Editing Tony Stewart (section)

====Joe Gibbs Racing (1999–2008)====
=====1999 season=====
Stewart started his NASCAR Cup career in 1999 with a bang, as he qualified his No. 20 [[The Home Depot]]-sponsored [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] on the outside pole for the [[1999 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]]. He showed courage in one of the [[Can-Am Duel|Gatorade Twin 125s]] when he was involved in a battle with [[Dale Earnhardt]] for the lead in the last laps. Though Earnhardt came out on top, Stewart had nonetheless impressed quite a few people with his performance. In the 500, Stewart ran near the front until problems with the car relegated him to a 28th-place finish.

Stewart spent most of his rookie season wowing people, as his car was often in the Top 5. He won a pair of pole positions at [[short track motor racing|short tracks]], and set a series record for wins by a rookie with three—Richmond, Phoenix, and Homestead—surpassing [[Davey Allison]]'s record set in 1987<ref name="Top 10 rookie campaigns">{{cite web |last=Caraviello|first=David|url=http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/1/20/top-10-nascar-rookies-tony-stewart-jimmie-johnson-dale-earnhardt.html|title=Top 10 Rookie Campaigns at NASCAR's Highest Level|publisher=[[NASCAR]]|date=January 20, 2014|access-date=January 20, 2014}}</ref> (Stewart's record would hold until 2002, when [[Jimmie Johnson]] tied the feat by winning three times; although [[Carl Edwards]] won four times in 2005, his first full Cup season, he was not regarded as a rookie by NASCAR standards because he had run more than ten Nextel Cup races in 2004). He finished his first Cup season with 3 wins, 12 top fives, 21 top tens, 2 poles, only 1 DNF, 1,226 laps led, a 10.26 average finish, and a 4th-place finish in the point standings, making it the highest points finish by a rookie in the modern era (which held until 2006 when his future teammate [[Denny Hamlin]] finished 3rd) and only bested by [[James Hylton]], who finished 2nd as a first-timer in 1966.<ref name="Top 10 rookie campaigns"/> Not surprisingly, he ran away with the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award.

Stewart also attempted to race {{convert|1100|mi|km}} on [[Memorial Day|Memorial Day weekend]], as he competed in both the Indy 500 during the day and the [[Coca-Cola 600]] in Charlotte, N.C., at night. He finished in the Top 10 at both races: 9th in the [[1999 Indianapolis 500]] and 4th at Charlotte. However, he only completed {{convert|1090|mi|km}} of the scheduled 1,100, as he finished 4 laps down at Indianapolis.

=====2000 season=====
[[File:FEMA - 598 - Photograph by Kevin Thorne taken on 10-01-2000 in Virginia.jpg|thumb|Stewart celebrates his 2000 NAPA Autocare 500 win]]
Stewart showed no signs of a sophomore slump in the [[2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series]], winning a series-high<ref>{{cite news |last=Shapiro|first=Mark|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/07/13/the-field-of-hopefuls/|title=The field of hopefuls|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=July 13, 2001|access-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> six races (Martinsville, New Hampshire, Michigan, Homestead, and both Dover races). However, he fell to 6th place in the standings because of a handful of DNFs and an increase in the number of competitive drivers, among them his teammate Labonte, who won the Cup championship. Stewart also began to get some bad press for his on-track incidents. The best known of these came at [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] when he and [[Jeff Gordon]] tangled and crashed. Stewart made his displeasure toward Gordon known in an obscenity-laden tirade. Stewart won the [[Turkey Night Grand Prix]] midget car event at [[Irwindale, California]], which he called, “one of his greatest wins ever."<ref name=NMARHoF/>

