Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart said he came to Fort Wayne to “play,” and by play he meant win.

Stewart made it three-in-a-row Friday, winning his third-consecutive 60-lap feature in the 11th annual “Rumble in Fort Wayne” indoor “Rumble Series” race in the Expo Center at Memorial Coliseum.

But somebody forgot to tell Stewart this one wasn't going to be an actual rumble, and he didn't pull his punches.

“It was my fault for screwing Lou (Cicconi Jr) up,” Stewart said after the race. “I wanted to get into him, but not that much. I made that mistake, so this was probably Lou's win. I kind of stole it away from him there.

“I wasn't trying to screw him up. I wanted him to know that I was putting the pressure on him to try to get him to make a mistake. I just got into him too hard.”

Seventeen laps into the feature race, Stewart had moved from seventh into second place, tailing Cicconi, who took the lead after pole sitter Dave Darland crashed into Mike Fedorcak of Roanoke.

Stewart made a break for the lead on Lap 21, nudging Cicconi from behind causing him to spin out as the pair headed into turn No. 4. Cicconi continued the race, but later dropped out with oil-pressure concerns.

“He just hit me and spun me out,” Cicconi said, chuckling. “It was a hit with love. We've been through this a hundred times. It's no big deal.”

After failing to make the feature event in the first heat race, Stewart's crew made adjustments to the car. Stewart had to secure his spot in the feature by winning a consolation heat. Stewart then watched as teammate Fedorcak also got in by winning another consolation heat.

Despite a broken bone in his hand, a week he'd soon like to forget and being forced to battle through a couple of crashes and spinouts, Fedorcak raced to a third-place finish.

“It's been a rough week,” Fedorcak said. “Tonight, things went normal. We're always trying to sort the car out, make it go faster and maybe relay those tips to Tony (Stewart).

“I don't know that anything I told him helped him or anything he told me helped me, but as a team we worked pretty good together. No way was I as fast as he was.”

Tim Jedrzejek finished second, while Charlie Schultz and Tom Schnable rounded out the top five. Fort Wayne racer Geoff Kaiser - who beat Munchkin chassis drivers Stewart and Fedorcak in the first heat - finished seventh.

One local racer took the top prize in a feature event when John Hawley of Leo turned in a first-place performance in the Junior Caged Karts division.

Stewart first began racing in the annual Fort Wayne event in 1999 and has now won seven feature races since then and six of the last nine.

With his new duties as a team owner in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, putting everything together for both himself and driver Ryan Newman, Stewart's schedule doesn't allow for much playtime.

So he'll take these wins when he can, even if he gives someone a little love tap on the way.