LOUDON - His abilities as a driver are beyond reproach, represented by a pair of Sprint Cup titles. His credentials as an owner are being established this season, when he's taken his fledgling team to the top of the point standings.

But early in yesterday's practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart had a chance to

show off two more of his talents: Mechanic. And tire changer.

Just 29 laps into the afternoon Cup session, Stewart lost control of the No. 14 Chevy, slid up the track and slammed his rear end into the wall. He kept the car clean enough to drive it back to the garage, though by the time he got back to his stall the Office Depot team had already begun unloading the backup Impala from its perch in the hauler. And that's when Stewart put his other skills to use.

While a few teammates tended to the wrecked ride, Stewart helped the others get the fresh car race-ready. First he stuck his head under the hood and got his hands a little greasy, then he grabbed a tool and took off the right rear tire.

About 40 minutes later the car was back on the track, and just three laps into his second try, Stewart turned the 1.058-mile oval faster than he had during any trip earlier in the run.

By itself, that circuit wasn't all that impressive. Averaging 127.316 mph, only a handful of the 46 cars were slower. But by tomorrow afternoon, it might be seen as another brilliant illustration of the powerhouse being built at Stewart-Haas Racing.

"The good thing, and the comforting part of the situation was that we've got a group of guys that I have the utmost confidence (in)," Stewart said, "that can recover from this and get a backup car out and get it ready, go out and finish the session, and finish competitive."

Stewart is convinced that competitiveness will carry over into tomorrow's Lenox Industrial Tools 301, and, if it does, it'll be because of the recovery executed in the garage yesterday. And, in turn, because of the quality outfit he has assembled in his first season as an owner in the Cup series.

NASCAR is not supposed to be easy. Particularly not for a brand new team, built from scratch with bodies pulled in from an array of organizations. But Stewart has certainly made it seem that way over the year's first 16 races.

Already having under his belt the circuit's first win for an owner/driver in more than a decade, he's also placed as a top-five car in half the series stops, and ranked among the top 10 at 12 events. That's more than any other driver, and as a result his 8.4 average finish is easily the best on tour.

More impressively - and importantly - he's surged to the top of the Cup Series standings, wedging 84 points between himself and second-place Jeff Gordon. He's also got a gap of 450 points between himself and 13th-place Kasey Kahne, meaning he's a virtual lock for a spot in NASCAR's playoff Chase - something that wasn't always automatic in his days at Joe Gibbs Racing, and was certainly no given when Stewart announced he was branching off.

Stewart-Haas's second team is enjoying unexpected success as well, with pilot Ryan Newman saying his sixth-place standing is a credit to the better-than-expected business prowess of his owner/teammate. Having wrestled a win away from Stewart at NHMS in 2005, Newman is among the many who can vouch first-hand for Stewart's ferocity on a racetrack, but Newman said he's been impressed by the things he didn't know about Tony the Tiger off the track.

"I never realized how in depth and in tune Tony was with the business world from just the situations that we deal with, how personal he is with the sponsors," Newman said. "There's definitely a softer side of Tony Stewart than what most people get to see on TV."

But there's still the competitive, sarcastic, confident side that's made him one of the dominant drivers of this decade. Yesterday a reporter asked Stewart if he was scared of Jimmie Johnson looming in third place despite having yet to hit his stride this season. His answer was classic Stewart.

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