Tony Stewart spent years establishing an off-field reputation in NASCAR. He claimed that he was the last person you wanted to leave your young kids with. Not because he wasn’t responsible, but because he had his own ways of helping them learn to speak with his colorful vocabulary. He was a self-described “terrible uncle.” But in 2024, he found himself on the other side of the joke, as he recently revealed stories of what he had done.

“I was the guy that everybody that had a young child, a young boy, I was the driver they did not want their kid around. I was the terrible uncle,” Stewart said on the Oil and Whiskey podcast. “I taught Owen Larson. I taught Keelin Harvick. Both of those for sure. And I’m sure there’s somebody… Cash. Clint Boyer’s son Cash. I taught all three of those boys how to say sh–.”

One story that still gets Tony Stewart laughing is how, before a race, drivers were lined up on pit road during the national anthem. Stewart was standing near Kyle Larson’s car when he suddenly heard a tiny voice behind him of young Owen Larson, grinning directly at him, having just said a word that not many want to hear from a kid.

“I looked over my shoulder real slow like this and and it was Larson’s son and his wife is holding him and I look over and he looks at me and he smiles. He goes, “S—.” Now Caitlyn is Kyle’s wife, and Caitlyn’s parents are standing right behind Caitlyn. And I see through Caitlyn to her mom.

“And if her eyes were laser beams, I would have been cut in 8,000 small square perfect cubes by her eyeballs.”

Stewart buried his head, trying not to laugh through the anthem, and barely recovered by the time engines fired. That story became even funnier the day Tony Stewart’s own son, Dominic, was born.

Stewart announced the news, and almost instantly, messages started arriving. Kyle Larson. Kevin Harvick. Clint Bowyer. Their message was simple, as recited by Stewart: “see you in a couple years, bud. Going to teach your kid to talk.” That played out in one of the racing events where Stewart and Larson were together. 

“Larson was at the drag races on Saturday in qualify and he’s sees Dominic and he’s like, ‘Yep, not yet. It’s not time yet. He’s not talking yet.’ So I have it coming 100%,” Stewart added.

However, this is what makes NASCAR friendships different.

Stewart’s relationships with Larson and Harvick moved beyond competitors sharing a racetrack long ago. Tony Stewart has climbed the fence alongside Harvick and Keelan — who calls him “uncle moke.”  Their families became intertwined. And now, as Stewart enters fatherhood himself, the garage is finally looking forward to it in more ways than one, and with their own pranks.

“I know mom’s going to be a great mom and I know Tony’s going to be a great dad, but I just have to visually see him hold the baby and I just want to be there long enough for it to crap its pants and he has to change the diaper,” Harvick stated his wish in 2o24 on the Happy Hour podcast.

“And if we can somehow convince him to go in the car and we can take the baby somewhere by ourselves and it happened in the car, it would be way better. What a fantastic scenario for him to be a dad is something I’m super excited about, so congratulations to Tony and Leah.”

Well, as Stewart himself agreed, he certainly has it coming for him.

How fatherhood hit Tony Stewart harder than racing

Tony Stewart did things his own way for decades. He hardly ever slowed down for anyone, whether it was for cross-country flights, race weekends, or business choices. Stewart, therefore, believed that life would mostly carry on as usual after Dominic was born. After all, he returned to the racetrack just hours after becoming a parent.

The sequence itself sounded ridiculous. While Stewart was finishing up his NHRA Finals qualifying in Pomona, California, Pruett’s water broke. After his session, Stewart hurried to the airport at Bracket Field, boarded a plane, and returned on time. Leah endured labor for nine hours until Dominic arrived at 4:43 a.m.

Then, because this is Tony Stewart, he flew back to Pomona by 8:30 a.m. on race day. Stewart scribbled “DAD” on the Top Fuel dragster and covered his name with silver duct tape before the eliminations. He went out and exceeded 319 mph, making it to the semifinals.

At that point, nothing seemed different, until the journey home.

Stewart, Leah, and newborn Dominic were sitting in the car when Mario Andretti called to congratulate them. The conversation immediately turned from celebration to competition. Mario inquired as to whether Stewart had yet to drive more than 100 miles per hour while carrying the infant. It seemed like a joke to Tony.

“I said, ‘Did you not just see that R&L Carrier semi that just blew my doors off?’”

But Andretti kept going and claimed he’d already done it with his daughter Micah in the car. That challenge apparently triggered something.

“And we’re in a Dodge Durango with a Hellcat motor in it,” Stewart said.

Then came the moment that perfectly explains both Tony Stewart and why Leah probably regretted sitting in the passenger seat.

“Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. So I got rolling, got to 102 [mph], but she cussed me for another five miles.”

The story became funny later. But underneath it was something Stewart admitted surprised him. For the first time, the race wasn’t the biggest thing happening in his life.