When Leah Pruett announced her hiatus from NHRA last year, not many people expected her husband Tony Stewart to get back behind the wheel, yet here we are. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion currently races a Top Fuel dragster and is enjoying life back in racing. The experience is starkly different from his time in NASCAR and it’s not because of the type of car. The 53-year-old pinned this down to the reduced pressure levels in drag racing as well as open fan communication as compared to the highest echelon of stock cars.
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Smoke, as he is often referred to, said that drag racing was unlike anything he had done before. Coming from a former NTT IndyCar Series driver-turned-stock car champion, it says a lot about the sport that essentially involves driving cars fast in a straight line, at least to the untrained eye.
Weekends off are meant for more racing #TSRnitro | #NHRA | @TonyStewart | @mobil1racing pic.twitter.com/xjJuCNmLap
— Tony Stewart Racing Nitro (@TSRnitro) August 4, 2024
“It’s been very different than what it was like when I was in NASCAR. I’m listening to different fans from different forms of motorsports. Some of them are going to a drag race for the first time, and that’s been a lot of fun for us. Leah hasn’t fired me yet, so I assume we’re doing OK,” Stewart told Forbes.
The couple is pregnant and expecting a baby boy in November this year. The news was announced by Stewart and Pruett a month ago. Parenthood will be a new challenge for the 53-year-old as well. While it is unclear how the birth of their first child together will affect their future in racing, Stewart has accepted the reality of motorsports’ perils as he anticipates parenthood.
Stewart on the risks of racing as a parent
The former IndyCar driver elaborated on how his future role as a parent has made him more aware of the dangers of motorsports in general and not just drag racing. Despite that, the Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner also spoke about how immense passion for what he does drives his desire to get back in a racing car and try to better his competition.
“I never go into anything without my eyes wide open. We all know in any form of motor sports every time we get in a racecar. I always remind people that, as dangerous as that is, there’s more people who get hurt less than a mile from their house in a street car than we do in motor sports. It’s not saying you’re not oblivious to it, but at the same time, it shows the passion we all have for what we do.”
Stewart‘s words reek of conviction and determination to succeed at the track only a family tied together by generations of racing can understand. After leaving his mark in stock car racing both as an owner and driver, it remains to be seen what the second chapter of Smoke’s drag racing career holds for him and his family. Who knows, we might even see Stewart Jr. racing in NASCAR one day.
