Leah Pruett Makes Her Dodge TSR NHRA Top Fuel Return After Two-year Hiatus, Teams Up With Four-time Champ Matt Hagan at Season-opening NHRA Gatornationals
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --
- Leah Pruett makes her NHRA Top Fuel return, after a two-year break, at the upcoming NHRA Gatornationals on March 5-8 in the nitro-burning Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge dragster
- Pruett, a 12-time NHRA national event winner, entrusted her 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster to her husband and team owner Tony Stewart for two seasons as she stepped away to welcome their son Dominic
- The Cal State University graduate comes back to NHRA action with a new outlook as a racer, wife and mother, but her competitive spirit is as strong as ever heading to Gainesville
- Pruett also has the opportunity to compete against her husband for the first time in 2026, as Stewart continues his racing career in the Elite Motorsports Top Fuel car
- TSR Dodge driver Matt Hagan opens his quest for a fifth NHRA Funny Car Championship in 2026 at Gainesville with his potent TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine
- Hagan, a winner of a career 55 NHRA races, recorded three victories in 2025 (Seattle, St. Louis and Las Vegas) and placed runner-up in the NHRA Funny Car final points standings
- The iconic racer and Dodge fan-favorite enters his 19th season driving a Dodge NHRA Funny Car, the longest current driver/manufacturer Funny Car combination in NHRA
- Hagan and first-year crew chiefs Mike Knudsen and Phil Shuler proved to be a vaunted combination at the end of the 2025 campaign and look to continue that momentum at Gainesville in 2026
After a two-year hiatus, Dodge NHRA Top Fuel standout Leah Pruett is set to make a headline-grabbing return to competition, climbing back into her 12,000-horsepower Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) dragster for a highly anticipated season debut at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, March 5–8. Pruett rejoins a powerhouse Dodge TSR lineup anchored by four-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan.
"The 2026 NHRA season gives Dodge and Tony Stewart Racing another chance to show what happens when pure competitive drive and Dodge muscle hit the drag strip," said Matt McAlear, Dodge CEO. "We welcome Leah Pruett back home to her Tony Stewart Racing Top Fuel dragster and four-time NHRA champ Matt Hagan back for his 19th year behind the wheel of a Dodge Funny Car. Both Leah and Matt, as well as team owner Tony Stewart, embody the attitude the Dodge brand stands for, and together they make this season one that will push our limits in all the right ways."
Pruett, a 12-time NHRA Top Fuel national event winner, shocked the motorsports world in 2023 when she walked away from the TSR Top Fuel car that nearly took her to the 2023 world championship to start a family with husband Tony Stewart. Stewart, a NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC series champion and motorsports Hall of Famer, continued the TSR team's Top Fuel success by winning two NHRA events (Las Vegas and Joliet). as well as the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel regular-season title.
But Stewart always said he was the substitute driver in the TSR Dodge dragster until his wife was ready to return to action. After giving birth to son Dominic in November 2024, and serving as a mother and team consultant in 2025, Pruett tested during the 2025 season and made the decision to come back as a driver.
"I wasn't sure if I was ready to jump back into a Top Fuel dragster," Pruett said. "Being involved with the TSR team the last two years kept me active in the sport, and watching from outside the cockpit was a different perspective. When I first tested the dragster again, my brain was at 150 mph, and the car was going 300 mph. We have a new dragster for this year and I feel much more comfortable as we head toward the Gatornationals.
"Working with the team in a different capacity the past two years had me deeply involved in the team's activities, and I was like a student again talking with Tony. I was listening to Tony's description of the car and engine, and it was similar to when he was starting in drag racing and I was his driver coach. Now, I am really anxious to make some 'hits' with the new race car. It feels great and I am ready to be behind the wheel again."
Stewart, who placed fifth in the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel points, is happy to have his wife back in the TSR Dodge dragster in 2026 after her two-year break, but his Top Fuel career isn't over. The man known as "Smoke," who also recently competed for Ram in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, will be driving the Elite Motorsports Top Fuel car in 2026. Chances are good the husband and wife will compete against each other when action starts at Gainesville.
"I'm excited to see Leah get back in our TSR Dodge Top Fueler," said Stewart. "She's done such an amazing job of becoming a mother, going through a whole year of pregnancy and our first year with Dominic. I knew deep down inside she wanted to drive that race car really bad, so I'm just excited to see her get that opportunity again. She has been a critical part of this team's success and projects that we're working on. And I know she wants to drive that car more than anything.
"And, yes, with me in another Top Fuel car, we are going to have to race against each other this year. At first, I wasn't sure about that. But I win in both situations. If I win the race, I move on to the next round. If Leah wins, my race team moves on to the next round. So, it's a win-win for me."
Pruett wasn't convinced she wanted to get back in the TSR Dodge Top Fuel car at first, but recent testing in Stewart's car brought back her passion for the sport. Now she is more determined than ever to chase her first NHRA Mission Top Fuel crown when competition gets underway at the Gatornationals.
"I'll be honest, I wasn't totally sure that my passion for the sport was still there on the driving side," said Pruett. "But once I got behind the wheel again, it was like I never left. My competitive spirit jumped right out again. I'm ready to go. And if I have to race Tony, then I'm set to beat him and he knows it. That matchup could happen as soon as the Gatornationals. Tony, myself, our respective teams and the fans will be ready for that one!"
Hagan, the Dodge fan-favorite and four-time NHRA World Funny Car champion, has set his sights on a fifth title this year with a new TSR Dodge//SRT Hellcat chassis and new parts for his Mike Knudson and Phil Shuler-led squad. Knudson was a first-time crew chief in 2025, and Hagan was very pleased with Mike's progression throughout the season, which included three victories (Seattle, St. Louis and Las Vegas) and a runner-up finish in the final NHRA Funny Car points standing.
Coming to Gainesville has Hagan, a multi-time Gatornationals race winner, seeking another Wally trophy with excitement to put his all-new nitro-burning Hellcat back in the winner's circle.
"It was a great achievement for our guys in new positions, and I knew there would be a learning curve in 2025 for the TSR Dodge Funny Car team," said Hagan, a 55-time NHRA Funny Car event winner, all in Dodge machinery. "But I see great potential with the new lineup, and it showed with three wins late in the 2025 season. Now, in the winter, they have been working extremely hard prepping for the 2026 tour. They have been getting new parts and pieces and developing new setups for the race car."
Hagan has become synonymous with the Dodge brand and the drag strip, representing the brand in a Dodge NHRA Funny Car for a nearly two-decade run. The Virginia racer enters his 19th NHRA campaign piloting a Dodge//SRT Funny Car, the longest current driver/manufacturer Funny Car combination in NHRA.
"I know this team can win championships and I see the drive and ambition they have together," said Hagan. "It's hard to believe that I have been with Dodge and Mopar for 19 years. It has been a great relationship, and I want to continue the tradition with the 2026 NHRA World Championship. I know it's possible with this group of guys."
Both Pruett's Top Fuel dragster and Hagan's Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car will be sporting a new red, white and blue Dodge livery at the Gatornationals.
The NHRA Gatornationals are scheduled for March 5-8, with qualifying set for two runs at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. EST on Friday (March 6) and Saturday (March 7) at 12:35 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. EST. The final eliminations will take place on Sunday (March 8) beginning at 10 a.m. EDT.
For more information on NHRA, visit NHRA.com.
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