HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Joe Gibbs has to start working on his right hand now.

After all, the primary owner of the newest Winston Cup championship team now owns five major championship rings -- one for each finger on his left hand -- from his nearly four decade career of coaching football and being a NASCAR team owner.

The first three of those rings came from Gibbs' leading the Washington Redskins to Super Bowl triumphs, while the other two are from winning the Winston Cup title in 2000 with Bobby Labonte, and the latest addition to his jewelry collection coming in Sunday's Ford 400 as Tony Stewart clinched his first career Winston Cup championship.

Since he formed his first Cup team in 1992, campaigning Dale Jarrett for the first three years (finished 19th, ninth and 16th respectively) of his organization -- or "team" as Gibbs is fond of saying -- Gibbs methodically went about building one championship team with Labonte's side of the operation, and then came back two years later with a much more difficult yet equally satisfying triumph with Stewart's team.

Gibbs is the backbone of the organization, not only because his name is on the building, he pays the bills and signs the checks, it's also how he manages to find and meld personalities and characters together into winning units. It took him a brief four-year run to take Stewart to the top, while needing six seasons to engineer Labonte to the championship. It is that skill -- some people call it an uncanny knack -- of being able to effectively manage people and put the right people in the right positions that has brought Gibbs two Cup titles in the three-year span … and with the promise of many more to come in the future.

"You've got a friendship, a partnership where you've actually agreed to stake your careers on each other," Gibbs said of how he built his relationship with Stewart. "I have a role and Tony has a role. My role is over there, I'm not the technical guy like Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) is, or Tony's role as a driver. Mine is more looking out for everybody that works at Joe Gibbs Racing, all 200 people. I think there's a certain responsibility there. I look at that a lot. I'm focused on that while Tony is focused on the car and the race."

Gibbs learned his so-called "people skills" first in college and then professional coaching. While much has been said and written about his almost fanatical approach to his work on and off the gridiron -- routinely putting in 100 hours or more per week while he was an NFL head coach -- Gibbs' biggest strength is finding and cashing in on a person's strength.

	Stewart, left, gave Gibbs his second Winston Cup championship.

"A guy may not be the best jack man or tire changer, but maybe he's a better gas can man or fits one particular role better than another," Gibbs said. "It's all a matter of putting the best people in their best positions, where they excel the most and you give them the opportunity to excel. I just give them the ball, and let them run with it."

It's exactly that same philosophy that was the backbone of Stewart's pursuit and eventual bagging of this year's championship. He started the season with an extremely disappointing early exit (due to a blown engine) after just two laps in the season-opening Daytona 500, one that practically gave Gibbs apoplexy, while Stewart remained calm and focused.

"I have to tell you, I was about as low as I've ever been, and I thought we had one of the great cars at Daytona," Gibbs said after Sunday's race. "I thought Tony was going to have a chance to win that race, we all did, and then to blow that thing up on the third lap. I remember I was expecting (Stewart) to be real upset. Instead, he turned around kind of calm and says, 'We're going to still win this (championship).' With that attitude, we overcame a lot. I'm not glad it's over. Someone once said the thrill is getting there. It's not as much having won it, it's all the things you go through to get to the championship. That's what you remember."

There were other difficulties as the 36-race season wore on that might have destroyed any other team, most notably Stewart's highly publicized run-in with a photographer in Indianapolis at the Brickyard 400 and the resulting $60,000 in fines and double probation from both NASCAR and an even more stringent action by the team's primary sponsor, Home Depot.

Yet, Gibbs approached Stewart's struggles much like the way he did when the Redskins faltered: He never lost faith and led by example, knowing that if he showed he still fully believed in his players and team, they'd return that belief with unwavering and unfaltering execution.

	“	The thing that amazes me so much about championship runs in pro sports, at least the two I've been in, is how hard they are and how different they are. And one year doesn't buy you the next, obviously. ... You've got to earn it each and every single year. What's always impressed me is how dramatically different every year is. (Stewart's) team had to overcome a lot of tough things. ”
		— Gibbs

"One of the things about this sport, when you compare the two (football and racing), is the most you have to go is 21 weeks in the NFL," Gibbs said. "This is 36 grinding weeks, Thursday through Sunday, so many different kinds of tracks. So, my hat's off to the guys, especially Zip's (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) group, and Tony will be the first to tell you that these two guys have formed a great partnership. They've got a unique relationship and great chemistry. So, to me, I get a big kick out of seeing people enjoy championships, just like on the football side, but with a whole new set of characters."

Like Stewart, who doesn't even get a chance to fully enjoy his championship just yet -- he begins testing for next season on Monday -- Gibbs is already eager to put his entire operation to the test in 2003, to have Stewart repeat as Winston Cup champ and to see a resurgence in Labonte's team after this season's disappointing 16th-place showing in the final season standings, 990 points behind his title-winning teammate.

"The thing that amazes me so much about championship runs in pro sports, at least the two I've been in, is how hard they are and how different they are," Gibbs said. "And one year doesn't buy you the next, obviously. We have Bobby as a perfect example. He wins the championship in 2000 and this year we're back in the pack. So, I love that about pro sports. This year won't buy us anything next year. You've got to earn it each and every single year. What's always impressed me is how dramatically different every year is. (Stewart's) team had to overcome a lot of tough things."

When asked if Stewart's championship is sweeter than Labonte's crown two years ago, Gibbs showed why he's perhaps the most politically correct and astute owner in Winston Cup today.

"I think my wife said it best when I was asked which one is the best. She said it's like having babies, they're all special and they're all great," Gibbs said. "Bobby's (championship) was a tremendous high; this one is too. Championships to me, particularly over here, are so hard fought, they're hard to get. Each one seems to be very different. That was 2000, Jimmy (Makar), Bobby and all the characters that went with that one. This one is Zippy and Tony, and I appreciate them for that, all the people that were involved. While each championship is different, it's still all the same high, though."

As for next season, work begins today for everyone within the Gibbs organization, starting with the top man himself.

"Certainly, I think with the 20 team, we're set," Gibbs said in practically an understatement. "We know what we want and have all the people in place. I think we're going through much more of a change on the 18 side because of Jimmy (Makar) taking a new role (from crew chief to team manager for 2003). I think we'll have a lot more changes on the 18 side, so I think everybody in our organization is looking for that 18 team to get back. We feel like the 20 is capable of going back right now."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com.