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Tony Stewart vowed to enjoy his final Sprint Cup season, and running well over the last eight races has helped.But Stewart also found, and not to his surprise, what Jeff Gordon realized during his final full season a year ago: NASCAR Sprint Cup racing is just too intense and too demanding to have fun throughout the experience.Its work now and retirement when its over. Stewart will have to thrive and revel in the pressure of Sprint Cup racing for 14 more weeks before he hangs up his Sprint Cup driver suit.It is a tradeoff, says the three-time Sprint Cup champion. Its one of the most competitive forms of motorsports in the world right now, and because it is, is why its not necessarily fun all the time.Its work and its a lot of stress and its a lot of hours. I spend more time looking at data than I ever have.At least the work appears be paying off. Stewart has four top-5 finishes in his last five races and six top-10 finishes in his last eight. His last two events, fifth-place runs at Pocono and Watkins Glen, were races where it could easily be argued he had more of a 10th-place car than a fifth-place car, but worked strategically to get the higher finish.It also has some looking at Stewart as the guy who won the 2011 Sprint Cup title with an incredible Chase, where he won five of the final 10 races.Im not sure were ready to rip off five wins in 10 races, but the confidence that we have and the demeanor of everybody on the team is definitely the same right now [as in 2011], Stewart said.Stewart hasnt led enough laps yet to be considered a full-bore championship contender. He led 22 laps at Sonoma, but those laps and one lap at Daytona are all he has led in the last 11 races. Thats not necessarily championship-caliber performance, but it is a performance that would keep a driver in the championship hunt likely until at least the third round.I still think were a little bit short of where we need to be, Stewart said prior to the race at Watkins Glen last week. Were gaining on it. We have got to get to where [teammate] Kevin [Harvick] is to have a shot at it. ... Whether we are going to be a championship contender or not, I want to be running good each week.Weve got that on our side. Everybody is relaxed and everybody is having fun. Thats what I want this last year.Stewart hasnt really thought about the Chase yet for two reasons -- four races still remain (starting with the Aug. 20 race at Bristol), and he doesnt see the use of filling his mind with strategy for his first appearance in an elimination Chase.[The format] doesnt matter - if you go out there and win races, the rest of it takes care of itself -- the same as it did 18 years ago when I came into this series, Stewart said.In other words, Stewart will gear up toward his last Chase the same way he has in the past -- he will focus on getting the best finish possible and continue to do things his way. That will include going off to races at dirt tracks and other facilities holding events where his sprint-car teams or the sprint-car series he owns are competing.Stewart points to finishing second at New Hampshire last month after returning from Eldora Speedway in the wee hours of the morning as a sign he can continue the schedule that leaves crew chief Mike Bugarewicz to handle figuring out the setup and Stewart available by text while having fun somewhere else.Being able to do go do those things, if we were having a bad weekend, it got my mind off it, it helped keep me level, Stewart said. Instead of sitting in the motorhome, and sitting there trying to get a Ouija board out and trying to figure out the magic setup was for the next day, I would go somewhere else and get the mind off of it.The best thing I can do is go keep myself busy. When I can do that, it seems to work better for me. ... Its not the sleep I need. Its the clear mind I need. I can stay up like a rockstar still and Im not sure the rest of these kids can.Keeping that clear mind also requires Stewart to not focus on his last race at the tracks the remainder of the season. He knows he will return at least as an owner, so its not like he wont drive through the tunnel in the future.I try to downplay it in my mind, Stewart said. I want to focus on what Im doing for the weekend. The nostalgia stuff, you think about it after the event is over.After Indy [last month], I thought about what Indy meant. I didnt think about it all weekend. I thought about what I could do to win the race. You stick to your guns with what you do. You stay in race mode. When the weekend is over and the race mode is over, then you think about all the other things.Like what he needs to do to prepare for the Chase...[Were] still just trying to find a little more speed, and we just keep building on what weve been building on up until this point -- I dont think were looking for big magic right now, Stewart said. Its just to keep the same progress going and keep going down that path and making it better and better.I sleep a lot better during the weekends. Theres been nights before the race that I felt like we were a 15th-place car and that we were going to struggle, and then we found a way to pull something out of it at the end. And thats what it takes.Marco Fabian Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Yasser Corona Mexico Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/isaac-brizuela-mexico-jersey/ . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Jesus Duenas Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Andres Guardado Mexico Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006.The St. Louis Cardinals continue at the top of the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are gaining steam, ranked a season-high third, after being ranked as low as 25th three months ago. Los Angeles has a 2.61 ERA in July, leading baseball, and their offence is obviously much better now that they have SS Hanley Ramirez and OF Yasiel Puig in the lineup every day. The Seattle Mariners, 10-3 in their last 13 games, have started to put together a batting order as they add young players to their roster. In the month of July, their .789 OPS ranked third and helped the Mariners move from 22 to 16. A six-game winning streak lifted the Kansas City Royals back to .500 and they jumped from 23 to 18 in the rankings as a result. Going the other way, the Atlanta Braves fell from nine to 13, laargely because they lost starting pitcher Tim Hudson to a broken ankle, but if Brandon Beachy can return in form, the Braves could bounce back quickly in the rankings.dddddddddddd The Toronto Blue Jays peaked at No. 14 a little over a month ago, but their descent continues, down to 22 from 18. Times are tough in Philadelphia, where the Phillies have lost eight straight and their best hitter, Domonic Brown is on the disabled list with a concussion. Throw it all together and the Phillies fall from 15 to 23. The L.A. Angels of Anaheim lost first baseman Albert Pujols for the rest of the season and sunk from 19 to 25. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '