Leah Pruett Exits NHRA Mid-Playoff to Grow Family — SkimNews
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- Leah Pruett, ranked third in NHRA Top Fuel standings and trailing leader Doug Kalitta by 43 points (and Shawn Langdon by 17), will leave the series at season's end to have a second child with husband Tony Stewart.
- Tony Schumacher, the eight-time Top Fuel champion whose 88 wins are the most in the category's history, will replace Pruett beginning next season after currently driving for Rick Ware Racing — a move he compared to 'the Yankees' calling.
- Pruett sat out 2024 and 2025 while she and Stewart started a family; she gave birth to son Dominic James Stewart in November 2024, with Stewart filling in as driver both seasons before moving to Elite Motorsports, where he now ranks fourth.
- Pruett refused to call the move a 'retirement,' saying she is 'leaving the door open for the possibility and opportunity of returning' but has 'no timeline,' and called the Schumacher hire a 'full-circle moment' because they were earlier teammates and she has a childhood photo of getting his autograph at age 12.
- Stewart, 18 points behind Pruett in the standings, said if the championship comes down to the two of them: 'I'm not laying down for her in any way, shape or form. She'd be furious if I did.'
Why it matters: Pruett's exit interrupts a championship chase where she trails leader Doug Kalitta by 43 points with six playoff races remaining, handing her seat to the winningest driver in Top Fuel history (88 wins, eight titles). Stewart, now 18 points behind his wife in the standings, said he wouldn't lay down for her — turning the title fight into a husband-vs-wife showdown for the playoff stretch.
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