Associated Press | File

Tony Stewart and the No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet team (bottom) are fifth in the Chase standings. Stewart is in his first season as a car owner/driver.

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Tony Stewart won't win the Sprint Cup title this season.

Then again few thought he would at the beginning of the season, as he moved to a new team but showed its strength by leading the points for part of the season.

As the year comes to a close, Stewart reflected upon what he and teammate Ryan Newman have done for Stewart-Haas Racing this year.

"I think it's hard to be disappointed no matter where we end up," said Stewart, who is fifth in the Chase with Newman ninth entering today's Checker O'Reilly's Auto Parts 500. "Just by getting two cars in the Chase and winning the races we've won this year exceeded more than what any of [the media] could have anticipated and we could have anticipated we were able to do. So to be able to accomplish this goal has been an awesome year for us."

Stewart led in the point standings for 13 races. He lost his advantage when the points were reset at the start of the Chase.

"We knew that's what the situation was," said Stewart of losing the lead because he had fewer wins, thus bonus points, than Mark Martin entering the Chase. "We're not disappointed because of that. It just shows that we still have work to do."

Staying put

TRG Motorsports announced Saturday that Bobby Labonte will run for the team fulltime next year with TaxSlayer.com serving as a primary sponsor in a select number of races. Crew chief Richard Labbe also will return.

For Labonte, it will make for a peaceful offseason. Last year, his ride disappeared in December when Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Labonte got his 2009 ride in January.

The team has about 20 employees and plans to hire a few after the season ends when some teams are expected to lay off some crew members.

"There are going to be some big layoffs," car owner Kevin Buckler said in reference to the sport. "In some ways, there's going to be some blood in the streets. To nobody's fault, there's just a lot of economic situations. It's been tough on a lot of the teams."

Multiple of deals

Michael Waltrip Racing had several announcements Saturday.

The team has extended its agreement with Toyota through 2012.

Also, Waltrip's team has partnered with the principles of Diamond Ridge Motorsports to form Diamond-Waltrip Racing to field a fulltime entry for Trevor Bayne in the Nationwide series for next season. Waltrip plans to run Bayne in seven Cup races in 2011 with plans to run him fulltime in the series in 2012.

Waltrip also announced that Best Western will serve as a primary sponsor on David Reutimann's car at Phoenix in the spring. It will be an associate sponsor in the other races.

Pit stops

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in Saturday's final practice session with a lap of 132.348 mph. He was followed by Mark Martin (132.275 mph), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (132.018) and pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. (131.878). ... Stewart-Haas Racing announced a two-year partnership with Tornados, a brand of Ruiz Foods. It will serve as the primary sponsor for Ryan Newman's car for five races next season.