Tony Stewart jokes about sleeping
on the couch if he wins drag race against wife Leah Pruett
[October 09, 2025]
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
EULESS, Texas (AP) — Tony Stewart has been joking that he made sure
the new couch he and his wife bought was one he could sleep on
comfortably if he wins a drag race against her.
Well, his team does still win if Leah Pruett beats him in an NHRA
race when they begin competing against each other next season.
That is when Pruett will be back in her seat for Tony Stewart
Racing, the one her NASCAR Hall of Fame husband has filled since she
stepped aside ahead of the 2024 season to focus on starting a family
and the birth of their son later that year. Stewart will then be
driving a Top Fuel dragster for Elite Motorsports.
“I’ve always looked at it as it’s a double lose for me, that I can’t
win no matter what,” Stewart said Wednesday. “If I win, I get kicked
to the couch is what I always jokingly told everybody. And if I get
beat by her, then all I do is get all the messages from my buddies
about how my wife kicked my (rear)."
Stewart said last month that he was turning the TSR seat back over
to Pruett after keeping it warm for her, then a week later said he
would drive for Elite Motorsports. That has them racing against each
other even though those teams have a marketing alliance.
“Leah's the one that talked me into it. I was kind of against it
because I didn’t want to create tension in our family first and
foremost. She was the one that goes, well, you’re kind of thinking
about this too much,” Stewart said.
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“As much as it on paper could look like a really
bad idea, I think it’s a really cool opportunity for us. Not a lot
of people get to get an opportunity to race with their significant
other," he said. "Leah and I have always been able to race together,
but to literally compete against each other is something different
that we’ve never had that opportunity to do in the past, and
something that I think we’re both going to enjoy.”
When asked what it will be like racing against his
wife, Stewart responded, “really easy honestly.” Different from dirt
track or NASCAR racing, when cars could be sliding into each other,
drag racers control their cars in their own lanes.
The 54-year-old Stewart will race at the Texas Fall Nationals in
Ennis this weekend, but first took part Wednesday night in his
annual fundraiser for Speedway Children's Charities at Texas Motor
Speedway. His Smoke Show that started as racing fantasy camp in 2008
and has raised nearly $2 million, was a bowling tournament this
year.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t necessarily have an interest in
driving race cars, and just about everybody can bowl,” said Stewart,
who could be more interactive than when at the track. "I'd spend
half the time and half the night in the car with a helmet on, but I
can’t hardly hear what anybody’s saying.”
While describing himself as a terrible bowler, Stewart said the
worst part is that he has no excuse. He has two lanes in his
basement.
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