Tony Stewart Says Leah Pruett Is the “Kevin Harvick” of Drag Racing

It might not sound romantic. It might not even seem like something a husband would say about his wife and the mother of his child. On the surface, it may not even sound flattering at all.

But as one of the highest compliments he could possibly give, NHRA Top Fuel racer Tony Stewart said Leah Pruett reminds him of Kevin Harvick.

“I truly believe she is the Kevin Harvick of the drag racing world,” Stewart said of his partner in crime.

“I mean, she’s smart. She knows how to work on the cars because she’s done it before. She’s worked on clutches and everything else here. She’s been part of teams, she’s driven the car, she’s built teams, and she’s managed teams. She knows how to handle sponsorships, proposals, and making sure everybody gets the right value for their dollar. There just aren’t a lot of drivers out there like that.

“But I truly believe it’s just like watching Kevin Harvick. Kevin was the same way. He could drive, he was a great owner, he built a great program, and he knew how to put the right people in place. When I look at Leah, I see Kevin from that standpoint and how they’ve both managed everything.”

Stewart believes Pruett doesn’t get nearly enough credit for the amount of work she handles behind the scenes. TSR Nitro Funny Car driver Matt Hagan echoed those thoughts.

“Leah and Tony juggle racing the cars, but they also do a lot behind the scenes,” Hagan said. “Over the last couple of years, Leah has handled a ton of front-office responsibilities, personnel changes, and behind-the-scenes work. They brought in veteran crew chief Phil Shuler, and she was a huge reason why that happened. They already had a relationship there, and Phil has been a great addition to this deal. Leah has really been the person behind the scenes making a lot of that happen.”

The official team name is Tony Stewart Racing Nitro, or TSR Nitro, but the trio joked earlier in the year that, as Hagan put it, “It says TSR, but I think sometimes it should say Leah Stewart Racing.”

“Being involved with the TSR team over the last two years kept me active in the sport, and watching from outside the cockpit gave me a completely different perspective,” Pruett said. “Working with the team in a different capacity had me deeply involved in everything the team was doing, and I almost became a student again while talking with Tony. I was listening to his descriptions of the car and engine, and it reminded me of when he was first starting in drag racing and I was helping coach him as a driver.”

Pruett explained that during the offseason she worked extensively with TSR Nitro’s partners on tuning optimization projects and various research-and-development efforts, all while handling daily logistics.

Part of the reason, she admitted, was to make sure she didn’t “have an identity crisis.”

Hagan’s Funny Car victory at the Winternationals and Stewart’s Top Fuel win in Pomona weren’t accidents. Both drivers credit the team atmosphere and the work Stewart and Pruett have put into building the organization.

“Our current success is the result of what they’ve created here,” Hagan said. “The environment Tony and Leah have built is unreal. I’ve never been in a place like this before. Everybody’s vibing, getting along, and working hard. I’ve had a lot of success over the years, but it always came with issues or adversity behind the scenes. Right now, I show up and everything is just good. Everybody’s smiling, everybody’s working, and people are signing multi-year deals to stay together and keep this thing going. We’re in a really good spot, and it makes me excited to see what’s ahead.”

The reason Stewart is even driving the R+L Top Fuel Dragster for Elite Motorsports is because Pruett helped broker the deal with Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman.

“I’m not getting paid some huge driver salary, but I didn’t need that to do this. Honestly, I just wanted to race,” Stewart said. “I was going to be around drag racing no matter what. I could’ve easily gone back to driving for the McPhillips team and been perfectly content. But Leah and Richard talked, and this opportunity came together. It opened a door I never even thought about because I wasn’t thinking outside the box enough. I just fell back into old habits and figured I’d go back to racing an alcohol car. Scheduling-wise, that worked out well because I could make my runs and still be there for their runs.”

Stewart was quick to point out that Pruett deserves far more credit than she receives.

“It’s not like she tricked me into anything. Everything we’ve done, we’ve talked through and planned together. Honestly, I think she’s the brains behind all of it, and I don’t think she gets enough credit for that side of her.”

One thing is certain: Pruett doesn’t get much downtime.

Her schedule is so fast-paced that simply focusing on Sunday eliminations can feel unusual.

“How Matt and I operate throughout the weekend changes every day,” Pruett explained. “We need sponsors to race, and we need to perform well to keep those sponsors. So our Fridays and Saturdays involve way more than just driving race cars. Matt and I are lucky if we get a few moments to ourselves to regroup with our crew chiefs and actually focus on racing.

“So when Sunday comes around, it almost feels unfamiliar because we’ve spent so much time running around nonstop. Sometimes we actually have to build time into the schedule just to focus on racing. It should feel normal, but because it happens the least, it’s taken me a while to get comfortable with it and not constantly live in that high-speed, fast-paced mode.”

Those fast-paced days became even more intense after the birth of son Dom in November 2024. Becoming both a mother and a team manager forced Pruett to completely reorganize her schedule, priorities, and focus.

For example, she explained how different Gainesville became after becoming a parent.

“I was in Florida for 40 days with our son. When you’re the primary caregiver, it’s a completely different conversation than just being the other parent. We had Daytona, Bike Week, testing, Gainesville, all of it back-to-back, and I basically treated that whole stretch as a mulligan.

“Then we went to Phoenix and did well there, but I found myself stretched too thin. So, for Pomona, I made the decision to leave our son at home so I could do what everyone else gets to do and just focus on work instead of trying to be mom every second of the day. Every race weekend has been different, and I’m still trying to find that balance and lock into a rhythm.

“I learned a lot from Matt about keeping things mentally focused and not letting outside factors affect you.”

Tony Stewart comparing his wife, Leah Pruett to Kevin Harvick is a high-level compliment. It shows that Pruett truly is a master of her drag racing domain and has a massive impact on every facet of the TSR Nitro organization.