=====2001 season=====
Stewart got off to a scary start for the 2001 season: during the [[2001 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]], he was involved in an 18-car crash on lap 173. The crash began on the back straightaway and also collected [[Bobby Labonte]] and his brother [[Terry Labonte|Terry]], [[Rusty Wallace]], [[Steve Park]], [[Jason Leffler]], [[Jerry Nadeau]], [[Buckshot Jones]], [[Andy Houston]], [[Ward Burton]], [[Mark Martin]], [[Kenny Wallace]], [[Jeff Gordon]], [[Elliott Sadler]], [[Dale Jarrett]], [[Jeff Burton]], [[John Andretti]], and [[Robby Gordon]]. Stewart took the worst of it, as his car turned backward after being hit by Ward Burton, pushed over Robby Gordon, then flipped twice in midair, hooked Bobby Labonte's hood, and came to a stop in the infield. Stewart was transported to Halifax Medical Center after complaints of discomfort in his shoulder. Stewart's crash was greatly overshadowed by [[Dale Earnhardt]]'s [[Death of Dale Earnhardt|fatal crash on the last lap]]. Stewart recovered to win three more races at Richmond, Infineon, and Bristol and, as he had done before, he ran near the front most of the season. Statistically, he had a worse season than 2000, but he finished 2nd to Gordon in the final points standings.

For the second time, Stewart ran the "[[Memorial Day Double]]", in spite of a 17-minute rain delay at [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway|Indianapolis]]. He finished sixth in the [[Indianapolis 500]] and third in the [[Coca-Cola 600]], running all {{convert|1100|mi|km}} of the two races.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/2001/indy500/news/2001/05/27/stewart_sunday_ap/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010625223051/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/2001/indy500/news/2001/05/27/stewart_sunday_ap/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 25, 2001 |title=CNNSI.com&nbsp;– 2001 Indy 500&nbsp;– NASCAR's Stewart pulling double duty again |date=June 11, 2001 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref>

The 2001 season was not without controversy. Jeff Gordon pulled a "[[bump and run (auto racing)|bump and run]]" on Stewart to gain a better finishing position at [[Bristol Motor Speedway|Bristol]] and Stewart retaliated in a post-race incident by spinning Gordon out on pit road. Stewart was fined and placed on NASCAR [[probation]]. He got into much bigger trouble in the [[2001 Pepsi 400|Pepsi 400]] at [[Daytona International Speedway|Daytona]], where he confronted a Winston Cup official after ignoring a [[racing flags#The black flag|black flag]], which he had received for an illegal pass on [[Dave Blaney]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Lipsyte|first=Robert|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/09/sports/auto-racing-the-call-is-answered-in-earnhardt-s-pepsi-400-victory.html|title=AUTO RACING; 'The Call' Is Answered in Earnhardt's Pepsi 400 Victory|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 9, 2001|access-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> In the same race, he had an incident with a ''[[Winston-Salem Journal]]'' reporter in which he kicked away a tape recorder.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/12/sports/plus-auto-racing-further-probation-for-irate-stewart.html|title=PLUS: AUTO RACING; Further Probation For Irate Stewart|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 12, 2001|access-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/nascar_plus/news/2001/07/09/stewart_grandfather_ap/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010711205350/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/nascar_plus/news/2001/07/09/stewart_grandfather_ap/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 11, 2001|title=Stewart's grandfather died before race|work=[[CNN Sports Illustrated]]|date=July 9, 2001|access-date=May 1, 2014}}</ref> He confronted that same official during the [[Talladega Superspeedway|Talladega]] race after he refused to wear a mandated head-and-neck restraint. Stewart was not allowed to practice until he wore one, and only managed to do so after his crew chief [[Greg Zipadelli]] intervened. Stewart's fines and periods of probation resulting from these incidents have earned him a reputation of having a hot temper, and he became known as NASCAR's "bad boy".

=====2002 season: First Cup championship=====
Stewart started the 2002 season even more inauspiciously than last year's, as the [[2002 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]] lasted just two laps for him due to a blown engine. He went on to win twice early in the season at Atlanta and Richmond, but he was only seventh in the points standings at the season's halfway point. At Darlington, Stewart was involved in a multi-car wreck in which [[Jimmy Spencer (racing driver)|Jimmy Spencer]]'s car t-boned Stewart's car. While Stewart was sent to the hospital following the crash, he was able to start the next race at Bristol. Due to the injuries sustained at Darlington, he was relieved during the race by [[Todd Bodine]]. The second half of his season was plagued by an altercation with a photographer after the [[Brickyard 400]]. He was fined $50,000 by NASCAR and penalized with a 25-point deduction. However, despite the controversy, he went on to win the very next week at Watkins Glen. Strangely enough, this race also ended in controversy, when it was revealed that he had jumped the restart and, despite the infraction, officials upheld Stewart's win. This win proved to be a turning point in Stewart's season; he went on a hot streak following Watkins Glen, and despite not winning any more races that season his consistent top 10 finishes, combined with his rivals running into trouble, allowed him to claim the points lead at Talledega. At the end of the season, Stewart held off [[Mark Martin]] to win his first Winston Cup championship. This was Stewart's last season driving a Pontiac.

