Homestead, Fla. ? Tony Stewart has two championships and a spot in NASCAR history. Both pale in comparison to what he treasures most: earning the respect of his team and colleagues.

“It’s nice that they don’t have to talk about my behavior anymore,” Stewart said. “That’s the biggest honor you can have, for the guys you race with to give you that kind of compliment.”

Smooth and steady for an entire race. An entire season. An entire championship run.

That’s the formula Stewart used to win his second NASCAR championship in four years Sunday, capping an uncharacteristically calm season for the former Bad Boy. He won races, kept his temper in check and avoided every major incident long enough to cement himself as one of the greatest drivers of his time.

Needing only to run clean at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he hovered just outside the top 10 and away from any potential danger. Stewart ended up 15th, winning the title by 35 points over Greg Biffle, who won the Ford 400 for the second straight year by besting teammate Mark Martin in a door-to-door finish.

Stewart became just the 14th driver in NASCAR history with more than one championship and joined four-time winner Jeff Gordon as the only active full-time drivers with multiple titles.

“I don’t believe the trophy makes the man,” said Mark Martin. “Tony Stewart, in my eyes, is the greatest race-car driver I’ve watched drive in this era. A.J. Foyt might have been that when I was a little boy, but Tony Stewart is my driving hero.”

For Stewart, it was the perfect finale to what has been a perfect season both on and off the track.

He had a tortured run to the title in 2002, punching a photographer the lowest point of a roller-coaster season pocked by bad behavior and blowups. So he’ll treasure this title, a gift to the team that stuck with him through thick and thin.

“I put the team through a lot of hell ever since I’ve been with them but they never gave up on me,” Stewart said. “Zippy didn’t want to win it the way we did in 2002. It was nice to do it and do it right.”