CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Stewart picked “idiot” as his word of the week at Chicagoland Speedway, where he used it to describe some of his rival racers and, kind of, himself.

The two-time NASCAR champion went into the first round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship certain that only seven drivers could contend for the title this year. The way Stewart figured it, he was among the five drivers who had no shot at winning the Chase.

Asked what would happen if he actually did win the title, Stewart confidently said, “I’ll declare I’m a total bumbling idiot.”

It seems now as if Smoke might have been sandbagging just a little bit.

Stewart picked up his first win of the season Monday at Chicagoland. The victory snapped a 32-race losing streak, extended his record to 13 consecutive years with at least one win, and, most important, rocketed him seven spots in the standings to second.

He goes to New Hampshire this weekend for Round 2 of the Chase trailing leader Kevin Harvick by seven points.