Tony Stewart has never been one to back down from a challenge, but when it comes to his marriage, the NASCAR legend draws a very clear line. So when his own Funny Car driver, Matt Hagan, jokingly wondered whether Stewart and his wife would stay married once they started racing against each other, the three-time Cup champion didn’t let the dig linger for long.

After stepping away from top fuel competition for two seasons, Leah Pruett is gearing up for her long-awaited return with Tony Stewart Racing. With the former NASCAR champion now competing in the same NHRA category as her, the married couple will finally find themselves lining up in direct competition.

About this, Stewart’s driver Matt Hagan took a funny dig by saying, “I’m excited to see what these two do this year … whether they stay married or not.” And then came Stewart’s clear reply.

“No matter what happens, win or lose, we will still be married. You can put that in ink,” Stewart replied.

The 54-year-old quickly shut down the playful jab, making it clear that no amount of on-track rivalry would shake his relationship with his beloved.

After stepping away from 2024, Leah Pruett is returning to the cockpit for her husband’s team, reclaiming the seat that the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion filled during her absence. Stewart stepped in while Pruett was away, taking care of their son Dominic, and delivered an impressive run, winning three races and capturing the regular season championship along the way.

Now, the dynamic between the couple is set to change. Instead of cheering each other on from the sidelines, they will be lining up against one another on the drag strip as Leah Pruett looks to expand her 12 Top Fuel win streak.

Stewart, who piloted Pruett’s car over the past two seasons, has since moved to a newly launched Top Fuel program with Elite Motorsports, owned by Richard Freeman.

This also marks a new chapter in his growing NHRA career as it extends his organization as a part of technical and marketing alliances. The deal allows the three-time NASCAR Cup champion to remain in the top class while helping expand Elite Motorsports’ footprint in the series as the 2026 campaign unfolds.

And while Leah Pruett has had previous marriages before the couple met, she has clarified her stance on her relationship with Stewart. Pruett was previously married to the off-road racer Todd LeDuc and later to NHRA crew member Gary Pritchett before their divorce in 2019. However, ever since Pruett met Stewart, the relationship has been nothing but strong.

While the rivalry will play out at full throttle on the track, both have made it clear that the competition will remain friendly once the helmet comes off.

“Yes, we are competitive and we’re allowed to be happy and we’re allowed to be upset when we win or lose in this,” Leah Pruett said in a recent interview. “But at the end of the day, we come back and we’re husband and wife and we’re parents together. And we promised ourselves that we will remember that and always revert back to that.”

And as the dynamic is set between the two, nothing can drive a wedge into their personal lives. But as Stewart navigates his way to a new team, the 54-year-old cannot help but credit his wife’s impact on his career.

Stewart opens up about Leah Pruett’s influence on his career

Tony Stewart has spent nearly his entire life immersed in racing. But life away from the track began to take on a new meaning after he married fellow drag racer Leah Pruett and later became a father. With the arrival of their son Dominic, Stewart admitted that his priorities gradually began shifting beyond just racing and trophies.

Stewart and Pruett first crossed paths in 2019. Their relationship moved quickly from there, with the couple announcing their engagement in March 2021 before tying the knot later that same year. In November 2024, they welcomed their first child together, marking a major milestone in their life off the track.

Speaking recently with Paul Tracy on the Racers Unchained podcast, the 54-year-old reflected on how different his life looks today compared to his earlier years.

“So, anything in motorsports that I wanted to do, I always was going to do,” Stewart said.”I skipped going to weddings, going to different family functions with girlfriends in the past just because I had a race. I was going racing. That’s just what I did. And they didn’t get upset about it cuz they knew it going into it. But it is most definitely since I met Leah, absolutely changed my life.”

For decades, racing consumed nearly all of his time and attention, but it all changed when his wife came into the picture. Over the years, the former IndyCar series champion built a reputation as one of motorsports’ most adaptable talents, competing in everything from sprint cars and open-wheel machines to stock cars.

Today, he has added another discipline to that list as he continues competing in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series now alongside his wife.