Of course, one can’t simply rank the success of a season on wins alone (Matt Kenseth, for instance). Stewart is seventh in points, 10 behind Jeff Gordon. Those two are the highest-ranked drivers without a victory this season. Stewart has 130 points on 13th-place Clint Bowyer, so Stewart is in no immediate danger of missing the Chase. And he’s coming off of two straight seconds, at Pocono and Watkins Glen.

Yet something seems amiss.

It’s not a question of talent. We’ve long advocated that he is among the elite class of drivers in any series, and such distinctions don’t lose their luster in less than a year. It shouldn’t be a question of age, when drivers his age (37) and older have and continue to win and compete for titles.

Perhaps the search for a new home in 2009 took more focus than anyone realized. And, as we’ve said before, we dispute Stewart’s characterization that any distractions were media-created; we weren’t the ones who decided it would be a good idea for him to get into team ownership.

It took a toll, certainly. But unless you get an honest answer from Stewart, crew chief Greg Zipadelli or one of the team members, we’ll never know how much.

Was it, as some wrote, that Stewart has relinquished his top-dog status at Gibbs? Kyle Busch’s emergence has been the story of the year across the Cup series. Think about it: A year ago, the idea of Stewart losing to Busch at Watkins Glen by two seconds would be preposterous. Since 2002, Stewart’s worst finish at the Glen was 11th; every other race was either first or second.

There just seems to be a swagger missing from Stewart and his team. Don’t confuse that with a loss of confidence — he’s still running better than many other drivers — but that invincibility cloak seems to have cracked, if only slightly.

He’s never won fewer than two races in any of his Cup seasons. But the clock is quickly running out on this one.

(Photo by Russ Hamilton/Associated Press)