54-YO Tony Stewart Avoids Tragedy in Shocking NHRA Blast With Wife Leah Pruett Trackside

At 54, Tony Stewart isn’t just participating; he’s contending. His transition from IndyCar and NASCAR champion to full-time NHRA Top Fuel driver has been one of the most closely watched stories in motorsports this year. Tony Stewart is seamlessly taking his claim in top fuel competition with consistent performances and a top points lead. His rise has been a focus of the season, and expectations were high as he sped into Norwalk, Ohio, for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.

Backed by Dodge Direct Connection and surrounded by a well-oiled Tony Stewart Racing operation, the Indiana native has shown flashes of brilliance, fueled by competitiveness and the unmistakable fire of a veteran racer chasing one more mountain to climb. But the energy shifted dramatically on Friday. Stewart began his qualifying, and what began as routine runs turned into high-stakes chaos. Things did not go as planned.

Tony Stewart escapes terrifying fire scare

Before arriving in Norwalk, Tony Stewart competed at the New England nationals in Epping, New Hampshire, where he qualified second and reached his fifth straight final round. Despite a strong 3.720-second run, he narrowly lost to Brittany Force by just 0.007 seconds, maintaining his momentum atop the Top Fuel standings. But Norwalk was different.

NASCAR reporter Taylor Kitchen didn’t waste any time; taking to X immediately, she wrote, ” 😳 Holy c—. NHRA Top Fuel points leader Tony Stewart walked away after this massive explosion at Norwalk.” Friday’s qualifying round against fellow Top Fuel ace Shawn Langdon started with a bang, literally. On Tony’s first run, the engine unleashed a deafening explosion, replayed on site and trackside broadcasts, rattling the crew and spectators alike.

Not 30 minutes later, his second attempt ended in flames, a violent fireball emerging from the engine compartment, sending smoke drifting into the cool Ohio air. Miraculously, Stewart emerged unheard, shielded by the canopy, but his team’s spirit and Wallet took a massive blow. Thankfully, with the NHRA Safety Safari running to the scene, Tony got out of the car safely.

In a post-race interview, Tony Stewart quipped dryly, “Well, luckily being in canopy, I don’t feel a lot of anything. You just hear it and you realize, you know, obviously it decels real quick. You go from all those positive Gs to no Gs anymore. But if anybody needs their yard mowed this week, give me a call. I got some bills to pay this week now.” 

Meanwhile, opponent Shawn Langdon laid down a blistering 3.78-second pass at 324 mph, one of the best runs of the season. Driving the special Kallita Air 25th Anniversary dragster, Langdon’s performance bumped him to 2nd overall in the qualifying order, just behind Brittany Force. While Tony’s car erupted in flames, Langdon’s flawless run in the elite 3.70s bracket added to the spectacle, delivering a moment of high drama and contrasting fortunes in a single pass.

Stewart put up a defiant show of resilience, no heroics, just clear-eyed humor in the face of costly setbacks. Stewart goes on to show gratitude towards his team, saying, “I’m proud of our Dodge Direct Connection team. To sit there after Q1 and get it put back together and get us ready for Q2 here. Great effort by these guys. Proud of our guys. It’s just we’re going to have to sit and figure out what the hell is going on. This s— is getting expensive real quick.” Estimating the damage and the cost, he said, “I’m going to be babysitting everybody and mowing everybody’s yards before this is over.”

Friday’s double whammy leaves Stewart out of place on the Norwalk leaderboard, but his spirits remain unruffled, and his team is already preparing for a redemption run on Saturday. And before the fiery chaos of Norwalk, 48 hours earlier, Tony Stewart was behind the wheel at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, trading top fuel for pavement midgets in the Thursday night Thunder Heroes race.

During the qualifier, Tony Stewart posted a brisk 22.817-second lap, just 0.109 seconds off the pace set by midget standout Michael Lewis, who led the field at 22.708 seconds. In the main Thursday night thunder heroes feature, it was Levi Jones who claimed the checkered flag at the raceway. He edged out Tony by roughly 3 car lengths following a competitive 10-lap shootout, with Tony finishing second.

Off the track, Tony’s week has been anything but quiet, from a dramatic fireball in Norwalk to trading elbows on pavement at IRP. But away from the roar of engines, Tony’s biggest joy right now isn’t horsepower; it’s fatherhood.

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Inside the Stewart family’s new chapter

Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett are embracing their newest role with full hearts. The couple welcomed their first child, Dominic James Stewart, in November 2024. At just seven months old, he’s already stolen the show at home. Tony Stewart said following Tuesday’s Three-Quarter Midget Race at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds, “I love it. I jokingly tell people, with the emphasis on ‘joke,’ I said if I’d have known Leah and I were going to be where we are, I’d have got her knocked up on the first date because Dominic is unreal.”

The baby, as Stewart put it, has been a beacon of calm amidst the chaos of the race season. He goes on to say, “When he’s awake, he’s absolutely awesome. The kid doesn’t fuss about anything. He’s just a happy little kid all the time. He makes our jobs and life a lot easier. If you have a bad day at the track, you go back and you see him, and as soon as you walk in there, it takes about two seconds, and he smiles at you and you forget you had a bad day. He’s definitely a blessing.”

Meanwhile, Leah, who has been away from competition since late 2023, might just be warming up for a return. She recently strapped back into a Top Fuel dragster for a private test session at Virginia Motorsports Park, driving her husband’s car as part of the Tony Stewart Racing trial. After blistering 499 days out of the seat, Leah logged three strong passes and walked away with confidence and perhaps a hint at what’s next.

As a potential comeback, Tony continues to deliver on the drag strip. Despite red lighting for the first time in his career during elimination at Virginia, he bounced back to make the semifinals, proving that whether at home or on the track, the Stewarts are finding ways to win.