NASCAR can be very demanding at times. Due to a tight schedule, drivers already have to acclimate to certain situations. One area that can be challenging as a driver in NASCAR is maintaining the balance between the job and your family. Tony Stewart has found himself at one such crossroads of his life.
The Stewart-Haas Racing boss is in perennial confusion over the situation of his wife Leah Pruett. Leah, an NHRA Top Fuel driver herself, understands the concerns of Stewart. While such news is exciting them both, to say the least, it puts Stewart in a dilemma with a decision to take on his and Leah’s foreseeable future.
Whatever the outcome, Tony hopes it goes well for all aspects of the situation.
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Husband or a Boss? Tony Stewart Picks His Priorities
Being a father is one of the things Tony looks forward to in the near future. But the effects of being a father are concerning to him as his ambitions in NASCAR keep growing. In addition, he co-owns the NHRA team Leah drives for, making the matter even more important.
The multiple ventures on his exploration radar come between a father’s aspirations and a driver’s ambitions.
Talking to Autoweek in an exclusive interview, the Hall of Famer opens up about his approach to the situation. “I look at it from two sides, I have to be a husband first. But then I’m her car owner at the same time. Depending on when she gets pregnant, it could be she’s out and can’t run a full season for sure. Or she might be out part of two seasons if the timing’s not right.”
“So in conversations with that, the car owner in me came out, and then I finally had to go, ‘You know what, you just tell me when I need to start buying clothes and cribs and stuff like that.’ Other than that, it’s all on her. It’s her timing, it’s whenever she wants, I said, ‘Don’t tell me when you want to, just do it, go do our lives and tell me when there’s something I need to know.”
Trying to solve an internal conflict within himself, Tony chose to take the role of a husband first. Trying his best to support Leah in the situation, his opinion to accommodate the choices of his wife makes it even more commendable. He adds, “So I’m trying to do everything in my power to take the car owners’ side out of it and strictly be a husband that’s supportive. And it’s a big deal for her too. It’s not just going to skip work for a little while. It’s way more than that for every woman that gets pregnant.”
Stewart says that starting a family would lead to several discussions about he and wife Leah Pruett's NHRA racing operation. https://t.co/MeqeoQg2bU
— Autoweek (@AutoweekUSA) June 8, 2023
It is great to see Tony being so considerate and adjusting to his wife. Putting his interests in the back seat, he gets ready to be a father.
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Although he has his doubts over the outcome of the decision, Stewart is not rebellious to the idea of being a father either. The 1997 IndyCar champion also expresses his optimism over the prospect of parenting in the interview. Speaking about the timing of the big reveal and other challenges that may come with it, he revealed, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m excited about it, but I want it to be when the timing is right for us.”
Addressing the ever-present issue of aging and maintaining the dynamics with his kids, he further said, “I’m already so old now anyway, my poor kids are going to be at their high school graduation, there’s kids that aren’t gonna know who I am and they’re gonna go, ‘Oh, your grandfather came.’ My poor kids are gonna have to say, ‘No, that’s my dad.’ So it’s just like, whatever, it is what it is, but I’m excited about the possibility, sure, absolutely.”
Being a father will cap off Tony’s career with an already glittering resume and multiple distinctions to his name.
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