Three races into his first season as a owner/driver and Tony Stewart is exceeding the expectations of many. While many predicted this team would struggle out of the gate, Stewart and his No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice team have run well at each of the first three events and sits comfortably in the top-10 in the series standings.

"There's still question marks I'm sure with a lot of people, 'Can we do this?' and three weeks in a row we've gone out and run well," Stewart noted. "We didn't get the physical finish at Las Vegas that we deserved, but we had a good performance on the racetrack. Every weekend I've had cars that I've been extremely comfortable in. That's half the battle. That's half the worry you have as a driver when you get into a new program. It's, 'How is this package compared to what I've been driving?' and I've been very, very happy with that. The pit stops have been good. All the variables and pieces are there, if we get a little luck on our side, we're going to nail one of these down. Every time I leave the racetrack, it just gives me confidence that we're going to be something to contend with at the end of the year."

Two eighth-place finishes at Daytona and Fontana took the two-time Cup Series champion as high as third in points, but a loose wheel and a 26th-place finish in Las Vegas dropped him back to eighth heading to Atlanta.

With two wins, eight top-5s and twelve top-10s at the 1.5-mile high-banked oval, Stewart heads into this weekend's Kobalt Tools 500 looking to break into victory lane for the first time in his own ride. Fast speeds, high banks and multi-groove  racing has catered to Stewart's style of driving. The driver they call 'Smoke' has one win, three top-5s and six top-10s in the last seven March events, including a runner-up finish in last year's event.

"The neat thing is that the times fall off so guys move around on the racetrack more," Stewart said of the Atlanta Motor Speedway. "Everybody starts at the bottom, and the fast guys normally end up right around the wall midway through a run.That is something that is different than Charlotte and some of the other tracks on the circuit. I like having the flexibility to be able to move around. I know that if my car isn't driving all that well in a particular spot that I have the flexibility as a driver to move around on the racetrack. You can make a difference. It's like Michigan where you can move around and help yourself as a driver, versus being committed and whatever you've got, you've got. It does make you feel better as a driver to know you have that flexibility."

Flexibility has been key to Stewart's success so far in 2009 both on and off the track. Balancing the duel role of owner/driver, the 38-year-old was put to the test early when teammate Ryan Newman struggled with problem after problem in Daytona. Handling himself much better than perhaps at any other point in his career, Stewart understands his role as owner carries a lot more weight.

"I think it's probably calmed me down a little bit from the standpoint that there's 150 people at the shop that I'm responsible for and it's not only them," Stewart pointed out. "It's their spouses, their girlfriends, their children, so that number easily turns into 450. Everything that you do you try to keep in mind how it's going to affect yourself, but how it also affects the other people in your organization."

Only three races into the season and things seem to be on the up for this first-year organization. A strong leader in Stewart and hard-working people behind the scenes have led to this team's early success in 2009.