27-yo NASCAR racer Natalie Decker bravely opens up on her newborn’s birth complications 

NASCAR driver Natalie Decker opened up about her experience giving birth to her first-born son amid complications. Decker shared feeling hurt seeing her son rushed to the NICU and having to wait for days before they could go home.

Decker is a 27-year-old professional stock car racing driver who made a few starts in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series. She took a break from competition to prioritize her pregnancy with her husband and fellow NASCAR driver, Derek Lemke.

The Wisconsin native took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her bittersweet journey of giving birth to her son, describing it as the best and worst day of her life.

"February 5th 2025 was the best day of my life and also the worst day of my life. Giving birth was so beautiful but having your baby taken away from you minutes after to get rushed to the NICU was the most painful thing I have ever experienced," Decker wrote.

After three days of waiting for her son from the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), they were released from the hospital and went home.

"It was the longest 3 days of my life watching my little boy fight to get stronger in the NICU. Our Family of 3 are healthy and have been home now for 3 days, God is so good!! We are blessed with the best gift and I couldn’t be in a happier place," the NASCAR driver added.

Natalie Decker has yet to announce her upcoming racing schedule. However, it is safe to assume that she will be sidelined for quite some time, caring for her newborn.

So far, Decker had some remarkable races in the stock car racing league, particularly at the Daytona International Speedway. She crossed the line fifth driving the No. 44 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series' 2020 NextEra Energy 250.

Natalie Decker driving the No. 36 Chevrolet Camaro at Daytona last year - Source: Imagn

Natalie Decker accomplished another impressive feat at Daytona four years later, this time in the Xfinity Series. Driving the No. 36 Chevy, she led the United Rentals 300 for seven laps, making her the female driver with the most laps led since Danica Patrick.

---

Natalie Decker shared her thoughts on 2024 Daytona milestone

After leading for a few laps in the 2024 United Rentals 300, Natalie Decker shared about not giving up in the past few years. She described her efforts in the race as a "turnaround", despite a P18 finish.

Decker said (via Toby Christie):

"For anyone that's watching this right now, when things are going wrong and you want to give up, don't give up because the last three years were really hard on me and tonight was a turnaround. I want to cry." [0:12]

The NASCAR driver also took the opportunity to encourage everyone to keep going amid challenges.

"To anyone whose listening, if you feel like giving up, don't, because it took me three years to feel good again back at the race track and I'm so happy to be here," Decker added. [0:46]

The P18 finish at Daytona was her best result in her then-11 Xfinity Series starts with three DNQs.