NASCAR Cup Series champion set to race against his WIFE

NASCAR great Tony Stewart has been part of some incredible rivalries during his Hall of Fame career, but he is about to take things up another level.

The 54-year-old icon - three times a Cup Series champion back in the day - is set to share the grid with none other than his wife Leah Pruett in 2026.

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Stewart had replaced Leah in the NHRA Top Fuel dragster for Tony Stewart Racing in 2024 and 2025 when she took time out to have their first child - a son, Dominic.

Tony performed admirably in relief of his wife, claiming Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and a 2025 regular-season championship title in Indianapolis earlier this month.

When the 37-year-old Pruett announced just a couple of weeks ago that she would be returning to race action in 2026, it was assumed that would send Tony back to the couch. But not so fast.

Tony Stewart WILL race on in 2026

Now Stewart has revealed that he will do something that he always said he would never do - race against his wife.

Speaking to Kevin Harvick on the Happy Hour podcast, he admitted: “I am going to be driving too. I said I would not race against my wife and I’ve lied to myself obviously.

“I have a great opportunity with Richard Freeman and everyone at Elite Motorsports to drive a Top Fuel car next year and I didn’t think that that would even be a possibility. Nor did I honestly nor at first on paper think that it was a very good idea.

“I thought if we race each other and I win, I get kicked to the couch for an undisclosed amount of time. If I lose I have to sit there and listen to my phone blow up about how I got my ass kicked by my wife.

“I at least knew that the couch we bought was comfortable and I could sleep on it for multiple days if needed.”

Leah Pruett pushed to make it happen

Joking aside, Stewart told Harvick that it was his wife who actually pushed for him to race on in 2026.

“Leah’s been the one that has actually convinced me that ‘hey this isn’t a bad thing - I mean we can definitely do this’.

“It kind of is a scenario like what Dale [Earnhardt] Senior had with Richard Childress Racing and DEI - it’s just kind of the reverse order. So we have TSR, and we have Leah getting back in the car.”

Stewart also hit the headlines for the wrong reasons recently, being involved in a truly horrifying 325mph wreck just over a week ago.

Tony was taking part in the NHRA Reading Nationals at Maple Grove in Pennsylvania when the wreck appeared to be caused by the left-front wheel of Doug Kalitta's Top Fuel dragster failing as he crossed the finish line, sending him drifting left across into Stewart's car and flipping it briefly onto its side.

Kalitta would describe the wreck as 'probably the worst' in his long drag racing career, while Stewart revealed that he could remember none of what had happened.

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