EPPING, N.H. — It was race day in the northeast at New England Dragway on Sunday and with a sold-out crowd, fans gathered around one pit area in particular.
In the midst of a sea of people stood Tony Stewart, Sharpie in hand and a golden smile greeting countless individuals seeking an autograph or quick picture with the NASCAR Hall of Famer.
Standing 10 yards to his right was his wife, Leah Pruett as she looked on at the midway.
In a few short hours, Stewart was set to contest his seventh race aboard Pruett’s Top Fuel car. It was less than seven months prior that Pruett finished a career-best third in the standings.
Now with life changing and a mindset on beginning a family, Pruett entrusted Stewart to drive her car — at least temporarily.
Admittedly, the first week of the season at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway “was the toughest” for Pruett.
“As much as you want to be mentally prepared for being outside the car, it really hit home,” Pruett told SPEED SPORT.
However, after seven races, Pruett has adjusted to her new role at Tony Stewart Racing.
“I feel like I’ve definitely found my stride,” Pruett said. “My stride lies within… it’s really the culture of the team, but a lot of it is on the IT side of things. So, we have a large project that is about an 18-month long that I’m spear-heading.
“I get to spend a lot more time in the crew chief lounge than I used to, I enjoy it. I’m still Tony’s coach, so to speak. But now that we’re at this spot, he really doesn’t need the coaching that he needed at the beginning of the year,” Pruett continued.
“So I feel like the fans will find that this race (Epping) is going to be the biggest start to the momentum for us for this year.”
To the delight of countless Stewart fans, Epping provided a solid building block for the remainder of the year.
Aboard his Rinnai-sponsored Top Fuel car, the 53-year-old outgunned Antron Brown in the first round. While Stewart lost to eventual winner Doug Kalitta one round later, it was a true drag race with Stewart nipping Kalitta at the tree before losing the drag race by eight thousandths of a second.
Still, Stewart continues to come into his own aboard his 11,000 horsepower dragster.
Pruett detailed what she and Stewart work on to help him improve.
“So, we do a lot of slow-mo video of his staging process,” Pruett explained. “There’s just a lot of small nuances to the cadence.
“Whether how long your burnout is, how fast you’re backing up, how much you’re in and out of the clutch, keeping that cool. So, getting that really dialed in has been important.
“But now he’s hit all those marks,” Pruett continued. “Basically all we do now, like last night we talked, he said, ‘Do you see anything?’ I said, ‘There’s not one thing I would even critique, not one thing.’
“’You’re staging shallow, your lights are fantastic.’”
A big hurdle for Stewart during the weekend was adjusting his dragster mid-run to avoid a literal bump in the road.
“Specifically in the right lane, there’s a bump at half-track,” Pruett said. “We had him move to the inside. 300 miles an hour, make a move in a dragster that he’s never done before.”
That may sound daunting for many. However, for Stewart, it came naturally.
“You wouldn’t ask a rookie driver to do that, but with Tony Stewart you can,” Pruett said. “He actually felt super proud. He did it successfully. We had a full run because he was able to place it in the right spot.”
Pruett’s teaching has been an x-factor in Stewart’s quick progression in the Top Fuel category. Through seven races, Stewart is ninth in the standings, 66 points ahead of 11th, the first spot out of the Countdown.
While Stewart has been known to be cantankerous throughout his illustrious career, Pruett admitted “Smoke” the student is extremely cooperative.
“Well, he’s really stubborn all the way around, except for when it comes to him being a student,” Pruett laughed. “So, I think that’s what has impressed me.
“Really the only time he’ll listen to me, is when it has to do with driving the car. So, that has been impressive. His retention rate for the information. He might forget what he did yesterday or what he had to eat for breakfast, but he doesn’t forget anything when it comes to driving the race car.
“That’s been extremely impressive,” Pruett continued. “It just shows me why he is a Cup champion, IndyCar champion, all of the things that he’s done.
“His brain is built to drive race cars.”