There is no doubt Tony Stewart is facing an uphill battle in 2009. Shifting roles to become an owner/driver, the two-time Cup Series champion has a lot on his plate, but one of the best in the business has his back. Sitting atop Stewart's pit box for this weekend's Daytona 500 will be racing legend A.J. Foyt.

"Honestly, it has been a huge honor to have A.J. here with us. He has been a great friend for a long time," Stewart said.  "We have had a great friendship, known each other a long time. Nobody gives me a harder time than this man, but, it is all in fun. We have fun. We are glad he is here. This is obviously a huge year for us, starting this new team and having A.J. here to kick it off with us is definitely a highlight for sure. It is the icing on the cake for us."

When Stewart announced he would be moving to his own team for the 2009 season, it was also announced he would be using his hero's famous number 14, the number Foyt became synonymous with throughout his career.

"It gives me a great honor to see Tony run the No. 14," Foyt added. "Like I have told him, you are going to have bad days with that damn thing and you are going to have good days with it. All I can say about No. 14 is I have had a lot more better days than I had bad days."

While many believe Stewart will struggle to balance the dual role of owner and driver, Foyt says the advantage has is that he is in the driver's seat and has surrounded himself with the proper people to succeed.

"What I see in Tony is he calls a spade a spade and says it like it is," Foyt explained. "I think that is kind of what made AJ what he is today because I think so many people sugar coat so damn much stuff and don't really tell the fans the truth. Every time I've ever said something good or bad I meant everything and I really believed into it. That is one thing I really respect Tony for compared to a lot of the drivers over here, they sugar coat it. I don't know maybe it's good today but I think you've got to live with them decisions good or bad. I guess he's, excuse my French, been known to be an asshole."

Watching these two sit next to each other in the Daytona International Speedway Media Center, their close relationship was evident. Picking at each other about everything from weight, to wins, to just about anything, it was quite a sight to see their interaction and friendly competition.

"It is all good natured," Stewart said of the competition between the two. "Our man over here was reading off his accomplishments and I was like, 'Are you listening to this?' That is why we are sitting up here today. That is why we like to give each other a hard time; it is hard to do something that he hasn't done. When you look at all the stuff he has accomplished in his hard, it is hard to get a leg up on him in that category. No matter what, until I can win four Indy 500s, a Daytona 500 and both 24-Hour races, he is always going to have a leg up on me on that. I am not sure I will ever get caught up to it. That is one of the things that has always made me admire what he has been able to do in his career, didn't matter what he got in, he was good at it and always won. That is not a bad guy to set your standards by."

These two clearly have a close relationship that has benefited Stewart throughout his career. Stewart calls Foyt his biggest critic, but he welcomes the advice. There is probably no one better for Stewart's to have in his corner than an old friend and fierce competitor like A.J. Foyt, just don't give him a working radio. Sitting atop Stewart's pit box during the Gatorade Duels, it didn't take long for Foyt to figure out his radio did not work.

"He gave me a radio yesterday and I went to holler at him a couple times and found out the button didn't work," Foyt explained. "It was nice just sitting there and being quiet for a change, instead of raising hell."

Stewart hopes to raise a bit of hell this weekend on the track and celebrate with his old friend in victory lane on Sunday, brining him that much closer to the feats Foyt has accomplished.