=====2003 season=====
As the defending champion, Stewart managed to have a relatively incident-free 2003 season. Joe Gibbs Racing changed manufacturers, so he and Labonte were now driving [[Chevrolet]]s instead of [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]]s. Stewart had his worst Cup season at this point up until 2006, but it was still good enough for seventh in the points standings. He only won two races that season at Pocono and Charlotte but he led more laps than he did last year and was highly competitive in the final races of the season.

=====2004 season=====
In January 2004, Stewart teamed with [[Andy Wallace (racing driver)|Andy Wallace]] and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a Boss Motorsports Chevrolet to take fourth in the [[24 Hours of Daytona]] sports car endurance race. The result does not show the trio's performance, however. They had dominated the race until the last two hours when the suspension cracked. With 15 minutes left in the race and Stewart driving, one of the rear wheels came off, finally ending their run. In addition to placing fourth overall, the trio placed third in the [[Daytona Prototype]] class.

Stewart started on a higher note in the 2004 season as he finished second in the Gatorade 125. In the [[2004 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]], he and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both dominated the race, leading 156 laps overall (98 for Stewart). Stewart was in contention to win it, only to lose the lead to Earnhardt Jr. with 20 laps to go. That would be Stewart's best finish in the Daytona 500.

At Infineon, Stewart was involved in an altercation with rookie driver [[Brian Vickers]]. On lap 88 of 110, Stewart got spun out by Vickers as retaliation for an earlier collision in the race. Stewart replied by confronting Vickers after the race and throwing a punch through Vickers' window. Stewart was fined $50,000, stripped of 25 driver & owner points, and put on probation for the rest of 2004.

The season was highlighted with Stewart's first win coming at [[Chicagoland Speedway|Chicagoland]]. This win was not without controversy as on a mid-race restart, he turned Kasey Kahne into the wall, which eventually led to an altercation between his and Kahne's pit crews. Stewart felt very sick during the race at Watkins Glen International and nearly withdrew from it due to food poisoning, stomach cramps, a headache, and a sinus infection. He ultimately relented and ran the race, dominating and holding off Canadian road ringer [[Ron Fellows]] for the win. He qualified fourth for the first-ever [[Chase for the Sprint Cup|Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup]]. However, an incident at the first race of The Chase at [[New Hampshire Motor Speedway|Loudon]] ended his hopes of a second Cup championship. Stewart got collected in a multi-car crash, which started when Robby Gordon repaid [[Greg Biffle]] some retaliation, and Stewart t-boned Biffle. Stewart had to make repairs and lost three laps. He finished two laps down, causing him to lose his shot at his second championship. Gordon did not get off the hook however and was penalized with a $15,000 fine and a 50-point deduction for his actions.

After losing his bid for the championship title, Stewart finished sixth in the Nextel Cup point standings.

In November 2004, Stewart became the owner of one of the most legendary short tracks in America, [[Eldora Speedway]]. Located in [[New Weston, Ohio]], Eldora is a half-mile dirt track known to many as "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954." Stewart began racing there in 1991 and continues racing in special events alongside other Sprint Cup drivers and dirt track legends.

=====2005 season: Second championship=====
[[File:Tony Stewart 2005 at Infineon photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|Stewart on two wheels before going on to win the 2005 Dodge/Save Mart 350, at [[Infineon Raceway]]]]
2005 was one of Stewart's most successful years in the Nextel Cup Series as he won his second Cup title. He won five races at Infineon, Daytona, New Hampshire, Watkins Glen (which gave him a sweep of the road course races for the year and a record 3 straight road course wins) and Indianapolis, his hometown track (in a race that Stewart said he would give up his championship to win, and took with it the No. 1 seed heading into NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup 10-race playoff).

