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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When Denny Hamlin refused to quietly take teammate Tony Stewart’s criticism, it marked a rare occasion of a young driver not rolling over for the two-time NASCAR champion.

And sending word through the media that he didn’t appreciate being publicly blamed for their accident in Daytona showed that Hamlin has the confidence — or ego — to go toe-to-toe with his teammate. After all, the budding young star is the future of Joe Gibbs Racing and probably believes he’s above being bullied.

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The public sniping forced team owner Joe Gibbs to interrupt his vacation and make a pit stop in Chicago, where he gave a 30-minute lecture on playing well with others to his top two drivers.

It was a strong stand by Hamlin. A power-play of sorts.

But when it was over, Stewart took to the track to prove he’s still the star of that team.

By driving his way into Victory Lane for the first time this season, and doing it a day after being chastised by Gibbs, Stewart again showed his remarkable ability to thrive during adversity. When the going gets tough, nobody is better than Stewart at ending a controversy by stepping up on the race track.

His resume is checkered with wins that came during controversy, such as the Watkins Glen victory in 2002, which came a week after Stewart punched a photographer, and Chicago in 2004 after he wrecked Kasey Kahne, which led to a fight in the pits between their crews.

Sunday’s win at Chicagoland Speedway proved that Stewart does his best work during the most chaotic times.

“You know, there is something to be said for that,” team president J.D. Gibbs acknowledged. “Of course, with Tony there’s always a lot of chaos going on.”

Most of it self-inflicted, including this spat with Hamlin.

The two were running first and second in the early part of the Pepsi 400 at Daytona a week ago when Stewart ran into the back of Hamlin, causing both cars to crash into the wall. Stewart immediately blamed Hamlin for the accident, claiming the lead driver slowed in front of him.

That explanation was ridiculed by rival drivers, and didn’t sit well with Hamlin.

“Even if it was a situation where I had wrecked him from behind, he still probably shouldn’t have thrown me under the bus as far as he did,” Hamlin said. “He’s still the leader at Joe Gibbs Racing, without a doubt. He’s the guy who really, when I need help, I’ll still go to regardless.

“But there’s a point where being a leader doesn’t make you right.”

Perhaps that’s the message Gibbs sent after escorting Stewart into a meeting with Hamlin that caused both to miss 30 minutes of valuable practice time on Saturday. Whatever the coach said worked, because the teammates were seemingly best buddies by the time it was over.

They laughed and joked during driver introductions, with Stewart playfully putting Hamlin in a headlock in a show for the cameras. And they worked together on the race track, too, using hand signals to communicate track position.

How long the harmony lasts remains to be seen.

It’s not in Stewart’s disposition to play second fiddle to anyone, especially a 26-year-old kid with less than two Nextel Cup seasons under his belt. But as Stewart’s winless streak stretched to 20 races, and Hamlin beat him to Victory Lane this season by winning at New Hampshire earlier this month, Stewart might have felt a bit threatened.

After all, Hamlin made the Chase for the championship last season and finished third in the points. Stewart missed the Chase and wasn’t eligible to defend his 2005 title.

And, Hamlin has spent most of this season locked into second-place in the standings, while Stewart has hovered around sixth.

If Stewart is the slight bit jealous, he’d never admit it. Besides, his handling of the Daytona disaster spoke volumes.

Barring a total collapse, both will be racing for the Nextel Cup title this season and it will be interesting to watch how the two handle the competition. Because when push comes to shove, Hamlin has shown he’ll shove back.

Stewart, with two titles and 30 wins, can take it right now. He’s earned his spot atop the JGR talent pool, and cemented his position Sunday.

But if Hamlin starts creeping back into Stewart’s spotlight, Gibbs might wind up playing mediator again before the season ends.

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Earnhardt, Montoya, Busch, Stewart News

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t seem to mind that Kyle Busch rear-ended him and essentially ruined his chance to win the Samsung 500 on Sunday.

Sitting around the garage after finally giving up on repair efforts, Earnhardt was asked by a friend on Busch’s crew if he would drive Busch’s car. Turns out the crew had Busch’s car ready to go again, but couldn’t find him.

NASCAR rules permit such moves, and Earnhardt agreed. The gesture allowed Busch to finish one spot ahead of Jimmie Johnson in 37th. Earnhardt finished 36th.

Busch earned three points thanks to Earnhardt, although he did drop two spots in the points standings to seventh with 856, 280 behind leader Jeff Gordon.

“I could tell that it was a real nice car before we had the accident. Smooth steering, just smooth,” Earnhardt said.

