NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

One of the biggest driver moves for the 2027 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season began not in a boardroom, but with a conversation between two racers.

During a press conference at the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by Mopar at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Leah Pruett, Tony Schumacher and Tony Stewart explained how Pruett’s decision to step out of the Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Top Fuel dragster at the end of 2026 opened the door for the winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history to join TSR.

Pruett will step away from driving after the season as she and Stewart focus on their family and the possibility of having another child. She emphasized, however, that she is stepping out of the cockpit — not away from Tony Stewart Racing.

Pruett said the decision began taking shape midway through the season and would have been the same regardless of her position in the championship. For her, the decision is about timing and navigating the still relatively uncharted territory of combining motherhood with competition at the highest level of professional drag racing.

She also made clear that she expects to remain deeply involved in TSR’s operations, including management, logistics and technical development. Pruett previously stepped out of the car following the 2023 season to start a family with Stewart, and the couple welcomed their son, Dominic, in November 2024. She returned to competition this season.

This time, however, there was another question to answer: Who would drive the car?

The answer emerged through a conversation with Schumacher.

When Pruett told the eight-time world champion she planned to step aside, Schumacher needed little time to consider the possibilities.

The fit brings together Schumacher with several people with whom he has already enjoyed championship success. Schumacher pointed specifically to his history with crew chief Neal Strausbaugh and other members of the operation as part of what made the opportunity so attractive.

Schumacher brings one of the most accomplished résumés in NHRA history to TSR: eight Top Fuel world championships and 88 national event victories. His longtime partners American Communications Construction will also join TSR’s existing partner lineup, which includes Dodge.

For Stewart, the announcement carries another layer of significance.

His relationship with Schumacher stretches back to 2009, when Stewart attended the U.S. Nationals through the U.S. Army’s motorsports programs. Stewart was then a newcomer to NHRA Drag Racing, and Schumacher helped pull him deeper into the experience.

Seventeen years later, Stewart is hiring Schumacher to drive for his race team.

Stewart called the situation a full-circle moment, remembering how Schumacher welcomed him into the NHRA world during that first U.S. Nationals experience.

Schumacher was equally complimentary of his future team owner, pointing to Stewart’s accomplishments across multiple forms of motorsports and his willingness to study and learn drag racing from the ground up.

“I’ve done this for 30 years, 88 wins and eight championships, but I will learn something from him,” Schumacher said. “He studies it. He focuses.”

The three also made something else clear: Nobody is looking past the remainder of 2026.

Schumacher’s TSR agreement begins in January. Until then, Pruett, Schumacher and Stewart remain competitors, with each focused on winning races during the final stretch of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

For Pruett, stepping out of the seat does not close the door on driving again. She specifically rejected describing the move as retirement and said she would like to return to competition when the circumstances and opportunity are right, even mentioning returning to Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown racing.

In the meantime, Schumacher sees an opportunity to take an already competitive TSR program and pursue more championships with a group of people he knows well.

And for Stewart, the unlikely path from standing alongside Schumacher at the U.S. Nationals in 2009 to becoming his team owner 17 years later is another reminder of how unpredictable a career in motorsports can be.

“The one thing I probably learned more than anything in my life is never say never,” Stewart said, “because you just never know what’s going to happen.”