LEAH PRUETT Takes 2025 Off as Motherhood Proves Tougher Than Top Fuel Racing

January 26, 2025

• LEAH PRUETT made the call we rarely see in motorsports – choosing family over the fierce pressure to get back on track immediately. The 36-year-old Top Fuel veteran is sitting out the entire 2025 NHRA season to focus on her newborn son Dominic, despite fan expectations for her return. While Tony Stewart steps in to drive her dragster for a second year, PRUETT’s honest admission that “I’m a very strong woman, I’m not a superwoman” shows the kind of self-awareness that actually makes champions.
• Let’s be real – PRUETT didn’t have to justify this decision to anyone, but her transparency about the realities of new motherhood is refreshing in a sport where admitting any weakness feels taboo. She’s already dropped 35 pounds post-pregnancy and is training hard for her eventual return, proving this isn’t about losing competitive fire. Meanwhile, Stewart earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 filling her seat, so the team’s in capable hands while she handles the toughest job in the world.
• Even from the sidelines, PRUETT remains plugged into the sport she’s dominated for 27 consecutive seasons with 11 career wins. She’s hyping up the Pro Superstar Shootout in Florida and making it clear this break is temporary, not permanent. Her husband Tony gets it completely, calling her “way tougher than I will ever be as a man” – the kind of public support that shows how a real partnership works when both people are elite competitors.

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