Stewart chases down second Cup title

~ Greg Biffle won the Ford 400, but Tony Stewart claimed the more prized Nextel Cup Series championship.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Tony Stewart has two championships and a spot in NASCAR history. Both pale in comparison to what he treasures most: Earning the respect of his team and colleagues.

"It's nice that they don't have to talk about my behavior anymore," Stewart said. "That's the biggest honor you can have, for the guys you race with to give you that kind of compliment."

Smooth and steady for an entire race. An entire season. An entire championship run.

That's the formula Stewart used to win his second NASCAR championship in four years Sunday, capping an uncharacteristically calm season for the former Bad Boy. He won races, kept his temper in check and avoided every major incident long enough to cement himself as one of the greatest drivers of his time.

Needing only to run clean at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he hovered just outside the top 10 and away from any potential danger. Stewart ended up 15th, winning the title by 35 points over Greg Biffle, who won the Ford 400 for the second straight year by besting teammate Mark Martin in a door-to-door finish.

Stewart became just the 14th driver in NASCAR history with more than one championship and joined four-time winner Jeff Gordon as the only active full-time drivers with multiple titles.

"I don't believe the trophy makes the man," said Mark Martin. "Tony Stewart, in my eyes, is the greatest race car driver I've watched drive in this era. A.J. Foyt might have been that when I was a little boy, but Tony Stewart is my driving hero."

But it was not his spot among the elite that earned Stewart praise from his fellow drivers. It was the attitude adjustment that helped him get there.

"Either the therapy is working or he's learned through experience," Gordon said. "He finally started to get the fact that this is a sport that has media involved, fans involved, sponsors involved and it's great that we get the privilege to go out there and drive these race cars ... but sometimes you forget about the big picture and I think it took Tony a little while."

For Stewart, it was the perfect finale to what's been a perfect season both on and off the track.

He had a tortured run to the title in 2002, punching a photographer the lowest point of a rollercoaster season pocked by bad behavior and blowups. So he'll treasure this title, a gift to the team that stuck with him through thick and thin.

After an emotional embrace with crew chief Greg Zipadelli -- interrupted by chants of "Climb the fence!" from his fans -- he dedicated the win to his Joe Gibbs Racing crew members, who showered with bottle after bottle of Coke from the risers above.

"I put the team through a lot of hell ever since I've been with them but they never gave up on me," Stewart said. "Zippy didn't want to win it the way we did in 2002. It was nice to do it and do it right."

The championship was the third for Gibbs, now coach of the Washington Redskins, and first for his son, J.D., who took over the leadership role when his father went to the NFL.

"Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate," Joe Gibbs said over a telephone line while Stewart accepted the Nextel Cup trophy, "and I'm picking up the tab!"

"You're darn right you're picking up the tab!" replied Stewart, who won at least $5.8 million with the title.

Indeed, Gibbs was instrumental in getting Stewart to finally settle down.

One day during the offseason, he ordered the driver into the race shop for a heart-to-heart talk with his team. He wanted the crew to open their hearts and make Stewart see just how difficult he made their jobs.

When the meeting was over, Stewart was a changed man.

He moved back to Indiana into his childhood home, surrounding himself with family and old friends who helped temper his frequent mood swings. It showed in his personality and in his performance, especially during the summer -- when he turned it up a notch to become the hottest driver in NASCAR.

Reeling off a string of five victories in seven races, nothing could beat Stewart, not even his old nemesis -- Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track had tormented him his entire career, denying him time after time in both stock and Indy cars.

But not even Indy could derail Stewart this season. He finally scored a win at the Brickyard in August.

"To win at home in the Brickyard was a race of a lifetime," he said.

For the first time all season it pushed Stewart into the points lead, where he would stay for 13 of the final 14 weeks. He was on top at the start of the 10-race Chase for the championship and fell off the leaderboard just once, when he dropped to fifth after Round 2.

Stewart raced his way back on top a week later and never looked back, notching six top 10 finishes during the Chase. By the time he got to Sunday's finale, he needed only to finish ninth or better to clinch the title.

Only Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Biffle had a chance to beat him, and Johnson saw his hopes squashed 126 laps into the race when an apparent leak in his right rear tire finally gave out. The tire exploded and sent him smashing into the wall.

A two-time runner up for the title the past two seasons, Johnson desperately wanted to avoid falling short yet again. But as the cars raced around him and he stood dejected in the garage, Johnson would have traded anything to be back out there with a shot at second. Instead, he dropped all the way back to fifth in a frustrating end to his season.

"I look back at the season and we did everything we could," he said. "So I'm disappointed. I lived my whole life for this ... I'll be back next year."

With Johnson out, Stewart only needed to keep an eye on Edwards and Biffle. It wasn't difficult -- both of them were running at the front of the pack, far ahead of Stewart.

But as long as he didn't make a colossal mistake, the title was his to lose. So he watched as the Roush Racing teammates battled for the win, focusing only on keeping his Chevrolet off the wall and on the lead lap.

He succeeded, and some 45 minutes after crossing the finish line, he was cleared to climb the fence for one final celebration.