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INDIANAPOLIS — Just moments after Tony Stewart and his crew members scaled the fence along the front straightaway of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to celebrate his second career victory in the Brickyard 400, he put into context what this victory means.

Stewart, the 36-year-old native of the Hoosier state who grew up dreaming about competing at this famed track about 45 miles north of his home, dedicated this one to his supporters who back the sometimes volatile but exceptionally talented driver.

“This one’s for every one of those fans in the stands who pull for me every week and take all the (crap) from everyone else,” Stewart said, eliciting roaring approval from his home-track crowd while probably not considering the fact he likely will be slapped with a fine from NASCAR for using an expletive on national television.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in his rookie NASCAR Nextel Cup start here, where he won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 in his only start. Jeff Gordon was third, Kyle Busch was fourth, and pole-sitter Reed Sorenson was fifth.

Six of the last nine winners of the Brickyard 400 have gone on to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship. That includes the last two winners — Stewart and Jimmie Johnson last year. Stewart, who also won the Brickyard 400 in 2005, seems to be on one of his trademark second-half upswings. He broke his seasonlong winless streak two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway and then came off NASCAR’s off-week riding that momentum into Indianapolis.

“The pressure when we walk in that gate with the relationship Tony has had with this track makes it double of what it normally would be with anybody else,” said Greg Zipadelli, Stewart’s crew chief. “It’s absolute joy. Obviously, it’s a relief.”

The momentum of Sunday’s race was considerably challenged by the nine cautions, six of which were the product of accidents.

It was the final restart with 20 laps to go that produced some of the most competitive racing of the 400-mile race. Kevin Harvick took the lead from Stewart on that restart.

“I just went down there in (turn) one on the restart and got really, really tight for some reason, and Kevin got by us,” Stewart said.

He knew, however, that he could challenge Harvick.

“We were about the only guy who could stay with anybody who was leading,” Stewart said. “This (car) was pretty good in traffic all day, and once we got going again, we could stay right with him. I knew after 15 laps we could get a good run on him again, so we tried to be patient, and we got a run on him in one and got by him.”

With 10 laps to go, Stewart passed Harvick from the inside, but Harvick attempted to maintain position and the two briefly raced side-by-side with some contact that damaged the left front of Harvick’s car.

Stewart, who led seven times for 65 laps, never relinquished the lead.

“We had a good car,” said Harvick, who wound up seventh. “It got a little tight there at the end and wound up losing quite a few spots. It was just good racing (with Stewart) until I got the left front fender caved in. He didn’t quite give us enough room.”

This is the time of year that Stewart often seems to make his move in the Cup series. He now has back-to-back wins, and in eight of his last 11 races he has finished in the top 10.

“It just seems like a normal year,” Stewart said. “This time of year we seem to get hot. We even sit down and try to figure out what we miss in the spring. It seems like this time of year when the tracks are hot and slippery — man, I was praying for it to be hot. This place gets a different personality when it gets slick, and when it gets slick, that’s when we seem like we excel at this place.”

It is this place, this special place that means so much to Stewart. The first victory two years ago was a different animal and a way different feel. He had competed here in an Indy car in the Indy Racing League and came close to winning the Indianapolis 500. Winning that first Brickyard was more than just satisfying.

“The first one was like taking the weight of the world off your shoulders,” he said. “You grow up 45 miles from here — and I remember driving down 16th Street (next to the speedway), thinking, ‘Man, what would it be like being 150 yards from here inside running 200 mph?’ And I got to do that. And then I won here.”

Perhaps Zipadelli was correct in his assessment that winning on Sunday was a “relief.” For Stewart, it was about finally enjoying himself at the track he worships.

“It was like a life or death situation for me two years ago,” Stewart said. “Today, we’re just happy now. What helped us is not being wound up. We were just calm and just raced the race the last 10 laps.”