INDIANAPOLIS - Tony Stewart lined up on his knees, flanked by his mother, father and sister, all of them eager to finally kiss the Yard of Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Holding hands, the family leaned over together for the kiss, celebrating the years of sacrifice it took Stewart to get here.

It felt perfect. Just like being home.

Stewart ended nine years of frustration and heartbreak Sunday by winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, filling a hole in his trophy case he’d left empty since he began go-karting as an 8-year-old growing up in Indiana.

“This is one of those days that I don’t want to end. I don’t want to see the sun set. This is a day I want to stretch as long as I can,” he said. “This is definitely the greatest day of my life, professionally and personally.

“I don’t even know what to say. Since I was a little kid I’ve always just wanted to compete at the Brickyard.”

Sure, this isn’t the Indianapolis 500, the crown jewel event that Stewart begged his parents to take him to every May. But he tried to win that race five different times, only to be taunted and teased by the track over and over again.

Now concentrating on his NASCAR career, Stewart never felt like a stock-car win at Indy would be a cheap replacement. He didn’t care what he was driving — he just wanted to win.

“You dream about something for so long, you become consumed by it,” Stewart said.

It took moving home to the tiny three-bedroom house he was raised in Columbus, a 45-minute drive outside of Indy, to make the win happen. Suddenly, Tony the Terrible — the nickname he’d earned after dozens of tantrums and tussles as NASCAR’s reigning Bad Boy — was softening.

Leaving Charlotte, N.C., a fishbowl for NASCAR’s stars, and going home again started what’s been a yearlong personality transformation for Stewart.

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Stewart surrounded himself with his childhood friends and blended into the community. He bowls on the weeknights, stops for beers at the Moose and Eagles Lodges and grabs free milkshakes at Dairy Queen.

He walks his neighbors dog, has keys to their homes, and goes out of his way to lending a helping hand.