Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett welcomed their son, Dominic James Stewart, on November 16, 2024. They stepped into this new chapter of their life after making significant changes in their career trajectory. Pruett stepped away from her drag racing seat, at least for some time, while Stewart juggled his Cup team, his drag racing program, racetrack ownership, and more.
Advertisement
Pruett has had a decorated NHRA career spanning nearly three decades. She has earned 12 Top Fuel victories and a career-best third-place finish in the standings. But the 37-year-old put her racing ambitions on ice for the 2025 NHRA season, devoting herself to full-time motherhood. Stewart, meanwhile, played a hands-on role as both owner and driver (as Pruett’s replacement).
For the couple, every trade-off was worth its weight in gold. The Stewarts are soaking up every moment with their son, capturing hundreds of photos and videos of life’s simplest joys.
On Shannon Spake’s show, Stewart shared how fatherhood hit home for him the day Dominic was born. He recalled flying back for the delivery, holding his son, snapping pictures, then sitting quietly for a few hours before heading off to the drag strip.
Yet, on his flight to the track, his mind raced elsewhere, thinking about Fox Sports breaking the news, and the long list of people he needed to text before they saw it on TV.
From the plane, he spotted his team’s pit area. “I’m watching as we go, and I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s our pit.’ And I see a group of people standing outside the pit. And I can’t see them close enough to realize that they’re all standing out there filming the plane coming across,” said Stewart.
“But I remember coming on the golf cart and, they’ve got congratulations strung up in our pit… Clapping and it was hard not to be emotional with that, but it was really a neat moment for me to put duct tape over my name,” he added.
Stewart summed up his feelings best when he said, “My name didn’t matter at that point cuz, you know, for 5 hours now I went from being Tony Stewart, a professional race car driver, to Tony Stewart, a new dad.”
Pruett now spends her days with Dominic and continues to manage operations at TSR. She partners on marketing projects and supports crew chiefs with technical work. Speculation is already swirling about the possibility of the Stewart family competing together in 2026 since Preutt has left the door ajar for a comeback to the NHRA tour.
When that time comes, Pruett has every intention of getting back behind the wheel. She even did a test in Richmond earlier this year. That “validated my eagerness and passion for racing Top Fuel,” she admitted.
Pruett, however, has yet to announce her return. She and Stewart have chosen to keep their eyes on the present. If she returns, which everyone feels is an eventuality, she will team with Funny Car driver Matt Hagan, a four-time champion who delivered TSR its first title in 2023.
