Tony Stewart won\u2019t be racing full-time in the NHRA Top Fuel division in 2026 for his own team.<\/p>\n
His Tony Stewart Racing team said Tuesday that Stewart\u2019s wife, Leah Pruett, would return to the driver\u2019s seat next season. Stewart has subbed for Pruett since the start of the 2024 season as the two had their first child together.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m excited to see Leah get back in a race car,\u201d Stewart said in a release. \u201cShe\u2019s done such an amazing job of becoming a mother and going through a whole year of pregnancy and our first year with [son] Dominic. I know deep down inside that she wants to drive that race car really bad, so I\u2019m just excited to see her get that opportunity again. I appreciate what she\u2019s done to help our family and help this entire race team. She\u2019s been a very critical part of this team\u2019s success and projects that we\u2019re working on, so she hasn\u2019t sat on her hands by any means, but first and foremost, I know she wants to drive that car more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has won twice since taking over for Pruett and has 10 final-round appearances. He lost out to Justin Ashley in the final of the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day. Before stepping out of the car after the 2023 season, Pruett had scored 12 Top Fuel wins.<\/p>\n
Stewart, 54, won the regular-season points title in Top Fuel this season and is the top seed heading into the six-race postseason. If he wins the Top Fuel title, he\u2019d become the first driver to have a Cup Series title and an NHRA national series championship. Stewart is already the only driver to have an IndyCar title and a Cup Series title. He won the 1997 IndyCar championship before he moved to NASCAR.<\/p>\n