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Hope this hasn't already been posted.

Tony Stewart is in Bud Shootout after all

What is an all-star race without Tony Stewart? Due to an eleventh-hour modification in the Budweiser Shootout participation requirement, we will not have to find out. The Budweiser Shootout, formerly referred to as the Busch Clash, was originally designed as a pre-season all-star exhibition race featuring pole winners from the previous season, as well as past winners of the race. For the most part, the format was used from 1979 to 2008.

Last August, it was announced that the Bud Shootout would consist of the top six drivers and teams from each manufacturer. If a driver switched to a new team, or to a team that was outside of the top six for a respective manufacturer, they would be on the outside looking in regardless of what they accomplished the previous season.

That was the case for several drivers, most notably Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Clint Bowyer. Stewart left his cozy seat at Joe Gibbs Racing to delve into his own endeavor, which involves revamping the also-ran Haas CNC Racing, now Stewart Haas Racing. Newman left his Daytona 500 winning ride at Penske Racing to join Stewart in this endeavor. Therefore, NASCAR's best qualifier of our generation will not compete in the race that formerly rewarded pole winners.

Bowyer guided his Richard Childress Racing team to fifth in the final Sprint Cup championship standings, meaning that the Jack Daniel's team qualified for the Bud Shootout in a Chevrolet, which is the manufacturer with the highest quantity of quality teams and drivers. While Bowyer did not leave RCR, he was reassigned to the fourth team, the new team with no owner's points. Now, Bowyer does not have a slot in the Shootout. Perhaps Childress should allow Bowyer one last hurrah in the Jack Daniel's Chevy, a 'farewell race' so to speak.