For over 70 years, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has championed the participation of women in motorsport

For over 70 years, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has championed the participation of women in motorsport

Women wishing to start a family have traditionally had to retire from drag racing competition to focus on those goals, but an incredible new policy introduced by the NHRA is designed to allow women to balance their career with their families.

NHRA’s new policy for pregnant competitors

Traditionally, if an NHRA competitor wanted to get pregnant and start a family, that racer would have to either retire from the sport, or take a hiatus, or withdraw from championship contention partway through a season in order to channel her efforts into that avenue.

But Leah Pruett, an iconic Top Fuel dragster, found it difficult to reckon with the implications her decision to start a family with husband Tony Stewart would have on the career she’s dedicated her life to building.

“I was looking at my own situation a couple of years ago after I got married and knowing that I wanted to have children,” Pruett said in an NHRA release.

“It was a very uneasy time when you have something you’ve done your whole life, which is to 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.

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.”

Pruett isn’t alone. The fields of many NHRA categories are loaded with women, many of whom have struggled to reconcile their decision to start a family with their ability to pursue a career in motorsport.

This new policy eases that burden.