[[File:Tony Stewart's 2005 Brickyard.jpg|thumb|left|Stewart's 2005 [[Allstate 400 at the Brickyard]] winning car on display at the [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway]] museum]]
Following his win in the Pepsi 400, Stewart began climbing the fence separating the fans from the race track after each victory, borrowing [[IndyCar Series]] driver [[Hélio Castroneves]]' trademark move.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/racing/racing/indycar/news/story?id=3474464 |title=Castroneves, Penske verbally agree on long-term deal|publisher=ESPN |date=July 5, 2008 |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref> After winning the 2009 All-Star race, Stewart was quoted as saying "I'm too damn fat to be climbing fences," and recently purchased $17,000 worth of [[exercise equipment]] to remedy the problem. It also led to sponsor [[The Home Depot]] cashing in on Stewart's success with some promotions reminiscent of Stewart's Eldora Speedway drivers. After his second full climb of the fence in Loudon, N.H., they ran a discount on ladders and fencing at the stores with a campaign named, "Hey Tony, we've got ladders", where anyone who presented the advertisement in national newspapers in their stores earned the discount. After his victory in Indianapolis, The Home Depot presented fans who presented the advertisement of his Allstate 400 win with a discount on purchasing bricks. He mentioned in a press release from his sponsor, "I plan to keep winning races and helping to drive down the cost of home improvement for The Home Depot customers."

On November 20, 2005, Stewart won his second Cup Championship, joining [[Jeff Gordon]] as the only active, full-time drivers at the time to have won multiple championships. [[Jimmie Johnson]] afterward did so from 2006 to 2010. In victory circle, Stewart had said that he loved winning his 2005 championship better than his 2002 one because his 2005 season was more well-behaved than 2002. At an age of 34, this made Stewart one of the youngest drivers to win multiple championships (with Johnson joining this category as he won his five straight titles while in his early 30s) and to date, he is still the only driver to have won championships under both the Chase and non-Chase formats. During the 2005 season, Stewart won a total of $13,578,168, including $6,173,633 for winning the championship, the largest season total in NASCAR history.

===== 2006 season =====
Stewart's 2006 season had up and down notes. He had competitive cars and scored early wins at Daytona and [[Martinsville Speedway|Martinsville]]. However, he also had strings of bad luck. He also suffered a shoulder injury due to two heavy crashes in both the Busch and Cup races at Charlotte during the Memorial Day Weekend races (Stewart's Busch car hit the Turn 4 wall so hard it even knocked the rear end off the car). During the Dover race, he was substituted by [[Ricky Rudd]] and, in later weeks, had to drive in pain.

Additionally, he has once again been involved in several on-track controversies.

Following a rough Bud Shootout on February 12, Stewart expressed concern to the media about the possibility of aggressive driving resulting in the serious injury or death of a driver. It came during a week in which the racing world remembered the fifth anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death. Just a few days later, during the [[2006 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]], Stewart was involved in several incidents with [[Jeff Gordon]], [[Kyle Busch]], and [[Matt Kenseth]], whom he chased halfway across the track to run into the grass. "He has no room to complain," Stewart said of his brush with Kenseth. "He started it, and I finished it".

On May 20, during NASCAR's All Star Race, Stewart and Kenseth wrecked again. Each driver claimed it was the other one's fault with Stewart saying, "if (Kenseth) thinks it's my fault and I (caused the wreck) he's screwed up in his head." Following the wreck, several media outlets proclaimed the new Stewart-Kenseth rivalry as must-see TV.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ron Lemasters Jr., Special to NASCAR.COM |url=http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/05/21/tstewart.mkenseth.crash/ |title=Stewart-Kenseth crash leads to verbal sparring |publisher=Nascar.Com |date=May 21, 2006 |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref> The so-called rivalry was short-lived as Kenseth and Stewart participated as friends in a joint promotional tour for DeWalt and The Home Depot;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dewalt.com/us/members/register/winnerscircle/ |title=High Performance Industrial Tools and Accessories |publisher=DEWALT |date=March 25, 2009 |access-date=October 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107024229/http://www.dewalt.com/us/members/register/winnerscircle/ |archive-date=January 7, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Kenseth also appeared in September at Stewart's [[Eldora Speedway]] in the NEXTEL PRELUDE with NASCAR drivers, as well as the ARCA Truck Series event there.

