Budweiser Shootout Wild Card: The Tony Stewart Clause

When it was first announced earlier this week that NASCAR had made revisions to the Budweiser Shootout, I had one immediate thought: This was for Tony Stewart.

Let's face it, NASCAR has a way of making up the rules as they go along sometimes, don't they? They also tend to make revisions to rules whenever some of the sport's biggest names are left on the outside, although that's not the only reason they make changes.

Need proof?

Take a look at the 2003 season. Matt Kenseth soared his way to a championship, having it all but wrapped up several weeks before the season ended. Does anyone remember how many times Kenseth visited Victory Lane in 2003? Once!

The next year, NASCAR came up with their "playoff," the Chase.

Then came the biggest hit to NASCAR. In 2005, two of the sports biggest names, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed the Chase. It was unbelievable, what in the world would NASCAR do?

They opted to give it one more season, to see how things went. In 2006, Smoke missed the Chase, and poof, the field was expanded to 12 drivers.

In 2008, all three made the Chase.

During 2008, another situation in which the rules were bent were at Talladega. Now I know Smoke fans will argue that he deserved that win.

But, who crossed the finish line first? Regan Smith.

Smith said that in the drivers meeting, it was said that, "Anything goes on the last lap," and that there was no "out of bounds" on the final lap.

It's also in the rules that if a driver is "forced' below the line, they are allowed to advance position.

(For those who don't remember, Smith went to pass Stewart as they came to the checkered flag. He was pushed, in my opinion, below the out of bounds line and crossed the line first. NASCAR, however, not wanting to make an icon in the sport and their $20 million sponsor Home Depot mad, gave the win to Stewart. Denying Smith and a struggling DEI team their first victory.)

So when NASCAR decided to suddenly up the field for the Budweiser Shootout just weeks before the cars hit the track, it brings up the question: Was it for Smoke?

Stewart was the lead victim in the new format. Let's face it, a two-time Sprint Cup champion, left out of the race that is meant to honor past winners of the event, pole and race winners from the year before.

When you had guys like Joey Logano and David Stremme in the race, and almost every Dodge that took a green flag last year, it seemed unfair to leave one of the sports top drivers out.

So NASCAR changed the rules—Again!

While I have no problem with the rule change, I think the whole idea of having six (now seven) drivers from each manufacture is a joke.

Teams should have to earn their way into the race, not get a spot simply because only a select few teams drive that manufacture (see Dodge!).

So from here on out, instead of calling the new spots, wild cards, I will refer to them as the "Can't leave Tony Stewart out of the Budweiser Shootout ever again," spots.

What's next NASCAR, when Earnhardt Jr. or Gordon fail to make the field next year, will we see this wild-card expanded to include anyone who doesn't meet the previous requirements, but is named Earnhardt or Gordon?

B-Blog