"Can’t wait to see him spinning burnouts": NASCAR fans react as Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett welcome new 'teammate' in family

Despite an overlap with the NHRA weekend at Pomona drag strip, Tony Stewart showed up on time at Phoenix for the birth of his first child, a baby boy, who he and his wife Leah Pruett named Dominic James Stewart. As the family of three posed in front of the camera, fans had their heartwarming moment.

Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, retired from NASCAR after the 2016 season. However, he never gave up racing. Today, he owns Tony Stewart Racing, which fields two cars, one in the Top Fuel, driven by Pruett, and another in the Funny Car category, driven by three-time World Champion, Matt Hagan.

Earlier this year, Leah went on a hiatus from racing. Stewart replaced his wife behind the wheel of the NHRA Top Fuel entry which his wife was known to drive.

Announcing the big news, Tony Stewart Racing Nitro on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted,

“Meet our new teammate, Dominic James Stewart ☺️💙Momma @LeahPruett_TF and baby are doing great. Congratulations LP and @TonyStewart on becoming new parents! Only Tony could pull off qualifying, rushing to Phoenix to make it in time for the delivery, then back to @PomonaDragstrip for race day. Let’s go win Dominic a 🏆”

Several fans reacted to the post with one saying that they couldn’t wait to see the little child grow up and perform burnouts in the backyard.

“Congrats @TonyStewart!!! Can’t wait to see him spinning burnouts in the backyard!!” the fan wrote.

Addressing Pruett, another fan said,

“Congratulations and that smile on Tony's face is priceless Leah.”

Here are a few other reactions to the “priceless” photo:

“Congratulations and welcome to the team, Dominic!” a fan wrote.

“Oh my goodness🙏🏼 Look at him! Best of luck to the Stewart’s! Nothing on the planet will change your lives like a child. Enjoy the ride mom & dad, it’s all gold!” wrote another.

“Love this! So happy to see the family growing. @LeahPruett_TF you look amazing!!!” a fan commented.

Amid all the excitement, Tony Stewart will now prepare for the concluding race of the weekend. Regardless of what happens in the coveted race, Dominic will always be his “ultimate trophy”.

Tony Stewart “proud” of wife Leah as he illuminates her struggles away from NHRA

NHRA top alcohol dragster driver Tony Stewart (left) with wife top fuel driver Leah Pruett (right) during qualifying for the NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. - Source: Imagn

For Leah Pruett, who started racing junior dragsters as young as eight, bidding farewell to racing, even though temporarily, was not easy at all. But she had to do it and her husband couldn’t have been prouder.

“I was proud of my wife when I met her. I was proud of her while we were engaged and I’m proud of her as her husband,” said Tony Stewart (via Autoweek). “This year, I’m even more proud of her than I’ve ever been because I’m watching her go through this. She has a million excuses to be off center every day and be frustrated and mad, and she’s been amazing through it.”

Stewart knows how difficult it is to be a female race car driver. On that note, he said,

“We knew she was going to struggle. We’ve talked about it a bunch of times, but to make the decision she had to make first of all, and to execute and do what she’s doing is super hard. I’m glad I’m a male race car driver. The female race car drivers are way tougher than all of us men because to have to take yourself out of a car to have a baby…”

“To sit there and do what you love doing and have your career best finishing points last year and then make a decision you want to start a family. There’s a lot that goes into that from the female side,” he added.

Leah Pruett is not expected to return to racing next year. Stewart will pilot Pruett’s car just like he did this year. The Top Fuel Rookie currently sits sixth on points.