MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Stewart-Haas Racing rolled off the truck in Daytona a brand new team, but six races into the season you certainly can't tell.

Driver and team co-owner Tony Stewart ran consistently within the top five Sunday at Martinsville Speedway and had nearly flawless pit stops all day en route to a third-place finish, his first top-five of the season.

“

It's not exactly where we want to be, but after six races in I'm pretty proud of where we are at.

”

TONY STEWART

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• Video: More from Stewart

Teammate Ryan Newman had a tight battle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. near the end of the Goody's Fast Relief Pain 500, but he prevailed and left with a sixth-place finish, his second top-10 of the season.

"I felt like we had an awesome day as an organization, I was really proud of our guys," Stewart said. "You know, it's coming. It just takes time. It's like we say every Monday in our competition meeting. We just got to build a database first. Once we get that established, then I think the second time we come around, we're going to be a little better yet."

When 37-year-old Stewart decided to leave Joe Gibbs Racing last season to co-own what formerly was known as Haas CNC Racing, some believed the team initially would struggle despite the Hendrick Motorsports alliance. Others believed Stewart would tolerate nothing less than immediate success.

Despite the fact the two-car team began with only one car in the top 35 in owners' points and the organization was more or less rebuilt from the inside out, Stewart-Haas is impressing higher-ups and surprising critics inside the garage.

Rick Hendrick, who provides engines and technical support for Stewart-Haas, said the team has done a "phenomenal" job.

"Darian Grubb and Bobby Hutchens have done a great job over there and I think Tony has put a lot of sweat equity into the team," Hendrick said. "I think he surprised a lot of people. I haven't been surprised because I know his dedication."

Before the season began, Stewart's No. 14 started outside the top 35, but with the champion's provisional was guaranteed a starting spot no matter what happened in qualifying. But he set a goal to compete for race wins, not just qualify. In fact, competition director Hutchens set out to win a race by this weekend in Martinsville.

Although the signature win has yet to come, Stewart has notched three top-10 finishes and is seventh in the point standings.

Balancing life as a team owner and a driver ultimately vying to make the Chase is an ongoing challenge and still new territory Stewart is conquering with each race. After Sunday's race it was unclear if Stewart the driver would be upset he didn't get the win or Stewart the team owner would be happy to have both his cars in the top six.

Stewart was feeling both sides but only after the checkered flag dropped. While racing hard behind Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, waiting for them to slip, he was completely unaware that his driver and teammate, Newman, had broken into the top 10.

“

... All the people at Stewart-Haas now is making a difference and making the cars faster."

”

RYAN NEWMAN

"I didn't know until we took the checkers," Stewart said. "I never saw him all day which was a good thing ... that meant he was still on the lead lap and still coming. On a caution every now and then I could see where he was track-position wise but I had no idea he had such a strong run there at the end.

We were more worried about ourselves at the time. It's not that you're not worried about Ryan but you've got a job to do and it takes 100 percent of your concentration."

Newman seemed to have a different car during the second half of the race and admitted there wasn't much he could do early on with his No. 39 Chevy, it was so tight.

"The guys did a good job making adjustments," Newman said. "The bottom line is we stayed headstrong and got our positioning back and got up to sixth. There at the end it came to us and we had a pretty good long-run car, too. We just made the best of it [Sunday]."

Newman said he and his team have overcome some adversity since their rough start in Daytona and better days are to come.

"The most rewarding part is just seeing it develop and watching everybody's smiles turn into grins and their grins turn into laughter and laughter turning into Victory Lane," he said. "We're not there yet but that's the ultimate goal ... all the people at Stewart-Haas now is making a difference and making the cars faster."

Relationships are growing stronger as well as the camaraderie. Stewart said the trust is only increasing between him and his crew chief, which is crucial progress for a new team.

"He is very sure of himself and sure of his decisions. It's more me being patient and sitting back and trusting him to do his job and not second-guess him," Stewart said of Grubb. "There are times when I think one thing and he is thinking something else so the good thing is being able to have that trust in him. Even though you question it you accept it and go out and feel like, 'Wow he did know my car and the way I wanted it.'"

Pleasantly surprised is one way to describe Stewart's sentiments after six races into the season, then again when he looks within his operation and the people he is surrounded by success is expected.

"If you looked at it on paper and said these are the resources, this is the equipment that we have, this is the people that we have on paper, it's supposed to work just fine," he said. "Obviously, when you get to the race track and you get the personalities involved, there are a lot of things that can be different and you realize how many good teams there really are out here.

"So, from a certain standpoint, yes, I have been surprised, but at the same time when we did our homework last year and before we made the decision to make the switch, we looked at it saying we feel that the right resources are in place to do well. I think it was just a question of how long was it going to take to gel and become successful."

The team continues to be a position to win each week and Stewart knows the consistency eventually will turn into a victory.

"We are inching up closer," he said. "It's not exactly where we want to be, but after six races in I'm pretty proud of where we are at."