by Tony Stewart

Updated: December 3, 2005, 8:11 PM EST

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NASCAR's Champion's Week Photo Gallery... Champion's week Video... Final stroll to victory lane Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli walk the yellow carpet en route to their final victory lane of 2005. NASCAR takes Manhattan Racing in New York City? That's right...check out Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and the other chasers as they burn rubber on Broadway. NASCAR on FOX year in review 2006 NASCAR on FOX schedule 2006 Nextel Cup champion 2006 Nextel Cup rookie 2006 Busch champion 2006 Craftsman Truck champion Surprise of 2005 Comeback of 2005 Disappointment of 2005 Rule change of 2005 Story of 2005 Race of 2005 Driver of 2005 TonyStewart.com More NASCAR

Obviously it was a great year, and I'll try to hurry this along because I notice that Jim Hunter is running out of wine over there so I know that he's going to be anxious to get out of here. And I'm sure that Helton's right behind him.

It was a great year obviously. Being able to win the Brickyard and — like I mentioned earlier — winning a race that has been a lifelong dream of mine was great. And to finally win Zippy a championship the right way, in my opinion, was something that was huge for us.

I want to thank Tim Donahue and everybody from Sprint and Nextel for all their support this year. You guys have definitely taken this sport to the next level, and we're definitely looking forward to many years further with you guys.

Also the France family. We could not do any of this without your wisdom and guidance. It's unparalleled in all of auto racing. You're definitely the wisest of the wise so we appreciate everything you guys do.

Helton, Darby: Thank you guys. I have to admit, Mike, I felt like we were separated a lot this year since I didn't come out to the trailer and visit you as much as I've been accustomed to in the past. But I'm glad we occasionally come see each other. Come back anytime? Thanks. Appreciate that.

To the NASCAR fans: You guys are a growing population across the country and probably the most dedicated group of fans in all of professional sports so we definitely could not do this without you, and none of us would want to do this without you so thank you for all your support each week.

And really the friendship with all the drivers, the owners, crew members from other teams, that's what makes this series so much fun is the camaraderie each week with all you guys. And taking Jack Roush's hat around Dover for qualifying when he guaranteed me it was going to make me go two-tenths faster, and it slowed me down two-tenths. I won't borrow the hat next year. Thanks anyway. Just the friendship with all that is something that means a lot to all of us so thank you for all that.

President George W. Bush shakes hands Tony Stewart, teammate Bobby Labonte and the rest of the 2004 Daytona 500 field behind the Home Depot No. 20 car PHOTOS: Stewart's 2004 Daytona 500 ( / Associated Press)

Bobby Labonte: Thank you so much for being such a great teammate for the last seven years of my life. You were the one that got me hired in this series and believed in me before you really knew me so thanks for everything you've done.

Mark Cronquist: Thank you and the whole engine department for everything you guys have done. That's one thing I don't worry about every Sunday is whether I've got enough power to do my job. So I appreciate all that.

Jimmy Makar: Thank you for all your support this year and great leadership with all three teams. You're doing a great job.

To my crew upstairs: We had a great meeting last fall. I think I got all the daggers out of my back, and all the stitches healed over the winter. But it was the best thing that happened to this race team. I appreciate you guys standing with me through all the thick and thin. I know I've made all your lives miserable so hopefully we'll make up for all of that in the past, and it made Joe's life so miserable that I pushed him all the way back to the NFL and got him out of NASCAR. But thank you, Joe, for everything and believing in me and staying with me through all those hard times.

J.D.: Even though you were talking about how Rick (Hendrick) got you so far in debt in the auto racing industry, if you remember right, your racing career was what got us mostly in debt with all the cars you crashed in your career. I think you have finally found your niche in this sport. You've done a great job this year. We've all believed in you, and we will always stand behind you 100 percent with whatever you want us to do. We appreciate you leadership and friendship.

Zippy: You're my best friend. You're my brother. And I finally got this one for you. This one's yours now. No matter what we do the rest of our life, I finally got you your championship so that's the most gratifying part about this year.

Check out more Michigan photos (Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images)

And my mom and dad and my sister and her family: I'm very thankful for what you guys have always given up and all the support that you've always given me. And how I thought you guys had to be probably the worst parents in the world to mortgage a house so we could go race go-karts that didn't pay anything. But I guess you guys were much smarter than I was back then and knew what you were doing.

Thank you to the Home Depot, Bob and Sue. Like Zippy and J.D. have said, you guys have not only used us a marketing tool, but you've also made us a part of your family and all 325,000 associates at Home Depot have done the same. That's a family a lot larger than the Waltons, but we definitely love everything that you guys have done. I couldn't be prouder to be associated with Home Depot, and I look forward to seven more great years with you guys.

Chevrolet: Thank you again for giving us the great race cars that we have to drive. Coca-Cola, since we won the Brickyard, that's the first thing I wanted was something to drink and sure enough, it came through the fence. Old Spice, thank you for everything you guys do. You're a great partner. Daewoo, all of our friends at the Bass Pro Shops. Johnny Morris, you're one of my best friends, and finally the season's over, we can go fishing somewhere so let's get on the water. All of our friends at Sun Trust and Goody's Headache Powder. Thank you as well as everybody at Goodyear. That car, trust me, is one of favorite awards in the two years that we've won the championship here. To see all the detail, it's probably the best award in all of motorsports.

I want to say thank you to Ricky Rudd and Rusty Wallace. Rusty, you probably said it best of all at Homestead. You really always know how to put things in the right perspective and the thing that you said that I will always take with me the rest of my racing career is that this is an honor for us to do what we do every week. Without all you people and all the fans and the car and the France family, we could not do this. And I think that probably put this whole sport in the best perspective that I've ever seen so thank you for what you're doing. I'm just curious. Are you going to grow your hair back out now that you don't have to put it in a helmet anymore? You're alright? OK. Good luck in whatever you do. I'm glad you're going to be staying involved in this series, and I look forward to you again next year. Thank you Ricky for everything that you've done and all the lessons that you've taught me a long the way.

I also want to thank Dale Beaver who was part of MRO. He's leaving at the end of the year this year. We're going to miss you, but good luck to you in your future endeavors also.

I'm looking forward to a great holiday season, and I'm looking forward to spending the night with that group of guys up there. We didn't get the chance to celebrate after the race was over at Homestead, but tonight's your night, guys, so I'm ready to get on with it. Thanks guys.

Click here for a larger image (Home Depot / TonyStewart.com)

Most dramatic moment award speech

This is pretty cool. Obviously everybody knows how much winning at the Brickyard this year meant to me.

Since I'm not married, I don't get to compliment my girlfriend or my wife on how good she looks tonight. But I get to compliment my crew chief's wife and J.D.'s wife and everybody else's wives tonight and how good all you ladies look tonight.

But this is great. To have the fans vote on this is a great honor and it's neat to know that the fans appreciate the greatest day of my life as much as I did so I appreciate it.