On July 1, Stewart dominated the Pepsi 400 but after a pit stop seemed like an unlikely contender for the win. However, Stewart amazed the audience when in the final 10 laps he drove from 14th up to second place, and passed [[Boris Said]] to take the lead and win. After the race, Stewart said he no longer wanted to climb the catch-fencing at Daytona because of the fans crowding him but he later changed his mind on that thought.

On July 23, Stewart once again was at the center of a media storm. On lap 31 of the [[Pennsylvania 500]], Stewart was accidentally squeezed against the wall by [[Clint Bowyer]]. Stewart responded by waving his hand in anger, then purposely hitting Bowyer's car. This contact sent Bowyer spinning down the front stretch where he collided with [[Carl Edwards]]. Stewart was promptly held one lap by [[NASCAR]] for rough driving. He did however pass leader [[Ryan Newman (racing driver)|Ryan Newman]] to get back on the lead lap and eventually rallied to finish 7th and get back in the top 10 in the point standings. After initially refusing to take responsibility for the incident he apologized the next day.<ref>{{cite web |author=Team Release |url=http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/07/24/tstewart.pocono.blame/index.html |title=Stewart takes blame for incident at Pocono |publisher=Nascar.Com |date=July 24, 2006 |access-date=October 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604033537/http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/07/24/tstewart.pocono.blame/index.html|archive-date=June 4, 2011}}</ref>

Stewart missed the cut to qualify for the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup by 16 points,<ref>{{cite web |author=Ron Lemasters Jr., Special to NASCAR.COM |url=http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/09/10/tstewart.richmond/index.html |title=Stewart left chasing 11th instead of defending title |publisher=Nascar.Com |date=September 10, 2006 |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref> becoming the first defending champion to miss the Chase the following year.<ref>[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/racing/news/20130701/nascar-brad-keselowski-chase-chances.ap/ Defending NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski could miss Chase] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704190648/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/racing/news/20130701/nascar-brad-keselowski-chase-chances.ap/|date=July 4, 2013}}</ref> He finished poorly at [[Richmond International Raceway|Richmond]] after wrecking his primary car in practice, and was displaced in the top ten by [[Kasey Kahne]]. As a result, he finished the 2006 season 11th in points, his worst thus far in his career, as he had completed each of his seven previous seasons in the top ten in points. Commenting on not being in the 2006 Chase, he says: "It lets us have the ability to take chances and try things ... that we've been wanting to try but just haven't had the luxury to do it. If we were in the Chase we wouldn't have that ability".<ref>{{cite web |author=David Newton, NASCAR.COM |url=http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/opinion/11/06/tstewart_dnewton/index.html |title=Chasers lucky Stewart didn't get fit sooner |publisher=Nascar.Com |date=November 6, 2006 |access-date=October 8, 2009 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604033550/http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/opinion/11/06/tstewart_dnewton/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Stewart won three races in the 2006 Chase ([[Kansas Speedway|Kansas]], [[Atlanta Motor Speedway|Atlanta]], and [[Texas Motor Speedway|Texas]]).

The season was not unkind to Stewart, however. He was a participant in the 30th season of [[International Race of Champions|IROC]] and won 2 of the 4 races (Texas, and the Daytona road course) on his way to capturing the series championship. He won a million dollars for the effort but made an offer to return his prize money if IROC would hold one of its events at his Eldora Speedway. This offer was not entertained as IROC folded in 2007. In addition, Stewart's three wins in the Chase races gave him five total for the season, tying him with Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick for second-most in Nextel Cup behind Kasey Kahne's six.

