DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Last night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway was the 18th race of the NASCAR season, marking the unofficial end of the 2008 Sprint Cup Series' first half.

And boy, it couldn't come quickly enough for Tony Stewart.

Sure, Stewart -- often considered a second-half racer because of his history of late-season success -- sits ninth in the points standings, prime for a solid finish at one of his favorite tracks and another run toward the Chase.

But that's not good enough for the two-time Cup champion (in 2002 and 2005). Especially considering all that's happened this year.

As in: Three races ended early by wrecks. Four finishes of 35th or worse. Continuous rumors and speculation about the status of his Joe Gibbs Racing contract, which is up after 2009 (he declined to address such talk this week).

And just when his No. 20 Toyota began to dominate -- Stewart led the most laps last week at New Hampshire -- his team was foiled by something way outside its control.

Rain.

At least it wasn't lightning.

"I'm scared to get in cars, planes, everything," said Stewart, whose rain-soaked pit strategy sank him to 13th. "I mean, I'm scared to walk through open doors, without looking before I walk through. It's the oddest year I think I've ever seen.

"I've never seen us have a string of bad luck like this."

Then again, that's the thing with luck. You can't help it. Plus, it changes.

And change is what Stewart is counting on, beginning at this season's second Daytona race. Last year, all three of his wins came in the second half. Stewart twice has won the track's July race, in 2005 and 2006. He never has won the Daytona 500, but he took the white flag this year before a late push by winner Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch dropped him to third.

Also, there's something to be said about Stewart's recent runs.

"We're getting some of that consistency back," said Stewart, who had consecutive top 10s before New Hampshire. "To have that kind of success the last couple weeks, even though we didn't finish with a win, it's at least some comfort knowing that we're getting back on track."

"We showed everybody we can still do this. It's just a matter of getting everything to fall in line again."

Stewart isn't the only top driver -- or former points champion, even -- struggling a bit this year.

Last week's winner, 2004 champion Kurt Busch, won that race on strategy and sits 18th in the standings and 222 points behind the Chase-cutoff 12th. Another champion and 2007 Chase racer, 2003 Cup winner Matt Kenseth, also is outside the top 12 (in 13th; 15 points shy of Kevin Harvick).

Even four-time champion Jeff Gordon, sixth in the standings, isn't running up to his standards (he's winless in 2008).

"I wouldn't say that we've got the confidence or the momentum that we had this time last year," said Gordon, who won six races and finished second in the standings in 2007. "But I feel like our teams are really solid. I just think that we've gotten a little bit behind versus the competition competitively."

Kyle Busch, one of Stewart's Gibbs teammates, enters the race as points leader and a five-time winner in 2008. Jeff Burton sits second, Dale Earnhardt Jr. third, Carl Edwards fourth and 2007 Cup winner Jimmie Johnson fifth.

Among them, only Earnhardt Jr. qualified in the top five on Friday, posting the third-fastest lap (at 185.437 mph). Paul Menard (185.916) took his first-career pole, while Menard's Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Mark Martin (185.870) will start on the outside of Row 1.

Stewart, meanwhile, qualified 17th, meaning strategy could play a big part as on-track passing in NASCAR's new car remains difficult.

Of course, so could luck. And for Stewart, it would be about time.

"I don't know how long it's going to last," Stewart said. "Hopefully not much longer."