Steady as he goes - Stewart handling role of champion just fine

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --Nine races into the season, and Tony Stewart has lost his infamous temper only once.

Angry after Elliott Sadler cut Stewart's tire as Sadler bumped his way past him two weeks ago at Martinsville, Stewart retaliated by slamming into Sadler's bumper.

Pretty tame by Stewart's standards.

Known as much for his surly demeanor as his electrifying driving style, Stewart may have finally found the remedy for his hard-to-control temper: Winning the Winston Cup championship.

"We've had a lot of things happen to the car this year and he doesn't seem to get nearly as uptight and rattled by it," car owner Joe Gibbs said. "He's much more relaxed."

Stewart had his share of blowups on his way to winning his first title last season. He punched a photographer, was accused of shoving a fan and an emergency worker, and sought help for controlling his temper.

As he closed in on the title, his critics openly questioned if he could handle the demands of being a champion.

So far, so good.

Stewart has seemingly mellowed a bit this year and appears to be relishing his reign as champion.

"I've enjoyed it," he said. "There has not been anything unpleasant about it by any means. There have not been any added demands like everybody speculated. It's just been business as usual for us."

His first real test came at the annual awards ceremony in New York last December, after he wrapped up his title. The festivities last an entire week for the champion, who is whisked all over the city in a flurry of appearances, appointments and interviews.

Stewart's disdain for those extras -- he's never wavered in his desire to focus only on the racing responsibilities -- had even his steadfast supporters wondering how he'd handle it.

But he sailed through everything with a smile on his face and declarations of enjoyment.

"We were all concerned about going to New York ... if you picked something that Tony might not be good at, that might be it," Gibbs said. "I think he enjoyed the week and just rolled through the thing. We all saw a maturing process. He was not frustrated by it.

"Tony normally just wants to race a car. But since then, he's taken to heart that he's the champion and he wants to represent the sport in the right way."

He's been rolling through his reign ever since, skipping over every speedbump that's blocked his way.

Stewart opened the year with a seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500, his best showing. It put him in the top 10 in the point standings, where's he's remained every week despite a string of mediocre finishes and some hiccups with his No. 20 Chevrolet.

When his car failed inspection at Texas, and NASCAR took the unprecedented step of confiscating it, Stewart kept quiet and went to work on salvaging the weekend.

Forced into a backup car for the first time in his career, he worked with his crew to get the Monte Carlo ready for the race. He was even a contender at times, but the engine later blew and he wound up 34th, his worst finish of the season.

Bad breaks and bad luck would normally send Stewart stomping back to his motorhome with a scowl on his face and most of his supporters too scared to speak to him.

Now he seems to just shrug, able to handle the disappointments that come with a 36-race schedule.

Still looking for his first victory of the year, he heads into California this weekend seventh in the points with a smile on his face and few worries.

He credits winning the championship for taking away all the pressure he felt he was under to be a winner.

"We're not sitting here answering the question, 'Can you win a championship?' That's a pretty big question in our series," he said. "It just seemed like once we won the championship last year, it was like a weight was lifted off our shoulders -- like I dumped a 3,000-pound weight off my back."

So the only goal left for the 31-year-old Indiana native is winning the Indianapolis 500. But even that has been pushed to the backburner.

Stewart is skipping the event for the second consecutive year, citing his desire to focus all his time and energy on his NASCAR team and chasing another title.

"Knowing how he feels about that race, his saying 'No' says a lot," Gibbs said. "It says a lot about his priorities now. He knows how much dedication you've got to give to Winston Cup."

To Stewart, it's one concession he can make for the team that stood behind him in his first four seasons and never stopped supporting him, even during his lows last year.

"Between the guys on the crew and myself, we've really enjoyed our racing this year. That's something we'd started to lose in the past," he said. "As much as we all loved the sport, we were losing the passion behind why we love it so much.

"We needed to get that back, and, luckily, winning the championship did that for us."