Busch went immediately to the garage when he slammed into the back of Earnhardt, who had hit the brakes trying to avoid a spinning Tony Stewart in front of him on Lap 253.

Earnhardt made several pit stops in an effort to repair the damage during the subsequent caution, but he surrendered not long after the restart. Earnhardt said he didn’t care about the impact on the points. He dropped seven spots to 18th at 737, a whopping 399 behind Gordon.

Alan Gustafson, Busch’s crew chief, said Busch thought they weren’t planning to go back out and left the track.

“Junior didn’t hesitate and agreed, and it was a very sportsmanlike gesture,” Gustafson said. “It says a lot about Dale and the kind of person he is.”

Earnhardt led 96 laps, second to Gordon’s 173, and appeared to have the best car when the wreck knocked him out.

MONTOYA MASH: Taking out Tony Raines is one thing. Taking out Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is something else entirely.

Celebrated NASCAR rookie Juan Pablo Montoya sideswiped Stewart in Sunday’s Samsung 500, starting a chain of events that first sent Johnson to the garage and later indirectly led to Earnhardt being taken out of contention.

The trouble started on Lap 240 when Montoya, criticized for a wreck that hampered Raines’ chances in the last race at Martinsville, slid up the track and into Stewart. Johnson had no choice but to run into Stewart during the resulting skid, badly damaging his front end.

Thirteen laps later, Stewart was desperately trying to stay on the lead lap when he lost control. This Stewart skid took out Earnhardt, who slowed quickly to avoid Stewart and was rear-ended hard by Busch.

Stewart ended up two laps down and finished 25th.

Montoya, the 2000 Indy 500 champion who made the rare switch from Formula One late last season, took eighth for his third top-10 finish in seven races.

“I tried to pass him three or four times, and he never gave me room,” Montoya said. “I went in a little different and got really loose, and I don’t know what happened.”

Said Stewart, “If we’d have been the one to do that to someone else, we would be slandered in the media for life for doing it.”

STILL COOKING: Mark Martin’s racing did nothing to stop the suggestion he’s so good he simply has to get back in a car full-time.

After taking off two races and losing the points lead because of it, Martin returned and finished third. He’s been in the top 10 in all five of his races, including four top-five finishes.

Martin spent most of the race just outside the top 10, but shot up to third with a great pit stop after a caution on Lap 253. He’s 11th in points despite skipping two races.

“It’s fun to be back,” Martin said. “I wish we could have been up there with my buddies scrappin’ for it, but I’m satisfied with third.”

Martin will race in the Car of Tomorrow for the first time next weekend in Phoenix, but he’s sticking with his plan to remain semiretired.

“I chased that cup, man,” Martin said, referring to the Nextel Cup championship race. “I gave it my best. But now I’m enjoying just getting to race.”

FIRST-LAP CRASH: It wasn’t the earliest crash at Texas Motor Speedway — there was a wreck on the first turn of the first race 10 years ago — but it was a quick one. Rookie David Ragan lost control and pushed J.J. Yeley into the wall near the end of the first lap, sending both to the garage.

Ricky Rudd and Casey Mears also got caught in the mess, with the back of Rudd’s car sliding up the crumpled front of Ragan’s car as both glided across the infield grass.

Ragan eventually came back out and finished 39th, but Yeley’s day was done.

“I was on the outside, and to get taken out on the first lap is ridiculous,” said Yeley, a second-year driver who was one spot ahead of Ragan in the points standings at 18th. “There’s a little stupidity on his part.”

Ragan said he didn’t realize Yeley was right alongside him as he accelerated through Turn 4.

“I’m sorry I ruined his day and a lot of other guys,” Ragan said. “I should have just backed out of it.”

The infamous wreck on the first turn of the 1997 race took out 13 cars. It came after numerous complaints from drivers about what they considered a dangerous track, which was soon overhauled.

ROBINSON TRIBUTE: Sunday’s 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier was honored by the team for NASCAR’s No. 42 of Juan Pablo Montoya. The blue logo with Robinson’s 42 used by baseball was displayed on the right rear of Montoya’s car.

Team owner Chip Ganassi is a Pittsburgh native and former minority shareholder in baseball’s Pirates.

“It is just a small way that we can honor the legacy of a great American hero on our own No. 42 car,” Ganassi said.

Montoya is something of a trail blazer himself. The Colombian and 2000 Indy 500 winner is the only foreign-born full-time Nextel Cup driver after making the rare switch from Formula One last year.

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