Latest news with #Pruett
USA Today
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
Best of drag racing superstar Leah Pruett in images
Track Titan ... semi-retired NHRA top fuel driver Leah Pruett has been a familiar face on the drag racing scene, from her days running Funny Car and Pro Modified races to the present circuit, where she began competing in 2013. Part of the Tony Stewart Racing team—and the wife of the former NACASR driver—Pruett has turned heads both on and off the track. Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett Leah Pruett
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
12x Top Fuel winner Leah Pruett's comeback plan begins as Tony Stewart Racing grants test day wish
Leah Pruett (Image Source: Getty) Leah Pruett made headlines back in early 2024, but this time it's one of her cars rather than her son, Dominic James. After sitting out the previous two events to recover, the 12-time NHRA Top Fuel winner returned to action on June 23 during a private test session hosted by Tony Stewart Racing at Virginia Motorsports Park. As for a return to full-time play, there is still no official announcement. However, this is a significant indicator of her return to the sport since she stepped away from competition. It came in the waning days following the Virginia NHRA Nationals and allowed Pruett to reacclimate to her dragster in an easy-going, post-race atmosphere. Leah Pruett's surprise test run signals readiness to return Pruett, who drove the No. 14 TSR Dodge//SRT Direct Connection Top Fuel dragster, amassed numerous passes down the race track without missing a beat. It was more than symbolic: with that run, she shed any wayward uncertainty and got reacquainted with the car she knows better than anybody. Pruett walked away to concentrate on family life but remained very much aligned with the team during the year, also continuing her work in areas of operations, testing, and mentorship. But to the sources close to the team, it was not a publicity stunt, but rather a significant step to a return to competitiveness. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Install the Perfect Pool at Home – Start Here Backyard Pool | Search Ads Learn More Undo There is no concrete timetable for her return within the actual competitive season, but everything seems to point towards a return within the next year or so. Tony Stewart's continued support—on and off the track Tony Stewart, who stepped into Pruett's shoes in 2024 and captured NHRA Rookie of the Year honors, has always maintained that the door is wide open for her to return. She has a family reason for stepping back, and he has always been supportive of her decision, saying he will happily step back whenever she wants. Also Read: 'Wear your lucky underwear': Alex Bowman Jr's weird ritual shocks NASCAR fans after crash During this time, Stewart stayed involved as a key force in keeping the Top Fuel program and was supportive of the program, ensuring the team continued to stay ready for her eventual return in Top Fuel. His encouragement and dedication fostered an atmosphere that strikes a balance between family and performance. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here . Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man allegedly kicks his way to a felony charge
Jun. 5—After getting drunk at a downtown Columbia Falls bar late last month, a 35-year-old man allegedly wandered over to a city building and kicked several vehicles in the parking lot. Morgan Alan Pruett faces one felony count of criminal mischief in Flathead County District Court in connection with the May 29 incident. Held in the county jail with bail set at $15,000, Pruett is scheduled to appear before Judge Heidi Ulbricht on June 19 for his arraignment. Columbia Falls Police officers located Pruett after receiving a report about 9:40 p.m. of a man in blue jeans and a black tank top wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat damaging vehicles in a parking lot near Second Avenue West and Seventh Street West. Pruett at first denied kicking anything, but later amended his story to say that he "did not kick anything that he did not own," court documents said. But a review of surveillance footage allegedly showed Pruett kicking the passenger door of a white Ford Flex parked in the lot. Then Pruett headed over to a parked Columbia Falls patrol vehicle and kicked the driver's side door, court documents alleged. The strike to the Ford Flex left a roughly 18-inch wide dent with an estimated cost of more than $1,500 to fix, court documents said. The patrol vehicle appeared unscathed. After noticing signs of impairment while talking with Pruett, officers sought a preliminary breath test, which returned at 0.202, according to court documents. Pruett faces up to 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted of felony criminal mischief. News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man allegedly kicks his way to a felony charge
