Car owner Joe Gibbs says he won't keep Tony Stewart from running in races other than Nextel Cup events, but Gibbs is not fond of the practice as his driver recovers from a broken shoulder blade.

Stewart's injury was discovered after he crashed in last month's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The incident happened a night after Stewart wrecked in the Busch race. A doctor cleared Stewart after the Busch incident, but Stewart favored his right shoulder before the Cup race.

Gibbs is sensitive to his Cup drivers competing in other events. Bobby Labonte broke his shoulder blade in a Busch crash at Darlington in 1999. Labonte didn't return to that series the rest of the year.

Gibbs says he's talked to Stewart about the driver's racing schedule.

"I think for younger guys that have a chance maybe to up their careers and want laps and all that, that's one set of circumstances,'' said Gibbs, who has Cup rookies Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley, both driving full time in the Busch series. "For Tony, it's different.

"He can drive anything. He doesn't need laps. I know he loves it. We did limit a lot of things he's done. He's worked with us on that. He's got a lot to lose. He's got contracts that pay him a lot of money.''

Stewart, fourth in the Cup standings, has competed in five Busch races for Kevin Harvick's team. He's scheduled to drive five more Busch races for Harvick, beginning at Daytona next month.

Stewart was uninjured when his car got upside down in April's Busch race at Talladega. He suffered sore ribs in January after he flipped a midget car in two separate incidents.

Gibbs says that once drivers begin competing for a Cup title that's where he wants his drivers spending less time in other series.

So, what happens if Hamlin, ninth in points after winning at Pocono last weekend, makes the championship chase this season? Would Gibbs pull him out of the Busch series?

"I think at some point, though, if he winds up in that top 10 this year and it looks like that that's the type of racer he's going to be, you have to have serious talks about it,'' Gibbs said.