Stewart 18th, but still wins point series title

Series runner-up Mark Martin made the champion work harder than expected.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Unrelenting and unrepentant, Tony Stewart is NASCAR's new champion.
Racing's bad boy -- the only driver ever to win a championship while on probation -- didn't earn the title the way he would have liked. He finished 18th Sunday in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
That was enough, though, to keep runner-up Mark Martin at bay and win the championship by 38 points.
Kurt Busch, Martin's Roush Racing teammate, came on late to win the race, but his third victory in the last five events was almost completely overshadowed by the championship battle.
The often caustic and combative Stewart was uncharacteristically emotional, dabbing at his eyes and mopping his face with a towel before finally climbing from his No. 20 Pontiac.
"We really weren't that good today," Stewart said. "We got a lap down and that was pretty discouraging. I was awful nervous when we lost that lap, so it took a little bit of the pressure off when we got back on the lead lap."
Needed only 22nd place
Stewart needed only to finish 22nd or better Sunday to clinch the title, but Martin made a contest of it, finishing fourth and forcing Stewart to race hard for all 267 laps on the 1 1/2-mile oval. It just wasn't enough.
"Those guys were just a little bit stronger than us, but what an effort," said Martin, 43, now a four-time series runner-up and never a champion. "The only regret I have is that I could have provided more leadership to this team so we could have scored an extra 100 or 150 this year somewhere along the line -- but we didn't and I couldn't."
Stewart, who had won two of three previous races here, started sixth but never contended Sunday, driving a conservative race that saw him fall a lap behind the leaders on lap 192.
He hung in and got the lap back, moving onto the tail of the lead lap by passing then-leader Dale Jarrett on lap 205. He was able to stay ahead of the lead pack and, with the help of a yellow flag on lap 227, remained on the lead lap to the end.
"We've always run so good here. That's why it was such a surprise when the car went off like it did," Stewart said. "Luckily, [crew chief Greg Zipadelli] did some aggressive changes to fix the thing. We got in the front of the pack again and were able to race the guys in the lead lap ahead of us.
"It wasn't a piece of cake by any means."
Strong season finish
Busch, who started from the pole, also finished the season on a roll, charging from 12th to third in the points over the last eight races. The 24-year-old driver, completing his second season, finished 159 points behind Stewart.
The race winner passed rookie Ryan Newman on lap 257 and pulled away to the fourth victory of his career, all this season.
Joe Nemechek finished second, followed by another Roush driver, Jeff Burton, Martin, Jeff Gordon, Newman, Bill Elliott and Jimmie Johnson.