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Tony Stewart and wife Leah Pruett announce birth of baby boy

JHby:Jonathan Howard11/17/24

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Tony Stewart Racing Leah Pruett
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

What a day for Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett. Their firstborn son came into this world last night and the racers couldn’t be more excited. Stewart had taken over for Leah in her Top Fuel Dragster this season throughout the pregnancy.

Tony and Leah have named their new son Dominic James Stewart. I’m sure we will see the little guy behind the wheel of something as soon as his feet can reach the pedals.

Smoke is racing at the NHRA even at Pomona this weekend. He had to fly out last night to be there for the birth of his son. His Tony Stewart Racing team welcomed him to fatherhood on his return!

The team even captured Stewart landing back at Pomona this afternoon. What a day for Tony and Leah and all of their family, friends, and loved ones.

Yesterday, Stewart qualified at Pomona. Then he flew home. Now he is back to race. He qualified No. 7 and is facing off against Billy Torrence in Round 1 later today.

Last season, Tony Stewart won the championship in the Top Alcohol Dragster division. His jump from that car to the Top Fuel Dragster is said to be one of the most difficult transitions to make for racers.

However, up against the best of the best, the 53-year-old rookie ranks 10th overall. Now, he hasn’t performed as well as his wife in her last few season. In 2023, Pruett finished 3rd overall. She is an 11-time winner in Top Fuel.

Fresh off of his final NASCAR weekend as a team owner, Tony Stewart is a father. He has a lot of other priorities in life and that, along with other factors in stock car racing, led Stewart to head out the door. I don’t think he’s going to regret his decision.

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Tony Stewart is done with NASCAR

With the 2024 NASCAR season over with, Tony Stewart is no longer a team owner in the sport, not Cup or the Xfinity Series. So, what were the major factors that pushed Smoke out of the sport?

Stewart has so much going on. NHRA, fatherhood, owner of Eldora, and more. But NASCAR is a sport he loves. A sport he made a living off of. Why would he leave? Well, there is one major reason why Smoke decided to tap out. Leadership.

“Leadership more than anything,” Tony Stewart said on Cars and Culture with Jason Stein. “I had the privilege of coming in when Bill France Jr. was there, and Bill was a very unique character and a very, very great leader for our sport. But I think the support system that he had, I think his number one support system was Mike Helton.

“And that is the one person beyond a shadow of a doubt that’s still left that I have the utmost respect for is Mike. Mike helped me grow as a person, Mike is one of three people that I credit being the three greatest people that have ever come into my life and helped shape me as who I am as a person today and as a man today. So, I have the utmost respect for Mike.

He said even more on the subject. It is clear that Tony Stewart is confident and secure in his decision to step away from NASCAR at this point. Good for him. He’s still doing great things in life and on the dragstrip.