Given how quickly things have changed in this wacky points race, Tony Stewart's 146-point lead with three races left is reason for confidence among the No. 20 team -- but nothing more.

Even though the margin, with so few races left, marks the most commanding position any leader has been in during one of the sport's tightest championship chases, Stewart's team and the rest of the contenders are trying to take things in stride and maintain the anything-can-happen attitude that has lingered over the entire year.

In one race, a driver can make up a maximum of 150 points on another driver, and this entire year the points race has been subject to a leader change entering each race. The same will hold true as the circuit heads to North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.

Still, it appears Stewart is in a position to finally put talk of a tight title race to bed.

Stewart -- with anger firmly in check -- has this race in a choke hold and at this point -- pushing from a 72-point lead three weeks ago to an 82-point lead last week to, now, almost reaching that comfort zone of 150 points.

And although it seems as unlikely for the title to be mathematically given to Stewart before all the races are completed as it would that Stewart falter at these tracks he's been so steady at in the past, if there's one thing this year's title chasers have learned it's that anything is possible.

"It's the same as before. You can't pay too much attention to every point," Ryan Newman said. "All you can do is race your best race and see how it comes out."

Newman has been the hottest driver on the circuit and is now in fourth, 53 points behind fellow rookie Jimmie Johnson for third. They trail Mark Martin, who is second.

	Stewart appears to be looking at a Cup title.

"I told you before that I'm not going to worry about all that stuff," Martin said. "I'm proud of these guys. They just kept digging and digging."

At this point in the season, however, Stewart controls his own destiny. Even if Martin were to win each of the three remaining races -- or if Newman or Johnson were to do the same -- none of them could sniff the championship unless Stewart faltered. If he manages to finish in the top nine of each of the remaining events, he'll win the title.

Since mid-August, he's averaged a finish of eighth, and North Carolina Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway have all been good tracks for him.

Add to all of that the championship experience of Joe Gibbs Racing, which won the 2000 title with driver Bobby Labonte, and it's easy to see why Stewart's team has reason to be confident.

"I think it's just the people involved," Stewart said. "I've seen cases where there's been five resumés with five guys with the same qualifications to do the same job, but Joe (Gibbs) and Zippy (Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's crew chief) and Jimmy Makar (team manager and Labonte's crew chief), they know which guy is right for our program and which guy personality-wise is going to mesh with the guys. That's important. Just having a guy who is qualified to do the job doesn't mean that it'll work out. They're really good at knowing which guy is the right guy to pick as far as keeping all the personalities in sync with each other at the race shop. That's an important piece to the puzzle."

The puzzle is nearly complete for Stewart. But, as the team constantly points out, nearly is not what they are looking for. Ninth place is still a high finish and Stewart does have six Did Not Finishes this season.

"Tony is obviously in a good position, now, but if there's anything we've learned this year it's that things can change quickly," Johnson said.

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for The Raleigh News & Observer.