"I know deep down inside": Tony Stewart reveals what's 'killing' his wife Leah Pruett as the couple welcomed baby boy

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and his wife, Leah Pruett, welcomed their first child, Dominic, early Sunday morning. Stewart managed to be in Phoenix for the birth of their baby boy after qualifying for the NHRA Top Fuel semifinals in Pomona, California, the day prior, and then headed back to California to compete in the race after his wife gave birth.

The now-retired NASCAR champion spoke to FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass ahead of Sunday's race. The racing insider posted a video of the interview on his personal X account and wrote that he didn't expect the former co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing to make the semifinal round based on his performance in recent months.

"You hate to say it's too little, too late in the year, but at the same time, at least we're seeing progress," Stewart said. "I'm patting the guys on the back here versus hanging our heads. At least we finished the year on a relatively positive note, and that will carry momentum through the offseason, which is really important," Pockrass wrote. (0:26 onwards)

Stewart knew the offseason would be busy, but with the birth of his first child, he knows it just got busier. The 49-time Cup Series winner said that Sunday was one of the more memorable days of his life and praised his wife for being strong throughout the process of giving birth.

"Everything that happened overnight, it's one of the coolest days of my life, obviously," Stewart said. "My wife is unbelievable. She's a way tougher woman than I will ever be as a man. To do what she did and to make the decision a year ago to step out of the car and take herself away from what she loves so much to start a family and to go through this journey that's taken a whole year and to see it come to fruition today and to see her go through this process, super proud of her as my wife, my partner, and as a woman in general." (1:02 onwards)

The Indiana native went on to say that Pruett is an inspiration to women and it makes him want to push himself to be better as well. Although it was a monumental day for their family, Stewart said he knew it was "killing" Pruett to miss Sunday's race.

"I know deep down inside, this is the first race she's missed, and I know it's killing her," Stewart said. "I know she's excited for me to get back to Phoenix and be with her and that little boy tonight."

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Tony Stewart recently said he has no "setup sheets" for being a dad

A few weeks prior to becoming a first-time dad, Tony Stewart admitted he wasn't sure what to expect. When comparing fatherhood to racing in an interview with Jason Stein on Cars and Culture, the 53-year-old said that he had no "setup sheets" for what's ahead.

"I mentioned to a lot of my buddies that I have no setup sheets for this, and my racing friends are like, 'Even if you did, you wouldn't be able to use them.' No two kids do the same thing." (4:42 onward)

Stewart retired from full-time NASCAR competition after the 2016 season. Since then, he's delved into competing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and made sporadic appearances in the NASCAR on FOX TV booth.

Stewart continued to co-own Stewart-Haas Racing with Gene Haas until this year as the team shut operations at the end of the 2024 season.