Charitable Stewart named 'person of the quarter.'

Considering the response he got after winning July's Tropicana 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway, Tony Stewart has done a remarkable job of converting fans back to his side in recent months, with his efforts rewarded by being named as NASCAR's fourth quarter 'person of the year.'

While he is still regarded as one of NASCAR's bad-boys, Stewart has always maintained a large charitable streak, and his latest fund raising activities have seen him raise more than a quarter of a million dollars.

It's not often that an event can benefit so many people, but that's exactly what a benefit concert hosted by the Tony Stewart Foundation did this summer, raising over $270,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, the Easter Seals West Kentucky, the Dream Factory-Paducah Chapter and the Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Centre.

"It's an honour to be selected as the fourth-quarter winner," said Stewart of the 'USG Person of the Quarter' accolade. "This is a special award, because it's not about what you do on the race track, it's about what you do with your heart. I know that the previous winners of this award were some very deserving people, and to join them means a tremendous amount to me."

Stewart created his Foundation in 2003 to assist groups caring for chronically ill children and drivers injured in Motorsports, as well as to support other charitable organizations in the protection of animals. Other charities the Foundation supports include the Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Indiana Special Olympics, Greyrescue (Greyhound Rescue Organization) and Charlotte Metropolitan Zoo.

To determine the NASCAR USG Person of the Year Award winner, the Nextel Cup season is divided into four quarters in which drivers are nominated for their off-track efforts.

A select group of panellists chooses one of the four quarterly finalists as the NASCAR USG Person of the Year. This award will be presented the week of the annual end-of-year Awards Ceremony in New York City, along with a prize of $100,000. The prize will be divided evenly between the driver and the charity of his/her choice.

Other notable nominees were Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton. Gordon was the first quarter nominee, Elliott Sadler the second quarter nominee and Dale Jarrett was the third quarter nominee.

In addition to the Person of the Year, USG also sponsors the Driver of the Race Award, which goes to the eligible winning driver of each of the Nextel Cup Series championship events. Each USG Driver of the Race Award winner receives $2,500 with an additional $2,500 going to the charity of his/her choice.