Pruett Getting Back In TSR Dragster Next Season

Leah Pruett will make her NHRA Top Fuel return next season with Tony Stewart Racing. (TSR photo)

BROWNSBURG, Ind. – After two seasons away from on-track NHRA competition, fan-favorite Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett is ready to jump back in the saddle.

First reported by the Associated Press Thursday morning and subsequently confirmed by Tony Stewart Racing, Pruett will resume driving duties of the Dodge/SRT Direct Connection nitro dragster next year in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

Pruett stepped away from the driver’s seat in 2024 to focus on motherhood and starting a family with husband Tony Stewart, who has competed in her place since that time.

The pair, who were married in 2021, welcomed son Dominic last November. Even amid her new role as a parent, Pruett has stayed heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of TSR Nitro alongside Stewart.

She has also worked with her team partners on various marketing plans and spent technical time alongside co-crew chiefs Neal Strausbaugh and Mike Domagala as well.

Now, the 12-time national event winner and former podium finisher in the Top Fuel championship standings is eager to write the next chapter of her own drag racing story.

“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,” said Pruett. “I tested in Richmond earlier this year, which as expected, validated my eagerness and passion for racing Top Fuel.

“This announcement has been delayed for some time, as the priority has been getting through Indy, and focusing on the Countdown with Tony, Neal, and team,” Pruett continued. “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.”

Prior to her leave of absence, Pruett ended her most recent full-time season third in points in 2023.

With that in mind, TSR’s manufacturer partners at Dodge are confident that she’ll be able to slip right back into the mix and be an immediate contender for wins and a championship pursuit once again.

“Leah taking the wheel of the Direct Connection Dodge/SRT Top Fuel dragster in 2026 feels like she is coming home,” said Dodge CEO Matt McAlear. “Leah has been part of the Dodge and Mopar family since the 2016 season and has carried the Dodge banner to victory lane on many occasions.

“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,” added McAlear. “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.”

Though he didn’t grow up a drag racer, the versatile Stewart has proven his worth as a champion and professional across all disciplines of motorsports by quickly adapting to professional NHRA competition and finding success.

Stewart qualified for the Countdown to the Championship – NHRA’s version of the playoffs – last year in his debut Top Fuel campaign, finishing ninth in points and earning overall rookie-of-the-year honors.

This year he not only repeated his feat of making the postseason field, Stewart also captured the Top Fuel regular season championship and enters the six-race playoff run as the class point leader.

If Stewart can pull off this year’s title before handing the reins back to Pruett, he’ll add a drag racing crown to titles in the NASCAR Cup Series, NTT IndyCar Series, and the United States Auto Club.

“I’m excited to see Leah get back in a race car,” said Stewart, a two-time Top Fuel race winner this season. “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,” he added. “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 and she’ll have that opportunity again next year.”

Strausbaugh and Domagala will continue as the co-crew chiefs for the Dodge/SRT Direct Connection team for Pruett in her 2026 return. The trio picked up three wins together from 2022-’23, including the first Top Fuel victory for TSR in 2022 at the now-closed Bandimere Speedway in Colorado.

“Working with Neal and Mike in a different capacity the past two years has kept me deeply involved, and I’m very pumped to be their driver once more,” noted Pruett. “To my fans and supporters, I look forward to returning to heavy competition as when I left, just now with a little guy in tow everywhere I go.”

Pruett will be part of a two-team lineup for TSR next season, alongside four-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan, who returns to that class once again in a multi-year extension with the organization.