Stewart sure to give credit where it's due after win

CONCORD, N.C. -- Make no mistake about it. Tony Stewart planned on partying hardy following his Saturday night win in the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Night of firsts

Tony Stewart's first victory in his own car will net him $1 million. Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with two laps remaining and won the Sprint All-Star Race.

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• Video: Final Laps
• Video: Victory Lane
• Press Pass: Stewart
• Race Rewind: All-Star

"I don't know if I'll even be conscious [Sunday]," he said shortly after winning the race and the $1 million that came with it for the first time in his career. "We might set an over/under [bet] and see what time I actually wake up -- and you guys [in the media] might want to start a second pool and see what time I actually climb out of bed."

Although this was the first time he had won the All-Star event, it's not like Stewart has been a stranger to Victory Lane. He entered this season, his 11th in Cup racing, was 33 career victories.

But all of those came in points races. And more significantly, all of those came while Stewart was driving a car owned by someone else. This was his first win as owner-driver.

Everyone has been surprised with how consistently competitive Stewart has been in his No. 14 Chevrolet during the early portion of this inaugural season for Stewart-Haas Racing, including Stewart. He said so many times prior to Saturday's strike of the proverbial lightning bolt, when he passed Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford with a lap and a half to go and sailed to a victory that perhaps means more than all the rest.

At the very least, it means more than most of the rest because he did it not only for himself but also for all the loyal employees who now call him boss -- and for the man who consented to giving him half the company and nearly complete control over it last year.

That would be Gene Haas, who was in prison at the time serving a sentence for a tax evasion conviction. Haas earned an early release just last week and on Saturday attended his first race since then, witnessing first-hand the magical transformation of his race organization that has taken place seemingly overnight under Stewart's savvy guidance. (Continued)