=====2007 season=====
[[File:TonyStewartTexas.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Stewart races by at [[Texas Motor Speedway]] in 2007.]]
Stewart started the 2007 season by winning his second [[Chili Bowl Nationals]] midget car feature. Stewart started off the Daytona Speedweeks with a win in the 2007 [[Budweiser Shootout]]. It was his third win in the race.<ref>[http://www.hawkeyeracingnews.com/action.html "Tony Stewart Snares 21st Annual Chili Bowl Nationals Finale"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061217180912/http://hawkeyeracingnews.com/action.html |date=December 17, 2006 }}, January 13, 2007, Hawkeye Racing News. Retrieved January 25, 2007.</ref> He also won his qualifying race for the Daytona 500.

On lap 152 of the Daytona 500, the rear of Stewart's car slid up the track and, when he tried to cut down the track, he smacked the front of [[Kurt Busch]]'s car knocking both of them out of the race. Stewart and the Busch brothers ([[Kurt Busch|Kurt]] and [[Kyle Busch|Kyle]]) were the three leaders for the majority of the race.

On March 22, 2007, it was announced that Stewart would be on the cover of the official NASCAR video game ''[[NASCAR 08]]'', published by [[Electronic Arts]]. This would be the third time this honor was given to Stewart ([[NASCAR 2001|2001]] & [[NASCAR Thunder 2004|2003]]).

In his first [[Car of Tomorrow]] race with the [[Chevrolet Impala|Impala SS]], Stewart was dominant at [[Bristol Motor Speedway|Bristol]], leading 257 of 504 laps ([[green-white-checker finish]]), before he experienced a fuel pump problem. In his third [[Car of Tomorrow]] race at [[Phoenix International Raceway|Phoenix]], Stewart lead a race high 132 laps, but a late race caution moved Stewart to 2nd, where he finished behind [[Jeff Gordon]]. In the following week, Stewart implied the cautions were "bogus" and that NASCAR is "rigged like [[professional wrestling]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18312037/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427002233/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18312037/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 27, 2007 |title=Stewart says NASCAR rigged like wrestling |publisher=MSNBC |date=April 25, 2007 |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref>

On June 4, 2007, Stewart and Kurt Busch had another altercation on pit road in the [[Autism Speaks 400]] at [[Dover International Speedway|Dover]]. Kurt Busch passed Stewart on the inside and then slid up, which caused contact, sending him into the wall, knocking out  Busch, but with Stewart staying in the race. Initially, it was thought that Stewart intentionally crashed Busch due to hard feelings over their accident at Daytona that year. Under the caution, Stewart was on pit road and his crew was surveying the massive damage he received from the crash; when an enraged Busch pulled alongside and gave Stewart a profane gesture to express his feelings over the incident. One of Stewart's pit-crew members jumped out of the way of Busch's car to avoid being hit, while Busch was parked for the contact made on pit road. Busch would later be fined $100k for his actions by NASCAR, while Stewart got off with a pre-race warning from NASCAR before the following race at Pocono.

At the All-Star Race at [[Charlotte Motor Speedway|Charlotte]], he finished 5th behind Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Jeff Burton. At the Coca-Cola 600, Stewart finished sixth, after having to come into the pit for fuel. On July 15, 2007, Stewart led a race-high 108 laps and recorded his 30th career NEXTEL Cup win at the [[USG Sheetrock 400]] at [[Chicagoland Speedway|Joliet]].

On July 29, 2007, after leading a race-high 65 of 160 laps, Stewart won the Brickyard 400 again, just 45 minutes from where he grew up. This was his second win in the race at his favorite track. It was not without controversy though; Stewart made the winning pass by accidentally bending the rear of [[Kevin Harvick]]'s car, causing Harvick to fall back quickly to seventh place by the time the checkers waved. Stewart apologized for the contact in victory lane and during the victory lane interview, Stewart was penalized 25 points and fined $25,000 for violating NASCAR's policy on the use of obscene language during interviews during the race. This was similar to 2004 when [[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]] used an obscenity in a post-race interview at Talladega and was knocked out of the points lead as a result of the penalty.

