NASCAR Sprint Cup Finale Proves No One Deserves Title More Than Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart talked the talk then backed it up with what may well go down in NASCAR history as the hardest drive for a Cup title in the history of the sport as he went head-to-head with Carl Edwards.

By lap six, Kurt Busch had blown a transmission that caused a hole in the grille screen of Stewart's No. 14 Chevy. The radiator was safe, but repairs forced Stewart back to 40th place.

His crew later had trouble with a tire change during a pit stop and he lost eight positions when he returned to the track.

It happened again in another stop when there was an equipment failure during a tire change that once again dropped him back.

Edwards led the most laps and garnered two bonus points, which forced Stewart to go for a win, and go for it he did.

On his way to Victory Lane, the driver of the Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy made 118 passes as he repeatedly had to fight his way back to the front after pit stops.

On restarts, the new NASCAR Sprint Cup champion was flawless, often dropping to the bottom of the track and going three-wide.

His performance was methodical and daring. Even during a rain delay, he was smiling and confident as he strolled down pit lane.

When the race resumed, he drove like a man possessed. Stewart kept his eye on the target—Edwards—and just kept passing cars.

The call by Stewart's crew chief, Darian Grubb, to stay out so they could make one final pit stop may have confused the driver, but the strategy paid off despite cars passing him as he conserved fuel.

With 57 laps to go, Stewart made his final pit stop. A light sprinkling of rain brought out the caution and enabled him to save even more fuel in the event there was a green-white-checker finish.

The driver of the No. 14 was in command during the final 30 laps, as Edwards saw the title slip away despite every line he tried to drive.

Stewart used every move he ever learned to maintain control of his equipment and make slide jobs on other cars that looked like dirt track moves he might make at his Eldora track.

Heading into the Chase, Stewart wondered if he belonged in the Chase with his winless record in the preceding 26 weeks.

The Chase began an he won the first two races back to back and he repeated two more wins in the seventh and eighth Chase races. His win at Homestead made five total, half of the Chase races.

Certainly his momentum in the Chase was spectacular and it just built confidence within the team that powered them to a championship.

Once Stewart had determined he was going for the title, he had a look in his eyes that was of a man driven to win his third Cup title.

His first title in 2002 was the Winston Cup, followed by the Nextel Cup in 2005 and now the Sprint Cup in 2011.

Stewart is the first owner/driver to win a title since the championship win of the late Alan Kulwicki at Atlanta in 1992. He has also won prior to implementation of the Chase and during the Chase format.

With this title, the latest NASCAR Sprint Cup champion moves to an elite group of drivers that have achieved three titles. He is now the ninth driver to have done so in the history of the sport.

NASCAR wanted drama with the new point systems that would put more importance on winning, though consistency certainly was still important.

After 36 points races that ended in Homestead, Stewart and Edwards were tied for the points in the Chase. Stewart won because of his wins during the Chase. Edwards did not win in the final 10 weeks.

Stewart attempted head games with the banter he exchanged with Edwards, but it was light-hearted and fun. Little did Edwards know that what he was saying would come to fruition.

The Ford 400 championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway was everything NASCAR and the fans could have ever hoped for. It was an incredible performance between Edwards and Stewart.

Drama ran high, but the man who won half of the Chase races proved without a doubt that he is a truly worthy of the 2011 Cup championship.