CHANDLER, Ariz. — Drag racer Leah Pruett has many great memories at Firebird Motorsports Park, dating back to her Junior Dragster days and winning her first Top Fuel race in 2016.
The new mother was seeking another one Sunday in the NHRA Arizona Nationals, reaching the final round in her Tony Stewart Racing Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge dragster.
Pruett settled for an impressive runner-up finish in just her second race since returning to the cockpit.
Pruett, who nearly won the 2023 NHRA Mission Top Fuel world championship before taking a two-year layoff to start a family with husband Tony Stewart, returned to action two weeks ago at the NHRA Gatornationals with a quarterfinal finish in her TSR Dodge Direct Connection dragster.
This weekend at the Arizona Nationals, Pruett was set to fight for the race win after qualifying second Saturday at 3.788 seconds.
With air temperatures over 100 degrees and track surfaces over 140, all of the Nitro teams were studying their charts for the proper traction at the tricky track, and Pruett’s crew chiefs Neal Strasbaugh and Mike Domagala were no different.
However, the TSR brain thrust was on its game Sunday with impressive round wins by Pruett over Cameron Ferre, Gatornationals winner Josh Hart and reigning NHRA Mission Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta.
After wins of 3.827, 3.887 and 3.887 in the early rounds, Pruett faced longtime rival Shawn Langdon, a fellow competitor in Junior Dragsters with Pruett. Langdon entered the final round with two consecutive Arizona Nationals titles (2024 and 2025), but Pruett had lane choice. Both drivers had nearly identical reaction times off the starting line, but Langdon’s 3.877 beat Pruett’s 3.930 for the California driver’s third straight Phoenix win.
“The attitude and confidence in our program really showed throughout the entire weekend of having a good handle on our horsepower level,” said Pruett, who had son, Dominic, in tow when she wasn’t in the car and talking with the team. “So, besides the final round win, I couldn’t be more happy with my team, especially in these conditions. I am so grateful. This weekend was a great testament to my team and my crew chiefs (Strausbaugh and Domagala) who really carry the team. I feel ten times better than I did in Gainesville, and I didn’t think that that was possible.
“We’re competitive and we’re happy with our consistent runs and being quick given the hot conditions. But that doesn’t mean that we’re not allowed to take a moment and be a little bit bummed and upset about a final round that we all wanted really bad. It’s wild. Our crew chiefs were darn near perfect. And that’s what we build on. That is momentum.”
TSR team owner Tony Stewart, driving the Elite Racing Top Fuel dragster, actually ran against his wife in qualifying for the first time in Top Fuel competition in Friday’s first qualifying round. Pruett beat Stewart to the finish line. Stewart qualified fifth at Phoenix and advanced to the quarterfinals after a strong 3.823 run against Shawn Reed. But in the quarterfinals, Stewart lost to Maddi Gordon, 3.851 to 3.950.
“I don’t think Tony and I really got to enjoy our first head-to-head experience (in qualifying),” Pruett admitted. “With it being Q1 and the new schedules were printed, and we’re like, ‘oh, yeah,’ we’re gonna run each other. We actually had very similar performances as well. So, we have that first one out of the way, but I’m looking forward to when we get to absorb the moment more in the future.”
