Tony Stewart talks being a new dad, celebrates 25 years as a team owner
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — Legendary race car driver Tony Stewart celebrated a major milestone this week. Stewart welcomed dozens of people to mark 25 years of Tony Stewart Racing at his shop in Brownsburg.
Stewart has had a lot of success since starting TSR. During its debut season, TSR won the Knoxville Nationals and sprint car championship. More recently, TSR added a new division of the team that fields entries for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Stewart’s wife Leah Pruett leads the charge in the Top Fuel cars until this past year when she took a break to have her and Stewart’s son Dominic. Stewart took Pruett’s place this past NHRA season, winning Rookie of the Year.
“There never was a real plan, I guess,” Stewart said. “We started the team, and we wanted to just win races and contend for championships. We never said, ’25 years from now, we’re still going to be here and we’re going to accomplish a lot.’”
During Wednesday’s celebration, Stewart said he enjoyed taking a moment and remembering all that TSR has accomplished.
“When you hit a milestone like 25 years, you’re kind of forced to pause for a second and hit the pause button, look over you shoulder, look at what you’ve done,” Stewart said. “You sit back and look, ‘Wow.’ You don’t forget about it but your mindset’s always in front of you and not behind you. It’s nice to just take moment and look back and say we’ve had some really good moments in motorsports, and we’ve written records in history books that are going to last a long time.”
Stewart’s making an impact outside of the racing world, also, as he learns the ropes of being a new dad. Stewart and Pruett hired a newborn care specialist to help teach them the ins and outs of parenthood.
“I told Leah, this is not like going to Toys ‘R’ Us, and we get this expensive toy and bring it home, and we break it in two days, and we take it back. They give you a new one and say, “Try not to break this one.” It doesn’t work that way.’ So, I knew that I knew nothing about children,” Stewart said. “I heard enough conversations with Leah to realize she’s not very well-versed on it either, and that we needed help.”
It’s been a learning curve for the Hall of Famer, but also one of the most exciting adventures he’s embarked on.
“When I wake up every morning, I cannot wait to see him,” Stewart said. “The fun part for me is that every day there’s something that’s different, something’s that’s changed… I love it. Every time I get an opportunity to hold him and have him for a little bit, it’s like the hands on the clock stop. The phone rings. I don’t care. I don’t answer it. I don’t care about anything other than that little boy, and that’s something that is drastically different in my life than I’ve ever had before.”