NASCAR: Natalie Decker shoots down rumor after pregnancy announcement

Natalie Decker has competed in select races in the NASCAR Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series in each of the last six seasons, including some in 2024.

During this past offseason, Decker and her longtime boyfriend Derek Lemke got married, and the 27-year-old Eagle River, Wisconsin native recently announced that she is pregnant. The couple's first child is expected in 2025.

She shared the message, along with several photographs, on social media.

Some fans were led to believe that she had retired from NASCAR competition, despite no official announcement having been made. However, she wanted to make clear that that is not the case.

The message to which Decker was responding was respectful, and she responded in kind. Of course, with social media being the bottomless cesspool that it is these days, that did not stop the trolls from lashing out from behind their screens and launching totally unnecessary personal attacks against those who might have gotten the wrong impression.

Natalie Decker not retiring, plans 2025 return

Bottom line, Decker stopped the speculation before it got out of hand, and that's all there is to it. She has no plans to retire in the near future, and while it's safe to say she won't be back behind the wheel in 2024, she does indeed plan to return to NASCAR on some level for another season next year.

She has competed as recently as the May Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with DGM Racing behind the wheel of the No. 92 Chevrolet. Before that, she competed in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway and led the first laps of her NASCAR national series career en route to a career-high 18th place finish, also with DGM Racing but behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet.

Decker still owns the record for the best finish by a female driver in the Truck Series, having driven from 30th to fifth place in the 2020 Truck Series season opener at Daytona.