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For 17 years, Tony Stewart earned Sprint Cup victories, championships, respect and adoration with his passionate style of racing.

That gritty run to glory will soon end.

During a Wednesday press conference at the sprawling Stewart-Haas Racing shop in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Indiana native confirmed that he will retire from the top level of NASCAR racing after the 2016 season. Clint Bowyer has been tabbed Stewart as the driver of No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

“This is a moment every driver eventually comes to terms with, and I know this is the right decision for me,”  Stewart said. “2016 will be my last year in a Sprint Cup car, but it’s not my last year in NASCAR.”

The 44-year-old Stewart, who has 48 career wins and three Sprint Cup titles, plans to step up his role with the four-car SHR operation alongside co-owner Gene Haas.

“I love this sport and I love being a part of it. Instead of seeing me in a fire suit on Sundays, you’ll see me in a pair of jeans, and maybe even a pair of khakis,” Stewart said.

After finishing 25th in point last season, Stewart currently ranks 25th again with no top-five and just two top-10 finishes.  Stewart also suffered a broken leg in a sprint car wrecked in 2013 and was involved in the death of Kevin Ward, Jr. in a sprint car race in August of 2014.

But Stewart said his decision to retire was not prompted by his struggles on the track or by his emotions.

“Zero percent -- not 1 percent of it has anything to do with it, “Stewart said. “This is strictly what I want to do. My leg feels fine. There is nothing wrong with my leg. The tragedy, nothing is going to change that. It happened, but it's not going to direct the rest of my life.”

Stewart explained that his headline-grabbing move is simply a matter of timing.

“Deep down, you know when it's time to do something different and make a change like this,” he said. “It's kind of a bittersweet day. ... It's not performance-based, it's just time to do what we're doing.”

According to Stewart, his performance last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway offered proof that he still has the right stuff to compete on a high level. Stewart overcame a 27th place starting position and tire issues to finish 11th.

“I think our race showed that we still have that fire and that intensity,” Stewart said. “That’s probably one of the better weeks that we've had all year.  I know the potential is still there.  I know we can do it.  

“We qualify -- first guy to run 200 miles an hour at Texas Motor Speedway. If that doesn’t prove that we can still nut it up, I don't know what does.  Anybody have any questions after that, feel free to ask, but I'm pretty sure if you want to ride along on that lap at 200 miles an hour at Texas, I can ask if I've lost anything there.”

Bowyer said he jumped at the chance to replace Stewart and join his high-profile team.

“Well, anybody that's an athlete in any sport, you look at you have an opportunity to sit in one of the best rides ever in the history of the sport,” Bowyer said. “I mean, this is a champion's seat that I'm filling, so that being said, this is an unbelievable opportunity.”

For Bowyer, the versatile legacy and hardcore approach to racing has long served as motivation.

“I've lived through my whole life of Tony Stewart's brand and what that means to motorsports, and younger drivers coming up through weekly racing series all through the country,” Bowyer said. “Attaching your name to that brand and building on that, the people you can attract, just look at this powerhouse that he has helped create. And it's because of that brand of Tony Stewart and the people flock to that, whether it's employees or partners or whatever the case may be.”

Stewart also revealed Wednesday that he plans to keep racing in other forms of motorsports.

“Yeah, I'm still going to race.  I'm not retiring from racing, I'm just retiring from the Cup Series and focusing on the owner side,” Stewart said.  

As for his final season in the Sprint Cup ranks, Stewart said he will shoot for victories while maintaining his aggressive style.

“I've got two more big wins on the schedule that I want to win, and that's the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500, and I wouldn't mind adding another championship to that,” Stewart said. “We're going to continue to put all of our effort toward that. I can promise you, next year is not a coast and collect year.  It’s just the opposite because I don't have to worry about making anybody mad next year and having to deal with it in 2017.”

Stewart recorded at least one victory in each of his first 15 year on the Sprint Cup tour, but he’s currently mired in a career-long, 69-race winless streak dating back to 2013. But Stewart reiterated that his decision to step out of his familiar No. 14 Chevrolet was not dictated by outside forces.

“It was a choice that was 100 percent mine,” Stewart said “There wasn't any pressure from anybody. ... There have been more challenges in the last couple of years that have distracted from [my fun racing] a little bit, but it's still fun. If it wasn't fun, I would just walk away from it."

The current driver roster at Stewart-Haas Racing includes the combustible trio of Danica Patrick, 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.

Stewart said he looks forward to building on the legacy of the SHR operation.

“That fire is still there, and that's what makes this transition much easier for me is I'm not sitting here trying to figure out what I'm going to do and I'm not trying to find something to be competitive with,” Stewart said.

“The great thing is I think a lot of athletes and professionals get to this scenario and get to the point where they make this decision and don't really know what they're going to do with the rest of their lives. And I can say that I honestly have everything lined down and in place and it's basically doing everything I'm doing now, just not driving a Cup car.”