Stewart

Tony Stewart wants to win his first Winston Cup championship the same way he became a contender: by racing hard.

"There is no way I'm going to be points racing," Stewart said after finishing fourth in Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Anybody who doubted the former open-wheel and short track champion's words simply had to watch him bump his way past old nemesis Robby Gordon at 180 mph late in Sunday's race.

"I wouldn't know how to go out there on the track and not race," Stewart said. "That would feel like cheating."

Stewart asks no quarter and he certainly is giving none as the season nears its conclusion.

Going into Sunday's Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway, Stewart holds a 146-point lead over Mark Martin and has a 150-point margin on surprising rookie Jimmie Johnson in what has boiled down to a three-man battle for the title.

With only three races left and NASCAR's most prestigious championship within reach, the 31-year-old Stewart would certainly be excused if he took fewer chances on the racetrack and protected the points lead.

That, however, would not be Stewart, whose quick temper has gotten him into trouble with NASCAR at times and forced him to seek anger management counseling. But that fiery demeanor in the fourth-year Winston Cup star has also made him the consummate racer.

	Points leader Tony Stewart (No. 20) continues to stand on the gas and race aggressively as the season winds down.

"Nothing really slows Tony down," said team owner Joe Gibbs. "There are times when he has had trouble dealing with things off the track but, when he's out there in the car, all he wants to do is race. He wants to be in the car all the time."

It's true that Stewart loves to race. If he isn't in his Winston Cup car, he'd rather be in a sprint car on a short track than just about anything. He wants to win those races, too.

Stewart went into Atlanta just 82 points ahead of Johnson. He started from the pole, but things didn't look good when he had to make an unscheduled pit stop early in the race after his Joe Gibbs Racing crew sent him back onto the track with some loose lugnuts.

That mistake dropped him from second to 32nd. Good sense might have dictated that Stewart take it easy, work his way slowly toward the front and take no chances of a disaster that would cost him precious points.

"I wasn't happy, but all I told Tony was, 'Take it easy. You've got plenty of time and a good car,' " said crew chief Greg Zipadelli. "He was real calm. He said, `Yeah, I know.' But I was a little nervous."

Stewart's version of taking it easy was turning his Grand Prix into a streak of orange on the 1.54-mile quad-oval, slicing through traffic with seeming abandon.

He was back in the top 10 in 40 laps and regained the lead during a round of green-flag pit stops a few laps later. Stewart remained at or near the front the rest of the way in the rain-shortened race.

"I could have cruised and just rode in, but I was going for the win today," Stewart said, proudly. "We went to the back and drove ourselves to the front. We didn't get three yellows to help us get there, either. We drove nonstop on our way to the front before the yellow finally came out."

	“	There is no way I'm going to be points racing. ... I wouldn't know how to go out there on the track and not race. That would feel like cheating. ”
		— Stewart

Zipadelli added, "That's what our driver is. He was up on the wheel. I saw some stuff there in traffic that made me nervous, but he's our man."

Darrell Waltrip, a three-time series champion and now a TV commentator, understands Stewart's motivations.

"There's no way Tony could just back into a championship," Waltrip said. "It's just not in him.

"He needs to race hard. He isn't worrying about the bad things that could happen, he's just thinking he wants to be leading that race and getting the win."

Stewart insists his approach won't change at Rockingham, Phoenix or Homestead -- the remaining events.

"We're going to try to win those races," he said. "If we win them, we won't have to worry about the points, will we?"