Forget horsepower, position in the standings, pit stop strategy, changes in aerodynamic rules and even the looming presence of archrival Jeff Gordon.

For Tony Stewart to rally and win the Winston Cup championship this season, the key may very well be what may be perceived as a most un-Stewart-like trait: humility.

	Stewart was able to overcome off-the-track distractions to win at Watkins Glen two weeks ago.

Since being slapped twice for his well-publicized run-in with a photographer three weeks ago at Indianapolis -- a $10,000 fine and probation until the end of the season from NASCAR, followed by an unprecedented $50,000 fine and veiled threat that he could lose his ride if he loses his temper one more time from primary sponsor Home Depot -- Stewart faces the prospect of being nothing less than a choir boy for the remainder of the 2002 campaign.

Yet, even with his proverbial tail between his legs, Stewart may be finding he not only likes being in his current position, but appears to be actually thriving in it. He finished first at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) and second this past Sunday at Michigan in his first two races since being punished for the incident at Indy.

"(The controversy generated from Indianapolis) probably helped us get a little more focused, if anything," Stewart said. "We've all spent a lot of time together as a team during the week and I think that has helped us, too.

"It was kind of like hitting a reset button for our whole race team. Even before all that happened, our race shop has been working 24 hours straight in some departments, trying to get some areas of our program better than what they were, and it's showing up now, too.

"But having the last two weeks like we've had, I feel a lot of momentum for our team and that's definitely what we need for the rest of the year."

With his pair of outstanding finishes in the last two races, Stewart has crept closer to points leader Sterling Marlin in the standings. Heading into Saturday night's Sharpie 500, Stewart is just 84 points behind Marlin, and only 24 points behind third-place holder Jimmie Johnson. What's more, Stewart holds a 66-point margin over the fifth-ranked Gordon.

Saturday night's race could potentially be the biggest test for Stewart this season. While he considers Bristol Motor Speedway, in the foothills of eastern Tennessee, one of his favorite tracks, it also is the venue that oftentimes brings out the worst in Stewart's persona, as can be seen by some of the on-track skirmishes Stewart has had at the legendary half-mile oval.

Take, for example, the spring 2001 race at Bristol, where Stewart retaliated for an earlier incident in the same event by playing bumper cars with Gordon on pit road at the end of the race, drawing a fine and lengthy probation. And yet, only a few months later, the driver of the No. 20 Pontiac Grand Prix returned to Bristol and won the Sharpie 500.

In so doing, Stewart proved a major point: he can be slapped down, but he won't be kept down or pushed around. Even with probation and possible excommunication from the series hanging over his head, he still had the ingredients to capture his first career win at Bristol.

What's more, winning last year at Bristol was a major contributing factor to Stewart ultimately finishing runner-up to Gordon in the Winston Cup championship chase at season's end.

Fast-forward a year and Stewart is in the same exact position he was last season at this time: on probation and being watched closely by NASCAR officials.

Which begs the questions: could it be déjà vu all over again Saturday night for Stewart, and could the outcome ultimately have a significant impact upon the remainder of the season?

"Historically, we run good at the tracks coming up," Stewart said. "But there are no guarantees. Every year there is something that has been different. Tires are different, rules packages are different. Every year you still have to overcome those obstacles and still have to overcome teams that have made their programs better from the previous year. We just have to take it a week at a time right now."

	“	(The last two weeks have been) nice for the morale of the team and keeping them pumped up and keeping us pumped up. But, in all reality, every week starts and stops and that's the way we have to approach it as a race team. This week is over, next week is a whole new week, and we start from scratch. ”
		— Stewart.

Stewart is tied with Matt Kenseth with a series-leading three wins each in the season's first 23 races. Saturday's race in Bristol will officially bring the first two-thirds of the season to a close, leaving a 12-race sprint to the championship for Stewart, Marlin, Mark Martin, Johnson and Gordon.

And, given how this season has been so unpredictable, and as remote as their chances may seem, you can't count out drivers like Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Kenseth, Dale Jarrett and Ryan Newman, who are currently sitting sixth through 11th in the standings, from mounting late-season bursts towards winning the title.

Despite the literal crow he's had to eat following the controversy at Indianapolis, Tony will always still be Tony, no matter how much trouble he gets into or how many times he's slapped with probation, fines, etc. When asked following his runner-up showing at Michigan on Sunday whether the trouble he wrought upon himself in recent weeks is just what he needs to get fired up for a run at the championship, Stewart bristled back at the questioner in his own inimitable way.

"If I have to have that to get me fired up for the championship, I'm not the right driver to be in this car," he said. "I need to be fired up for that championship every race of the season.

"(The last two weeks have been) nice for the morale of the team and keeping them pumped up and keeping us pumped up. But, in all reality, every week starts and stops and that's the way we have to approach it as a race team. This week is over, next week is a whole new week, and we start from scratch."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com.