Kevin Harvick sends message to Tony Stewart after birth of first child, has hilarious wish

This past weekend was a big one for Tony Stewart, who in addition to competing in the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona, became a father to a baby boy.

Stewart and his wife, Leah Pruett, welcomed their firstborn son, Dominic James Stewart, into the world Saturday night. Kevin Harvick, who raced both with and for Stewart during his time at Stewart-Haas Racing, offered his congratulations to Stewart during this week’s “Happy Hour” podcast. Harvick can’t wait to see “daddy Smoke” in action, offering his one wish for when he gets a chance to visit Stewart and Pruett. It might not be something Stewart is in favor of…

“And oh, congratulations, daddy Smoke,” Harvick said. “Tony Stewart and his wife, Leah, had their baby over the weekend. … I can’t wait. Once they get their feet on the ground, I’m going to visit. I have to see this with my own two eyes. The baby, and I want to see dad holding the baby. I know mom’s going to be a great mom and I know Tony’s going to be a great dad, but I just have to visually see him hold the baby and I just want to be there long enough for it to crap its pants and he has to change the diaper.

“… And if we can somehow convince him to go in the car and we can take the baby somewhere by ourselves and it happened in the car, it would be way better. … What a fantastic scenario for him to be a dad is something I’m super excited about, so congratulations to Tony and Leah.”

Tony Stewart named NHRA Rookie of the Year

Stewart followed up his wonderful weekend by picking up a big-time accolade Monday night. Stewart was named the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the drag racing series announced.

A three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Hall of Famer, Stewart took the honor at the NHRA awards ceremony at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California.

“It’s a big honor to win this award this season,” Stewart said. “There are some great drivers in the NHRA. And it’s one of the most diverse forms of motorsports I’ve been a part of. I’ve had a really good time working with the series this season to promote and continue to grow the sport.”

Stewart, 53, made his Top Fuel debut in 2024 filling in for his wife. Smoke finished ninth in the Top Fuel points standings. He advanced to a pair of final rounds, four semifinals and a berth in the Countdown to the Championship.

After being present for the birth of his son, Stewart traveled back to Pomona to compete at the NHRA Finals. Stewart advanced to the semifinals, recording a career-best run of 3.688 seconds at 334.73-mph.

“It was an honor to be part of this group this year,” Stewart said. “The two main coaches I had were Matt Hagan and my wife, Leah. Thank you Leah for giving me this opportunity and I want to thank everyone at NHRA. It’s been a blast this year.”