NASCAR star Natalie Decker shares pregnancy update amid break from racing

Natalie Decker took to social media to provide an update on her pregnancy. The 27-year-old said she is six months pregnant amid her absence from NASCAR to have her first child.

The news of Wisconsin native's pregnancy broke when she took to Instagram last August with photos of herself alongside her husband in mom and dad shirts, writing:

"A little bit of heaven sent down to earth making our little dream come true."

On Saturday, the part-time Xfinity Series driver posted a photo to her personal X account. In a black and white picture, Decker shows off her baby bump while standing alongside a fence in a field. Her caption read:

"6 months growing you."

Decker made two starts in the Xfinity Series for DGM Racing in 2024. She bagged an 18th-place finish in the season-opening race at Daytona and placed 29th at Charlotte later in the season. Those are Decker's latest NASCAR starts as she stepped away to start a family with her husband, Derek Lemke, who she's been married to since New Year's Eve 2023.

Last September, the couple posted photos together with a blue-colored cake with "Baby Lemke" written out in frosting. The picture was for their baby gender reveal, sharing with their followers that they're having a baby boy.

"Baby Lemke is a BOY," Decker wrote.

Lemke, meanwhile, has a racing career of his own as he competes in late model racing. He made two CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts last year for Reaume Brothers Racing, with a best finish of 31st at Milwaukee.

Natalie Decker's journey through the ranks of NASCAR

Natalie Decker first burst onto the NASCAR scene in 2015 when she participated in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. She was also a part of the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development program, named after the late NASCAR champion.

In 2016, Decker joined her cousins, Paige and Claire, in an attempt to make the field for the 2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at the Martinsville Speedway, but failed to qualify for the event. Decker's fortunes turned around in 2017, however, as she made her debut in the ARCA Racing Series at Toledo and scored an 11th-place finish.

Decker ran six more ARCA races that year for Venturini Motorsports and notched a best finish of seventh at Elkhart Late. She was then promoted to full-time driving for Venturini Motorsports in 2018 and most notably finished fifth in the season-opening race at Daytona after starting the event from the pole.

Decker ran a part-time schedule in the Truck Series in 2019 and tallied a best finish of 13th at Las Vegas. She ran 13 more Truck races in 2020 and placed fifth in the season-opener at Daytona, which stands as her best finish across NASCAR's top three series to date.