about his future plans for the 2025 season in the NHRA series. He mentioned the couple hasn't made a decision yet, but it is ultimately his wife's call and said:

"We're still trying to figure that out, but it's ultimately going to be Leah's decision. The reason I'm driving the car this year is because I'm just the replacement driver. I've told everyone I'll drive the car until she's ready to come back. It is ultimately her race car and her race team, and when she wants to get back in that car, it's going to be sitting there for her," Tony Stewart said (via FOX Sports).

"Obviously, you know, not having Leah in the car and adding a driver that's a little heavier in the race car, we knew that would be a factor to some degree, just not sure how big of a factor that was going to be," he added.

The former NASCAR driver made his NHRA drag racing debut in 2022 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and has secured three wins in the Top Alcohol Dragster under McPhillips Racing's banner in 2023. He moved to the Top Fuel Category in March 2024.