NASCAR and its family legacies are legendary. The Earnhardts, the Pettys, the Elliotts, the list is long. But now, new family legacies are being formed as first-generation drivers have their sons following along. Keelan Harvick (Kevin Harvick’s son) and Brexton Busch (Kyle Busch’s son) are already making a name in racing. And around 5 to 6 years down the line, we’ll probably have Dominic James Stewart join the list too! Folks, he’s only three months old and hasn’t even said his first words yet, and already, everyone’s thinking about where he will race when he grows up. But Tony Stewart is not sure!
We understand the curiosity, and probably even Stewart does. After all, Dom has Tony Stewart’s genes mixed with NHRA veteran Leah Pruett’s. And you’d think it would be a like father, like son journey for Dom. Like how Tony wasn’t sure for a long time what he wanted to race. He probably still isn’t. The 53-year-old is currently trying his hand at Top Fuel Dragster. And that’s what worked for Tony. He raced anything and everything during his career, from IndyCar to dirt racing. And eventually, that made him probably the most versatile driver of all time. But Stewart feels that kind of a journey won’t be a possibility when Dom is all grown up and ready.
Tony Stewart has left it on Dom!
Tony Stewart is a rare breed of driver. Anything he puts his hand on, he succeeds at. He won the 1997 IndyCar Championship. Came to NASCAR and won three Cup championships as a driver (2003, 2005, and 2011). Won the Chili Bowl twice (2007, 2008). One year into NHRA, he’s already Rookie of the Year. This kind of career trajectory worked for Stewart. But he’s not sure if it makes sense for the new breed of drivers.
Recently discussing his son’s future on the ‘Bubba Podcast’ with host Bubba Clem, Tony said, “I think it starts one step before that. And honestly, Leah and I have had this conversation. And it was really short. It kind of amazed me because there’s so many directions for kids in Motorsports now. That you kind of have to have an idea of what you wanna do. The days of running all the different cars, like I did, I just don’t see guys being able to do that.”
Basically, Stewart is trying to say that nowadays, kids from a very young age already decide where they want to race and just work towards that. And it’s not like there isn’t versatility or talent anymore; it’s just the way the landscape has become. A driver invests heavily, both time and money, in one spot,t and then they cannot afford to get distracted from that. However, Tony Stewart thinks Kyle Larson is one of the rare ones, if not the last one, to still do it.
“The closest one to that now is still Kyle Larson. I mean to go back and run wing sprint cars to go and run to their late models. I mean the versatility of that. I mean he’s run the sports car. He’s run the Indy 500. He’s going to do it again. You just don’t see many guys doing that. I mean they get more specialized in a form of Motorsports.”
“There’s so many directions for kids in motor sports now” Tony Stewart tells us about his son Dominic’s potential future in racing #tonystewart #racing pic.twitter.com/LAEp0MjpxF
— Bubba The Love Sponge® (@TheBubbaArmy) March 6, 2025
Kyle Larson ran the Indy 500 last year, albeit under controversial circumstances. He attended a rain-marred race and then made the trip to Charlotte to attempt the double. However, his decision to wait in Indianapolis cost him a shot at the race, and initially, everyone suspected he would not be eligible for the playoffs. However, he got a waiver, which no driver can get again due to the new rules, and raced for the rest of the season.
Coming back to Dom. See, both Tony and Leah know he’ll probably end up racing. But the decision of where? That they have left on him. And the only non-negotiable part for them is to not ‘half a– ‘ it! “So Leah and myself both agree that we just wanna let him choose his own path. Do we feel like he’s gonna end up in some kind of Motorsports? It’s really hard to believe with a professional race car driving father and mother that that’s not the path they wanna go. But the thing is… racing is not a sport you can do half a– or do 80%. I mean you either are all in or you are all out. And it’s that way with anything you do.”
And for Dom, it’s still a long time before he decides. However, Tony has his eyes set on another season in NHRA, and he’s pumped!
Tony Stewart is no longer an NHRA rookie
For the folks who don’t know, the Indiana native replaced his wife last year in the Top Fuel division because of the pregnancy. And Tony, being Tony, was quick to adapt. Last season, he advanced to a pair of final rounds. Raced in four semifinals. Earned a position in the Countdown to the Championship. At the NHRA Finals, he had a career-best run of 3.688 seconds at 334.73 mph in his 11,000-horsepower dragster. Naturally, there was no contender even close to taking away the Rookie of the Year title from him.
And this year, he’s going as someone who’s figured out the race craft. The now confident Stewart recently said, “This year’s Gatornationals definitely takes some of the stress of being a rookie driver out of the equation.” Gatornationals is one of the most prestigious events in the traditional East Coast opener. And like NASCAR has ‘The Clash,’ this also acts as the season opener. Last year, Tony lost in the very first round here, but he’s hoping to do better this time. With all the experience from 2024.
Also, Stewart has kind of gotten a cheat code. He can get 24/7 coaching from Leah Pruett. Although Pruett hasn’t driven since 2023, but until then, she already had already clocked 12 Top Fuel victories to her name. So there’s no one better who can guide Tony into victory lane. Which is also his goal for 2025. “Right now, we are working on the performance of our car… I’m hoping that we get the needle moving in the right direction, and I’ll get this car into the winner’s circle,” Stewart added. Let’s hope he gets a few wins this season.
What do you think? Would Tony take some checkered flags this season? And about his son, where, according to you, will Dominic James Stewart end up? Let’s make this a prediction game. Share your guesses with us in the comments below.
The post Tony Stewart Drops a Clear Answer on 3-Month Old Son’s Future After Harsh Verdict on Racing Career appeared first on EssentiallySports.
