NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

NHRA Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett, who with husband Tony Stewart is expecting their first child in November, played a pivotal role in pushing for an amendment to the NHRA’s Driver Replacement Policy. This new policy addresses the challenges female racers face when balancing their racing careers with family planning. In this interview, she candidly discusses her personal experiences, the roadblocks she encountered, and how she worked alongside NHRA leadership and fellow racers to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in motorsports.

Q: How did you get involved in making this addition to the NHRA Driver Replacement Policy?

Pruett: There are a lot of people who contributed to this, but I think I definitely did kickstart it because I was looking at my own situation a couple of years ago after I got married and knowing that I wanted to have children. Many great things were happening in life, establishing our own team and trying to project what the future looks like, and there were really not a lot of options in regard to having a family and racing at the same time.

Q: What was it like trying to plan for both racing and starting a family?

Pruett: I think the true realization for this was when I found the challenges in becoming pregnant weren’t as easy as, “Let’s try and get pregnant.” There were a lot of unknowns that you cannot schedule. My body needed time, and whether it was two months or six months or a couple of years, I couldn’t plan my life or my racing career because I didn’t know what my body was going to do.

Q: How did that uncertainty impact your career decisions?

Pruett: It was a very uneasy time when you have something you’ve done your whole life, which is concern yourself with your team, your partners, your fans, and everything surrounding racing. I had to make what I considered one of the hardest decisions of my entire life, and that was to not race in 2024, that I was going to double down and hopefully become pregnant with our treatments, and I hope that this works, and I don’t waste a year not being in the seat.

Q: What led you to push for a policy change within NHRA?

Pruett: It started with me making that decision, because it was either do that or continue racing until I start a family. So, I was having to make those decisions and have hard conversations with my team. I had just signed on to be their driver and just come the closest I had ever been to a world championship. I felt I’m not the only person that has felt this or is going to feel this. Something needs to change.

Q: Did you have support from other female racers in NHRA?

Pruett: I banded together with many leading women in the NHRA, including Erica Enders, Angie Smith, Julie Nataas, Jasmine Salinas, and Ida Zetterström, to help guide the policy-making decisions.

Q: How did those early discussions among the female racers go?

Pruett: At the beginning of this year, we had our own meeting and discussed the policy, and there was an overwhelming, all-majority agreement that something needs to be addressed. There are some females in the group that will not benefit from this, but wanted to be a part of this, and wanted it to be part of their legacy as well.

Q: How did NHRA leadership react when you presented your ideas?

Pruett: From there, I met with Glen Cromwell and Josh Peterson and told them that our females have a need for a policy, not just a desire, and I was heard. We had many meetings after that, defining the policy, and it really took somebody like myself, who had been through challenges in pregnancy, some health complications, to IVF, where I didn’t even know what I didn’t know until I went through all that, so how could I expect men of a sanctioning body to know, and I think that’s completely fair.

Q: How did NHRA go about creating a policy that fit the needs of female racers?

Pruett: I was very open and transparent about what all the possibilities are that females would be going through, whether it’s being able to even sit in a race car and fire it up, and NHRA took it upon themselves, invested their time with many doctors and OB-GYNs across the country to get their professional opinion with the sport, to come out to the races, do the research, and they spent quality time on this policy.

Q: What does the new policy allow women to do?

Pruett: It’s also important to say that this isn’t about telling a woman that she can’t race because she’s pregnant, it is about creating an opportunity for a female to step out of the seat and have the opportunities that any other person would have for any other medical condition, be it COVID-19 or injury protocol.

Q: What broader message does this policy send about women in motorsports?

Pruett: It not only identifies that motorsports are becoming more diverse, but it acknowledges that women are not just competing, but we’re winning national events and winning world championships, that we’re building our careers on it, but no one ever acknowledged the one thing that really stops that career, and this speaks to that.

Q: How do you think this policy impacts the careers of female drivers who take time off for family planning?

Pruett: I feel like this addresses what I consider the "invisible race," women in motorsports who are racing to become successful and prominent, to establish their careers, their driving ability, their brands, and we have to do that in the hopes that it’s strong enough that if we do want to take a breath, to take a year or two off and start a family, we hope it’s strong enough that we can return to it.

Q: How do you personally feel about this policy?

Pruett: I definitely plan to return to driving, and this policy helps that so much more, so much greater. Nobody knows how our recovery time and process is, so what’s needed and available, resource-wise, for different mothers and care at the racetrack, and this allows us to plan as best as we can.

Q: Does this policy mark a shift in the culture of motorsports?

Pruett: There’s one thing I wanted to share about this policy and that it’s a great reflection that the days of sexism on the racetrack have been over for some time. The drivers, the marketing partners, the fans, they’ve all proved it, so this policy makes sense to be in place and allows for our female competitors to continue to succeed and have longevity in the sport.

Q: The first draft of the policy allowed a pregnant driver to race just once in a season and earn all the points, with which you and the others did not agree. How did you make sure the policy was fair for all drivers, including your male competitors?

Pruett: The first draft was absolutely way more than generous. Myself and Erica and Angie tried to put ourselves in our competitors’ shoes and go, “What is this?” We didn’t want anyone to think it’s not fair, that it’s not right, and how would we feel? So, we said, “No, I think it should be who gathers the most points.” If I start the season and I end up pregnant in May, and Tony came in and finished the season out for me, and he’s in the Countdown [to the Championship] and went through the pressure and everything that it takes at the end, he should be the champion. If I gather the most points and somebody came in and finished the season for me, but I did the majority of the heavy lifting, well, then it would be in my name, and we all agreed that’s where it should be.

Q: NHRA arranged a video conference with top OB-GYNs where you could all ask questions and get needed information. How did medical advice from doctors influence the final policy?

Pruett: That was another great thing NHRA did. There’s not adequate research around the globe to say, "You can race a Top Fuel dragster for four and a half months and then you should probably get out." The closest thing were fighter jet pilots and what the U.S. Air Force protocol is, and data for street-car crashes and what happens to mothers and fetuses at different gestations.

At the end of the day, the NHRA does not say you cannot race. The policy does not say you cannot race at six months pregnant, and the woman still has free will to if it's her prerogative to continue to race during her pregnancy, but it does protect the woman who says, “I don't feel that it is in my baby's best interest to be strapped in a 12,000-horsepower vehicle pulling six and a half g-forces that could possibly crash. I'd like some grace with my career.”

Q: How does this policy open up conversations between drivers and sponsors?

Pruett: That’s the other large key feature here in that it opens up conversations, difficult conversations for drivers and their sponsors — difficult conversations, but in a positive way. Because I knew [having a family] was something I wanted to do, we had our contracts written early on in 2022 in the event that I became pregnant, that we can define a mutually agreeable driver to replace me. That way you’re having these pre-conversations that, "Hey, this might happen," and it gives the opportunity for them to go, "That’s great. We’ll make a plan around it and be proactive, not reactive."

Q: Any final thoughts on the impact of this policy?

Pruett: I really hope that this policy not only changes what happens on the track in regard to females but changes the conversation in the boardroom to better prepare for stronger relationships. I really want to acknowledge Glen Cromwell and Josh Peterson for their help to navigate it through, and a tip of a hat to Richard Freeman for encouraging me to pursue this. I look forward to this new policy making a positive impact on the women in motorsports as a whole, short term and long term.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity