Long before he battled for a second NASCAR championship, Tony Stewart had to fight for his job.
Tired of his Bad Boy behavior, Stewart's crew was ready to walk away from one of the most talented drivers in history. Team owner Joe Gibbs intervened, ordering Stewart into an offseason heart-to-heart meeting with them to iron out their issues.
"Sometimes bad things have to happen for good things to come out of it," Stewart said. "All of the guys sat down and we got to air everything out. It was one of the most stressful meetings I've ever been in because when I went into it I didn't know what it was going to be. I didn't even know if I would have a job after it was over."
His crew hung with him and together they began a march toward the Nextel Cup championship that ended Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It capped an uncharacteristically calm season for Stewart.
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," Mark Martin said. "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.
"He gets it now and it's showing in his personality."
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.
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