There is no doubt Tony Stewart believes he can win any time he climbs into a car. Getting ready to make his first start for his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing, the two-time Cup Series champion knows things will not be easy. However, the competition, fans and media alike expect Stewart to be as competitive as ever.

Beginning his venture as an owner/driver, Stewart has spent the off-season putting the proper people in place to make his new organization run as smoothly as possible. With a teammate like Ryan Newman, crew chiefs on board like Darian Grubb and Tony Gibson and sponsors like Office Depot, Old Spice and the U.S. Army on board, expectations are high for the two-time champ.

"It's very humbling," Stewart said of the confidence people have in him this year. "I don't know what to expect. That's not the first time I've heard that. It's been a very humbling experience knowing that the guys we're racing with consider us ready to go and ready for us to be a contender with them."

Stewart will get his first chance to prove his everyone right during this Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout. Hitting the track for the first time this season, Stewart expects to shake out the car during Friday's practice session and will be ready to go once the green flag drops.

While making the Shootout is an opportunity to start the year off on a good note - much like Dale Earnhardt Jr. did in his first race with Hendrick Motorsports last year - for Stewart the most important thing is working on the team chemistry during race conditions.

"It's two more days that Darian and I get to spend with each other before we get to practice on Wednesday, so it's really big for us," Stewart explained. "It's not two days of testing. I would much rather trade and get these two days of Shootout practice and the Shootout versus three days of testing down here. That's going to be a lot more valuable to us."

There has been a lot of talk this off-season whether Stewart will be able to handle the responsibilities of fulfilling the dual role of owner and driver.  Known in the past for his short temper and speak-before-thinking attitude, the 37-year-old Indiana-native knows he has a lot on his plate but is ready for the challenge.

"Obviously there are nights when you go, can I handle this?" Stewart admitted Thursday. "But there's never been a moment where I second-guessed my decision. I've always been one of those guys that when I've made a decision, I've put myself at rest with that and gotten through that.

Stewart made it clear that once at the track, his owner hat was off and the helmet was on all weekend. "There was never a part of the process where I thought, well, this might take away from being a driver," Stewart went on to say. "I think the majority of that is because I know that on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that's all I am, is a driver. I'm sticking to my guns on that. That's what I do on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I drive the race car. Darian is my boss. Darian and Bobby (Hutchens) and Tony Gibson are my bosses on the weekend. Those are the people I work for. And then Monday morning, we go back and work as a team together and figure out what we need to do better."

Expectations are high for this new team and for Stewart as a driver. Whether both owner, driver and team will be able to live up to these expectations are something everyone in the sport of NASCAR will be keeping a close eye on throughout the entire season. However, the focus right now for this new combination is Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout.