“I’m alright being called selfish”: Tony Stewart defends late fatherhood amid social media backlash

Retired three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart recently addressed social media criticism regarding his becoming a father last November. The former co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, 53, defended his reasoning for becoming a dad later in his life.

In an interview via EPARTRADE, Stewart was asked what his life feels like now since he and his wife, Leah Pruett, welcomed their son, Dominic, into the world last November. The Indiana native explained that while there was a minute portion of social media that believes he's too old to be a new dad, he conceded it isn't the "ideal" time.

"I think the one negative in my eye is just the age," Stewart said. "Obviously, I'm 53 years old. I would not say it's the ideal time by any means, but it's funny, we know how social media can be and how finicky the three or four percent of the world is and they don't mind sharing their ideas and saying how selfish it was. Leah and I talk about it, we laugh about it a lot. I guess I would much rather be selfish and have this little boy in our lives and in this world than him not be in this world at all. So, I'm alright being called selfish for being a 53 year-old father." [1:53 onwards]

In fact, the 49-time Cup Series race winner believes now more than ever is the right time for him to be a father, adding:

"I honestly believe at this part of my life, this is the right time for me to be a father. I think 15, 20 years ago being engrossed in motorsports as deep and heavily as I was, I'm not sure that would've been the right time for me to be a good father. I feel like having some big-ticket items recently taken off my plate is going to give me a lot more time to be a father." [2:39 onwards]

Because he and his wife both compete in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), the couple's son can join them at the track rather than be left home with one or the other. He further added:

"Leah doesn't have to sit there and go, 'Well, dad's racing this weekend, he'll be home in three days, he'll see you Sunday night.' So, that's something I'm going to cherish, is knowing that we're going to have our son at the racetrack with us, like a lot of the other drag racers do, and have that community there that will be his extended family." [3:12 onwards]

Despite shifting gears and moving to racing in the NHRA only in 2022, Tony Stewart had an impressive season last year that saw him get nominated for an award in the drag-racing series.

Tony Stewart won the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year

Tony Stewart (near) races alongside Billy Torrence during the NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip - Source: Imagn

In the same year he became a father for the first time, Tony Stewart tore it up in the National Hot Rod Association in his first season. The now-retired NASCAR champion earned the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year award for his efforts.

After earning the award, NHRA offered their congratulations to Stewart via X, writing:

"Help us congratulate @TonyStewart, the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year!"

Tony Stewart retired from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the 2016 season. He continued to co-own Stewart-Haas Racing with car owner Gene Haas until the organization ceased operations at the end of the 2024 season.

In 2022, Stewart expanded TSR to the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, fielding two full-time entries in the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories. He initially raced in the Top Alcohol Dragster category and recently got promoted to the Top Fuel series after which he won the award.