What Does the Future Hold for Tony Stewart After Winning Latest Title as Owner?

After undoubtedly the most tumultuous, trying 15-month stretch of his life, Tony Stewart finally could smile again in Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Sunday.

No, he didn't win the Sprint Cup race. In fact, he didn't win any races in NASCAR's premier series this season for the first time in 15 years.

Stewart was there to celebrate as owner of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet that Kevin Harvick drove to the race victory and the Sprint Cup championship. 

It begs the question: What does the future hold for Stewart, a three-time Cup driving champion who, at age 43, might be looking at the downside of his storied driving career?

This wasn't Stewart's first Cup title as owner since joining forces with Gene Haas to form SHR in time for the 2009 season. Just two years after that, Stewart drove his own No. 14 SHR Chevy to the 2011 championship, winning five of 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup races to do it in a combination display of skill, sheer will and gritty determination not likely to ever be forgotten in NASCAR annals.

But this was different.

This time, Stewart wasn't center stage for much of Harvick's championship run. He stayed mostly in the shadows.

Yet in the aftermath, it seems as if Harvick's magical run served as a salve for the many wounds Stewart has incurred since August 2013. It was then that he suffered a horrible broken-leg injury in a non-NASCAR-sanctioned sprint car race, which was followed almost exactly one year later by something far more terrible when the sprint car Stewart was driving struck and killed 20-year-old fellow driver Kevin Ward Jr. at a dirt track in New York.

Stewart took the next three Sprint Cup races off while he was investigated and eventually cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident.

But he hardly looked the same when he returned to the Sprint Cup scene, on the track or off it. Quite honestly, he seemed a haunted man.

Harvick's victory, which likely would not have been possible if his team had not switched pit crews with Stewart's prior to the start of the Chase, appeared to bring Stewart a little more closer to the old Tony—the usually playful, sometimes ornery, but intensely loyal driver and owner who goes by the nickname of "Smoke."

NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip took notice of the lingering embrace that Harvick and Stewart shared in Victory Lane, writing for FoxSports.com: 

"

It has to have been such an incredible moment of satisfaction and quite a bright spot for Tony after the past year-and-a-half he has been through. You could just see it that it was just more than your everyday hug. That was two guys savoring a moment of time of pure joy and satisfaction."

"

Yes, it was.

And at his age, with the physical and mental toll of the past 15 months behind him but no doubt still lingering, you have to wonder how effective Stewart will be behind the wheel of a race car next season and beyond.

Some, such as Fox Sports broadcaster John Roberts, have predicted Stewart will rebound so well that he'll not only start winning races again but even will challenge for the championship in 2015.

Darryl Graham/Associated Press

But to others, including this writer, that seems a stretch. With SHR co-owner Gene Haas scrambling to put together an ambitious foray into Formula One racing, Stewart's role as owner may soon place more demands than ever on his time and energy.

He's obviously good at it. Two titles in the past four years? Are you kidding me?

But whereas at the beginning of SHR, it appeared having Stewart behind the wheel was a must for not only the company's growth but also for its very survival, that soon will no longer be the case. In fact, the company might be better served within the next couple of years if Stewart considers cutting back on his own driving schedule and begins focusing more on finding a young hotshot to take his place.

Maybe for only a handful of races at first, but with an eye toward the future, when Stewart will hang up his driving helmet for good. It won't be easy for a guy like Stewart, who lives to drive and is one of the greatest wheelmen the sport has ever known. But it might be best for his company and the future that soon will be upon him.

Besides, if this championship showed Stewart anything, it's that there is satisfaction and joy to be found in racing beyond your driving days. And beyond pain and tragedy, too.

Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained firsthand.

Joe Menzer has written six books, including two about NASCAR, and now writes about it and other sports for Bleacher Report as well as covering NASCAR as a writer and editor for FoxSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.