If there is any driver who can make little of Kyle Larson’s monster racing talents across various racing formats, it’s none other than Tony Stewart. Aptly named ‘Smoke’ for his ability to smoke the competition, Stewart competed across formats in NASCAR, ARCA, dirt, sprint, and IndyCar series. Now a NASCAR Cup Series team owner, Smoke also actively competes in his SRX Racing venture, where he claimed his first win of the season on Thursday.

Despite the burden of running his Stewart-Haas Racing team and the SRX venture weighing on his shoulders, Tony Stewart’s thirst for racing remains unquenched. Pulled into NHRA’s drag racing world by his wife, Leah Pruett, Smoke established the Tony Stewart Racing team, fielding Pruett and Matt Hagan as the main drivers. Now competing in the Heartland Nationals, Leah Pruett awarded Tony Stewart Racing with a blistering performance.

Leah Pruett’s qualifying run at Menards Heartland Nationals

Marrying Smoke on November 21st, 2021, Leah Pruett started her NHRA journey with the Tony Stewart Racing team in 2022. But she has been around the world of drag racing since 2013. Stuck in a winless streak for three years, Pruett’s big break came in 2016 when she won her first race, placing 7th overall in the championship. Further cementing herself as a dominant threat on the track, Leah Pruett posted a 3.631-second run at Pomona in 2018, even achieving her best speed of 334.15 mph in Chandler during the same season.

Now an 11-time NHRA Top Fuel event winner, Pruett recently stepped into the Heartland Motorsports Park or the House of Speed for the Menards NHRA Nationals. Competing in the Top Fuel qualifiers, Leah Pruett claimed the provisional 4th spot, posting a 3.834-second time after a 293.41 mph run. Following Pruett closely, her teammate, Matt Hagan qualified in the 7th provisional spot, posting a 4.040 second at 312.93 mph run in the Funny Car category. Still on the lookout for her first championship title, Leah Pruett now ranks 5th in the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship standings, 217 points behind points leader Justin Ashley.

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Having watched his wife drag race from the sidelines, Tony Stewart’s itch to race got the best of him as he too soon found himself behind the wheels of a dragster, albeit in the Top Alcohol class.

Tony Stewart might win the NHRA Top Alcohol championship

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While his wife, Leah Pruett competes in the top-of-the-line Top Fuel class, Tony Stewart joined the Top Alcohol class last season, running two races. Although he missed out on a win, Smoke returned for a full-time run in 2023, claiming two wins so far. His first win was a Las Vegas in April, where he defeated three drivers in a four-wide NHRA Nationals event. Smoke then secured his second NHRA Top Alcohol career win in Indianapolis in May. 

Gearing up for the upcoming Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Tony Stewart, in a recent interview detailed the difference between his and Pruett’s drag racing categories. “I run the top out called Dragster class. Top Fuel and Funny Car only run 1000 feet, so they’re running 330 plus miles an hour in 1000 feet. My class is the same. Same style of car, different motor configuration, runs the full quarter mile and only runs 280 miles an hour,” Stewart said.

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Currently sitting pretty at rank one on the Top Alcohol Dragster standings with 509 points, fans will be cheering Tony Stewart to claim his third NHRA career win at Brainerd, Minnesota.