Tony Stewart’s special day ends with a heartbreaking result in NHRA championship

Former NASCAR Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart and his wife Leah Pruett welcomed their son to the world on November 14, 2024, while Stewart was competing in the semi-finals of the NHRA Top Fuel Driver in his rookie year, replacing his wife. However, he failed to qualify for the finals, making it a tough day for him.

Former Stewart Haas Racing owner debuted in the Top Alcohol Dragster in 2023 and secured three wins racing for McPhillips Racing in the series before jumping to Top Fuel Dragster in March 2024. He struggled in the series to cope with the new environment, cars, rules, and regulations.

Tony Stweart competed in the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals held at the Pnmona Dragstrip on November 14, 2024. He went up against Shawn Reed in the Q1 race and won the event easily. Later, he got eliminated in the final round of the race, and Doug Kalitta secured his ticket to the finals adding bitterness to his special day.

The 53-year-old especially went to meet his firstborn child, Dominic James Stewart, after the qualifying laps before getting eliminated from the final race. His team, Tony Stewart Racing Nitro, shared a post of Stewart with his newborn and wrote:

“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 [champion].”

Tony Stewart met Leah Pruett after Don Prudhomme introduced them, and they started dating in 2019. They got engaged in March 2021 and got married in November of the same year. The couple welcomed their first child, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, three years after his marriage.

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“A hell of a journey”: Tony Stewart reminisces about SHR's memories following the shutdown

Tony Stewart's co-owned company Stewart-Haas Racing ceased its operations after the Championship Four Race held at Phoenix Raceway on November 10, 2024. The co-owners Gene Haas and Stewart recently had an interview with SiriusXM FM Ch. 90 NASCAR sharing the final moments spent with the team.

The team announced its departure from sports in March 2024. The team was founded by Gene Haas in 2001, and Stweart joined the team in 2008 as a driver and owner. He rebranded the team from Haas CNC Racing to Stewart Haas Racing for the 2009 season.

SHR has bagged three championship titles in its career, including two Cup Series championships in 2011 and 2014, followed by the 2023 win by Cole Custer in the Xfinity Series.

Tony Stewart encapsulated his time spent in the team and said:

"When you think of how it started and where we ended up at the end of the day, I mean, we did some pretty remarkable things as a group and had some great people that just all they care about was winter races. That's all it boiled down to. So it's nice to nice to have a group like that do the things we did, and just a hell of a journey." [00:00]

Stewart Haas Racing team competed in over 1000 races and won 70 Cup Series and 30 Xfinity Series.