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CONCORD — Tony Stewart's all-star victory doesn't count for anything in terms of points or records.

Yet it counts for everything.

Stewart's victory gave many team members either their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup win or first Cup win in years. That's a critical threshold for a team Stewart reshaped and hopes to lead on a title run.

Going for a championship elicits new pressures and challenges — which some of Stewart's team members have never experienced. It's one thing to have someone explain what it's like to be a title race. It's another thing to go through it.

Saturday's win is a step forward. There remains much for this group to learn and one win guarantees nothing.

Just look at Kyle Busch's team at Joe Gibbs Racing. When he arrived last year to drive for the No. 18 team, that group hadn't won a race since 2003. The team's mind-set was more toward trying to get a good finish instead of worrying about victories.

Busch's success last year changed attitudes. The team also learned that it took more than a few wins to contend for a crown when they struggled with the next hurdle, the Chase. A pair of mechanical issues in the first two races eliminated Busch's title hopes.

For as painful as that was, it should help make Busch's team stronger for this year's Chase.

Just as Saturday's win will help Stewart's team. More than half a dozen crew members have been with the organization for at least four seasons. Until Saturday, the team had never won a Cup race.

"To get them (to victory lane) for the first time, that means more than a million dollars does to me," said Stewart, referring to what he earned for the victory.

One crew member was so excited that he told the team to climb the frontstretch fence as Stewart used to do after victories at Gibbs.

Stewart, who turns 38 Wednesday, shot that plan down. Something about age and conditioning. Yet, such enthusiasm is valuable and shows this team's hunger.

"I remember what it was like when I got my first win with Jimmie (Johnson) and actually understanding then what it's all about," said crew chief Darian Grubb, who came from Hendrick Motorsports last year. "When you're sitting there, the cameras are flashing and everything else, and you realize that all that work you've put in, all the time you're away from your family, it just makes you appreciate everything so much more."

It was a moment that would not have happened had Haas-CNC officials not approached Stewart about leaving Joe Gibbs Racing — the only team Stewart had driven for in Cup. They enticed him with part ownership of a team that was, frankly, woeful.

Taking the deal was just as bold a move for Stewart. Then, he had to assemble a team, deciding who to keep and who to hire to fortify an organization that received Hendrick Motorsports chassis, engines and technical support.

Stewart's team has been strong all season, climbing to second in the points heading into this weekend's Coca-Cola 600. Always close, Stewart had yet to win this year until Saturday night after he passed Matt Kenseth with two laps to go.

"We finally got to victory lane," Grubb said. "They know it's possible. They saw what Tony can do as a driver and what we can accomplish as a team."

That's the first step toward a championship charge.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com