On August 12, 2007, he won the [[Centurion Boats at the Glen]] at [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] after Jeff Gordon spun his car around after wheel hopping in turn 1 with two laps to go. Carl Edwards briefly challenged Stewart on the final lap, but spun out into a pullover site sealing Stewart's win.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://us.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/watkins-glen-tony-stewart-race-report-2007-08-15/2216961/|title=Watkins Glen: Tony Stewart race report|work=[[Motorsport.com]]|date=August 12, 2007|access-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref>

=====2008 season: Final season at JGR=====
[[File:Tony Stewart 2008 Home Depot Toyota Camry.jpg|260px|thumbnail|Stewart's Toyota Camry.]]
As [[Joe Gibbs Racing]] officially switched its manufacturer partnership from [[Chevrolet Performance|Chevrolet]] to [[Toyota Racing Development|Toyota]], Stewart began the 2008 season with a 6th-place start in the [[Daytona 500]]. During this race, he was only able to come up with a 3rd-place finish after being passed by [[Ryan Newman (racing driver)|Ryan Newman]] and [[Kurt Busch]] on the last lap. The finish of this race was somewhat like a repeat of the [[2007 Daytona 500|previous year's Daytona 500]], in which Stewart's close friend [[Kevin Harvick]] passed [[Mark Martin]] to win it.

On lap 109 of the [[UAW-Dodge 400]], Stewart's car cut a tire and slammed hard into the turn 3 retaining wall. Although he climbed out under his own power, Stewart was transported by ambulance to the infield care center. Stewart had complained about a sore foot from a wreck that occurred the day before the [[NASCAR Nationwide Series|Nationwide Series]] race at [[Las Vegas Motor Speedway|Las Vegas]]. Stewart was later announced that he was okay and ripped on [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]] for not bringing any quality tires.

With 3 laps to go in the 2008 Coca-Cola 600, Stewart cut a tire and saved it from contact with the wall. However, Stewart had to give up the lead to future race winner [[Kasey Kahne]] to make pit stops.

In the [[Best Buy 400]], Stewart was involved in another crash with [[Elliott Sadler]], in which Sadler got turned by [[David Gilliland]] and car collected Stewart and 11 other cars; those included [[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]] and [[Denny Hamlin]]. Stewart, who was frustrated over his misfortune, sarcastically said, "I take 100 percent responsibility&nbsp;– it's my fault for being anywhere close to Elliott. If I'm within half a lap of him, I expect that to happen. It's my fault&nbsp;– I'm the one that hit him. When I hit him, it caused all the guys behind us to wreck, so it's my fault."

In July 2008, Stewart made a deal with car owner Gene Haas into a co-owning partnership in a racing organization called Stewart-Haas Racing for 2009 when he left Joe Gibbs Racing. Ryan Newman came to the meeting to make his deal with SHR officially signed earlier in the year.

On July 5, 2008, during the [[Coke Zero 400]] at [[Daytona International Speedway|Daytona]], Stewart started feeling ill and turned his car over to former [[Joe Gibbs Racing]] teammate [[J. J. Yeley]], who took the car to a 20th-place finish after getting involved in two wrecks in the last 5 laps.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/06/01/tstewart.dhamlin.kharvick.dearnhardtjr.esadler.wreck.dover/index.html|title=BestBuy 400 Wreck Quote}}</ref> Stewart earned his first and only win of the season in the [[2008 AMP Energy 500|AMP Energy 500]] at [[Talladega Superspeedway|Talladega]] on October 5, 2008, driving for Subway as his sponsor, making it his last win with Joe Gibbs Racing. On the final lap, Stewart was passed by [[Regan Smith (racing driver)|Regan Smith]] (the rookie of Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) who beat Stewart to the line. NASCAR declared that Smith had made an illegal pass under the yellow line, and awarded the victory to Stewart.<ref>{{cite web |author=CBSSports.com wire reports |url=http://www.sportsline.com/autoracing/story/11010916 |title=Stewart snaps 43-race winless skid, snags first Talladega victory&nbsp;– Sprint Cup, NASCAR&nbsp;– CBSSports.com NASCAR, IRL, F1 |publisher=Sportsline.com |date=October 5, 2008 |access-date=October 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008093336/http://www.sportsline.com/autoracing/story/11010916 |archive-date=October 8, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

After the Ford 400, Stewart attended a tearful farewell meeting with Joe Gibbs Racing and gave his car and team to rookie Joey Logano, who replaced him for JGR.