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But although Stewart has been in contention in several races this year, he hasn't been able to seal the deal for a victory and has been moved out of the spotlight by his two young teammates.
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Make no mistake, Stewart wants to win races and I still believe that will continue to be his number one priority in whatever future move he makes.
However, when you've been the big dog at your team for as long as Stewart's been at JGR, it can't be too pleasant to get run off the porch by young pups like Busch and Hamlin.
Gibbs' move to Toyota is another element to this story that hasn't sat well with Stewart. A staunch General Motors and Chevrolet supporter from the beginning of his career, Stewart hasn't fully embraced the change at JGR from Chevy to Toyota.
Even while the team's Camrys this year have more often than not been the cars to beat, there's no denying deep down Stewart is still wearing a Chevrolet Bowtie.
"I'm still passionate about Chevrolet," said Stewart, who powers the sprint car teams he owns with Chevy engines. "I've had a great relationship with General Motors -- obviously when I started I was with Pontiac and then we won a championship with Chevrolet in 2005.
"They are our power plants and our sponsor in the open wheel series. I still have a lot of connections there, but at the same time we've built a great relationship in a short amount of time with Toyota. It's not an issue where there's something wrong there, but I have a lot of strong ties to Chevrolet obviously."
Those comments lead many to believe Chevy could be part of any deal to lure Stewart away from Gibbs. The Haas-CNS team, which is a satellite operation of Hendrick and uses its engine program, has been rumored to be a possible suitor for Stewart with ownership stake on the table.
But with all due respect, comparing JGR to Haas is like comparing an American Idol contestant to a real singer. Even a driver with the talents of Stewart would be hard pressed to bring such a team beyond its mid-field level -- and Stewart knows it.
"I didn't say I wanted to run 15th anywhere," Stewart said. "That's why we have to do the due diligence -- we have to think about those things and we have to think about, is that something that could be a product of whatever decision we make. There's still a lot of decision making that has to happen and the due diligence is part of figuring those questions out and knowing the answers to those before we make a decision."
I believe Stewart's address will stay the same this time around and a contract extension at JGR will keep him in the fold beyond 2009. At age 37, he has a lot of years ahead of him behind the wheel and no doubt wants to spend every one of them in the best situation to win.
That will be reason enough to keep him in the No. 20 ride for the foreseeable future.
