"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."

I don’t believe this was his examining stats. I believe this is Martin’s evaluation of him looking out the windshield of a car; race after race. Grinding it out against a fellow compeditor. This in my mind makes it more credible than any armchair driver with an internet connection and some web space. (Hey, who's he talking about!)

How many people on the planet are qualified to make this type of observation? Who’s been a full time driver since 1999, and raced every race since then? Only 12 drivers would fill this description. These are the only ones who can make this type of observation. If the compliment coming from Mark wasn’t big enough, he being one of the most experienced of the 12 has to make it even better. This should be right up there with Tony's win at the Brickyard and his second championship, and I think he'd agree.