NOT THAT EASY; Tony Stewart wins a controversial Chicagoland race.(Motorsports)(Chicagoland Speedway)

Byline: CURT CAVIN

Tony Stewart said two or three more race-winning Sundays like last weekend's at Chicagoland Speedway will relieve the stress of a frustrating season. If that happens, NASCAR might not be able to handle it.

The driver known as the Rushville Rocket created a slew of sparks in an otherwise ho-hum Tropicana 400. After banging off the lapped car of John Andretti on lap 105, Stewart bumped fellow open-wheel product Kasey Kahne into the first-turn fence on a lap-127 restart to ignite a multi-car pileup. The negative energy spread through pit road, where Kahne's team emotionally snapped.

Crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr. traveled 15 pit boxes to have a face-to-face "discussion'' with Stewart's Greg Zipadelli. The meeting escalated into a scrum as crew members from both sides became entangled in a confusing mess of bodies. Stewart's car chief, Scott Diehl, suffered a cut elbow at the bottom of the pile. Baldwin was taken to NASCAR's portable headquarters for what surely was a scolding, and a penalty is expected from Daytona Beach this week.

Ray Evernham, Kahne's team owner who epitomized class in winning three championships with Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, said Stewart needs to be dealt with on a firm level. Evernham reminded anyone who would listen that the 2002 series champion intentionally spun Kahne out of the Darlington race in March. While Stewart might not have knocked Kahne out on purpose this time, the combination of do-as-I-want actions by Stewart requires attention more severe than the 25 points and $50,000 he was fined for accosting Brian Vickers following the road-course race at Sonoma.

"He definitely needs to get suspended, and he should have his ass beat,'' Evernham said. "That's the problem with him. Nobody has ever really grabbed him and given him a good beating. If he doesn't get suspended, maybe I'll do that.

"I just can't believe that nothing has been done about it. Does someone have to get hurt? Is that what it's going to take?''