Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett Each Took a Bold Leap of Faith with Tony Stewart
Photo credit NHRA
There’s a saying that fortune favors the bold.
It’s an ethos that drives drag racers Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett. Hagan has the saying printed on his souvenir t-shirts. Pruett has a decal of the saying in the lounge of her transporter. It’s also what led them both to join Tony Stewart and his new found love of straight line speed after a decades-long career of going in circles.
About the same time Stewart fell in love with Pruett, he also fell in love with drag racing. Or, was it the other way around?
Either way, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, team co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer found a new passion in his life - in addition to a life partner.
Tony Stewart Racing, mainly a sprint car racing operation, expanded into the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series in 2022 and since has become one of the most competitive teams on the circuit, fielding cars in both Top Fuel dragster for Pruett, and Funny Car for Hagan.
For three-time national Funny Car champion Hagan, joining the fledgling program may have been a leap of faith, but since making the move, he’s having the best time of his career.
“This is one of those those situations I've never been (in). Not that I never really got to enjoy drag racing, but Leah and Tony have put together a program to where I show up and I get to focus on driving a race car. I'm not worried about sponsorship, I'm not worried about if the trailer is going to the next next race.
“They've given us so much support beyond parts and pieces,” Hagan continued. “My crew chief, (Dickie Venables) he’s like, dude, I've never had this much cylinder head stuff. I've never had this much blower stuff. It’s just, it's unbelievable what this program has put together for this team.
“There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to turn (on) win lights on Sunday, every weekend, and it's disheartening when we don't because we know we fell short. It's not because of something that we need or something that we can't have because we can't get, but just to watch them put this team together and between the dragster and the Funny Car. They work(ed) their ass off over the last two years and I'm just so proud to be a part of it.
For the 40-year-old cattle rancher from Virginia, life is good.
“I'm genuinely having a great time drag racing and everybody's like, man, you know how long you want to do this? I want to do this as long as I can with with Tony and Leah because I'm having a blast. And it's just, it's just so much fun.”
Photo credit NHRA
Adding to the fun factor, according to Hagan, is the atmosphere in the team.
“There's nobody coming in and kicking the door open and screaming and pointing fingers and telling you you should be doing better. We already know that when that happens. Tony is cool, man, you cut up with him. It's just a fun atmosphere. And we have a lot of fun there and I'm just, I'm proud to be a part of it, but I'm just I'm blessed to be a part of it.”
Between his NASCAR commitments, the Superstar Racing Experience and other racing endeavors, Stewart has a lot on his plate. Even with all that, Pruett says there’s only been two events that he hasn’t attended.
“On those weekends when he's not there, it's not like there's phone calls that have to be made. He himself is involved in a lot of PRO meetings and he interacts with a lot of other teams that are meeting together for the greater good of the just the sport of drag racing. So he has those to catch up on but in regards to the operations of Matt’s team and my team, that's just a phone call at the end of the night. Might be 2:45 in the morning as they have been updating him on how the day went. Maybe what some conversations were that he needs to be aware of, as they'll might come down that next day or coming through that week or what the progress of a program is coming through.
“I keep things very, very simple,” Pruett continued. “He's not a micromanager at all whatsoever and he hasn't been, not in any other capacities. He's there to provide solutions when there's a problem that people can't overcome on their own. I give him a quick little rundown paragraph of what had happened and then, that's it. He's just that good about it and he's that trustworthy.
He also knows what he doesn't know. I mean, he knows who's he to say or give direction within the drag racing world right now when he's still a student of the sport by all degrees, so he's just been a huge sponge and he's a very happy sponge and he's unhappy when he's not at the racetrack.
“I'm not sure what type of text messages Tony and Hagen have going back and forth,” Pruett added. “I'm sure it's got maybe some more cuss words or vulgarity than I have, but I know they have a good time.”
Photo credit NHRA
Hagan was impressed by Stewart and Pruett’s dedication to the team from day one.
“It's one of those things that I watched what they put together even the first year in the offseason and it looked like UPS lived over there at the shop. There's boxes everywhere. And then it was putting together packages and all this kind of stuff. They lived at the shop. Those two literally lived in their camper at the shop to get this to happen the first year. I got mad respect for that.
“It was really cool to see it come together and it's cool to see how much success we have. But what's really going to be cool is to see how much more we can do and hopefully put this championship underneath TSR’s belt. I know in my heart we're capable of doing this and it's just a matter of us clicking and coming together and making this thing happen.
“That’s what's really cool about a championship is no one can take that away from you, ever, you know what I mean? You have a group of guys and gals that put this thing together and you go out there and you win that and that's something so special that that's why we do this is for those moments. You get up on the wheel and you make that happen, you see that final win light come on and you know you're a champion. That’s what I really want to do for TSR. I think that that is very possible. Tony and Leah both put us in a situation to be able to do that. And I'm proud of that and I got nothing but dig deep to go out there and get it done this year.”
“Those two literally lived in their camper at the shop to get this to happen the first year. I got mad respect for that. ”
Pruett admits she’s not to the competitive level Hagan is at, but she’s learning from him.
“I get inspired by Matt and that is a role that he plays, a very large role within TSR of being that that bull, being that Hulk, but genuinely being that inspiring individual because he's been there done that, gone through that, and I have not yet in the capacity that he has.
“On my side, I've been able to develop myself as a driver in ways that I never even thought were possible or I didn't feel like I had the resources to. Matt is very well trained and an extreme athlete and has learned over time, what puts him in his best mental capacity state, and we work closely together and he helps me get there as well. So for those that watch throughout the season, I might not be the most consistent one out there. It's because I'm not having a consistent routine. I'm still finding exactly what it is that my body and my mind needs.
“But overall,” Pruett continued, “one consistency that stays the same would be my husband, Tony Stewart. That is constantly giving reassurance, giving resources, what it is that we need, and if we feel like we're falling short. He might tell us we are falling short, but he'll also help us figure out a way to get out of that shortcoming. The whole dynamic about Tony Stewart Racing and how we're moving about into success is something that I've never seen before.”
For Hagan and Pruett, their leap of faith with Tony Stewart may have been bold, but it appears to be working in their favor.