Jun. 5—After getting drunk at a downtown Columbia Falls bar late last month, a 35-year-old man allegedly wandered over to a city building and kicked several vehicles in the parking lot. Morgan Alan Pruett faces one felony count of criminal mischief in Flathead County District Court in connection with the May 29 incident. Held in the county jail with bail set at $15,000, Pruett is scheduled to appear before Judge Heidi Ulbricht on June 19 for his arraignment. Columbia Falls Police officers located Pruett after receiving a report about 9:40 p.m. of a man in blue jeans and a black tank top wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat damaging vehicles in a parking lot near Second Avenue West and Seventh Street West. Pruett at first denied kicking anything, but later amended his story to say that he "did not kick anything that he did not own," court documents said. But a review of surveillance footage allegedly showed Pruett kicking the passenger door of a white Ford Flex parked in the lot. Then Pruett headed over to a parked Columbia Falls patrol vehicle and kicked the driver's side door, court documents alleged. The strike to the Ford Flex left a roughly 18-inch wide dent with an estimated cost of more than $1,500 to fix, court documents said. The patrol vehicle appeared unscathed. After noticing signs of impairment while talking with Pruett, officers sought a preliminary breath test, which returned at 0.202, according to court documents. Pruett faces up to 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted of felony criminal mischief. News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Rochester man found himself in the middle of the trial of the century
May 24—ROCHESTER — The nation was embroiled over the death of George Floyd for about three months when Mike Pruett got the call to bring his skills to the case. Pruett, founder and CEO of MLT Group, a Rochester-based digital marketing firm, was hired by the defense team to analyze and enhance video that was a key part of the case against then-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The high-profile case was not the first time Pruett has been called upon to examine video evidence, often manipulating the video to show evidence that might not be readily visible. "Eric (Nelson, defense attorney) called me," Pruett said. "I'd worked for him before." The biggest case he'd ever worked on — Pruett has provided video analysis on many murder cases, though none with the national profile of the Chauvin murder trial — came with hours of video evidence. "There was the Chinese restaurant (across the street from Cup Foods), the convenience store, all the bodycams, the street cameras and all the people with iPhones," Pruett said. For Pruett, the evidence started with body camera footage from one of the two officers who first responded to the scene — J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — as they arrived at Cup Foods responding to a call that someone was passing counterfeit $20 bills. That accusation led officers to Floyd, who was parked across the street. The longest video — one of the police body camera videos — ran in length for about half an hour until Floyd was placed in the back of an ambulance and taken away, Pruett said. Some of the cell phone videos run closer to 10 minutes. All told, Pruett said, he watched several hours of video showing the same 20 to 30 minutes over and over again. So much so, that by the time the trial occurred from March 8 to April 20, 2021, Pruett said he didn't even watch the proceedings, only paying attention if he happened to see something in the news. Was any of the evidence he uncovered used in the trial? "What I heard from afterwards, from people, was that a lot of things (I found), they didn't put in," Pruett said. "But that's up to the attorneys." While Pruett said there were several things shown in the video that could be used by the defense or prosecution, what amazes him today was how people know so little about the scene despite it being such a notorious case. For example, when officers first tapped on the window of Floyd's vehicle, they seemed to have woken him up. On top of that, Floyd wasn't the only person in the car. Another man and a woman were passengers. "I've done this for over 25 years," Pruett said. "Doing forensics. Doing video enhancements. Doing slow-mos or stills for attorneys." In total, he said, he's been involved in somewhere between 200 and 300 cases, many in the Twin Cities. His career working on video for trials started when Olmsted County came to him, asking Pruett to digitize the video of a crime scene and make photos from the video. From that early effort, his reputation slowly grew until he began working on cases in the Twin Cities and as far away as Florida and Canada. "What I do is, someone will send me a video — an attorney or a police department — and they'll say, 'This is what we're looking for if you see it,' or 'Can you enhance this area here?' where they have a shot of a gun," Pruett said. "A lot of times the videos are not the greatest in the world. (But) You can enhance the blur to show, yes, that was a gun." Other than family and friends, Pruett said he doesn't talk much about the trial work he does. That includes this case. "No, I kept my mouth shut," Pruett said. "I want to be very objective to this. I try to show that I'm going to look at video and — Black, white, yellow, green, purple, whatever — if they were wrong, they were wrong." And with the proliferation of cameras — quality cameras — in public places, Pruett offers this advice for potential criminals: "People don't realize the amount of cameras that are in downtown Rochester and Mayo. ... So, stay away from Rochester."
