Next season’s field will consist of 2012 Coors Light Pole winners and past Shootout winners who have attempted to qualify for at least one race during the 2012 season.

Eligibility rules for next season’s annual non-points race mirror those from 1979-2008, and puts greater emphasis on each weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole qualifying session.

“Fans have expressed their desire to see this event return to its original eligibility rules,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “We listened and decided it would be best to return to the eligibility rules of years past adding further meaning to pole qualifying for each NASCAR Sprint Cup race.”

This announcement comes prior to 2012’s first qualifying session, adding intrigue to an already important event. Today’s fastest qualifier, in addition to winning the pole for next Sunday’s 54th Annual Daytona 500 (Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. on FOX), will also earn a spot in next year’s Shootout. Two Daytona 500 starting positions will be locked in after today’s qualifying session. The fastest two cars in qualifying will sit on the front row for The Great American Race.

Last night, Kyle Busch won his first Shootout at Daytona, locking up a spot in next year’s field. Busch passed defending series champion Tony Stewart in the tri-oval, edging the three-time titlist by a margin of victory of .013 seconds – the closest in Shootout history.

Last season, 18 different drivers won a pole.

Ms. Brown, the newest edition to the M&M’s family of characters, was a “passenger” on board Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) that won Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Busch passed three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart just before the finish line on the final lap to claim his first career victory in the non-points event. Busch won by .013 of a second, the closest finish in Budweiser Shootout history.

“It’s great that we were able to come out first race back in the M&M’s car and get back in Victory Lane,” Busch said. “It means a lot to myself and this team, Joe Gibbs Racing. I can’t say enough about all the support around, M&M’s being back and us being able to get to Victory Lane like we did.”

It was incredible that Busch was even in position to win, as he made two phenomenal displays of driving skill to avoid crashing twice earlier in the race. While Busch was in second place on Lap 47, five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson bumped the rear of Busch’s M&M’s Toyota in Turn 2 and caused him to nearly spin out of control. But Busch wrestled back control of his car and continued while the track remained under a green-flag condition.

But Busch’s most impressive save came on Lap 74 when he was again in second place and tapped from behind in Turn 4 by four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon. Busch’s car turned hard to the left, and as his M&M’s Toyota slid off the banking and onto the apron in a shower of sparks. The car straightened, and then headed left again while spraying sparks as Busch tried to regain control. After a third trip violently to the left and a third shower of sparks, Busch finally tamed the car and was able to stay in the race.

“The first time might have been luck; I’m going to say the second time was all skill,” Busch said jokingly. “It was interesting from my seat. I was steering, stabbing, braking, gassing, everything in between, trying to keep the thing straight, get it back under control.”

After two trips to pit lane for repairs during the ensuing caution period, Busch restarted in ninth place as the field returned to racing for a green-white-checkered finish. He quickly moved to the front of the field in tandem with Stewart and on the final lap found himself directly behind leader Stewart as they entered Turn 4. As they exited that turn, Busch pulled to the high side and inched ahead of Stewart just before the finish line to win.

“This win certainly ranks up there,” Busch said. “Being knocked around and beat around, almost spun out a couple times, being able to prevail through all that and still come through. Obviously, there were 10 cars left at the end of the race; we didn’t have much to pass. It’s not like the 500 where there still might be 22 of them or something.

“It was certainly cool because I was trying to push (Ryan) Newman and hook up with him. Then he was hooked up with whoever was in front of him. I’m like, ‘All right, fine.’ The hole opened up behind Stewart. I ducked in behind there knowing he had a fast car and pushed him. We got up through there. He made the way to the outside and everything. Coming to the line, I’ve been in that situation reverse before with Tony, and it hasn’t ended up so well. This time it turned out all right. We made it past him and beat him to the line, so it was cool.”

Busch’s JGR teammates, Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota Camry and Joey Logano in the No. 20 Toyota Camry, finished fifth and 18th, respectively. Hamlin scored his fourth top-10 finish in seven Budweiser Shootouts, while Logano was involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 54 and was unable to finish the race.

The Budweiser Shootout is an exhibition race featuring the following, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the Sprint Cup Series in 2011:

· Anyone who finished among the top 25 in the 2011 championship point standings

· Past Budweiser Shootout winners

· Past Daytona 500 winners

· Past Coke Zero 400 winners

This year’s field included 25 drivers.

Marcos Ambrose finished third, while Brad Keselowski and Hamlin rounded out the top five. Greg Biffle, Newman, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya comprised the remainder of the top 10.

There were five cautions for 22 laps, with 12 drivers failing to finish the 82-lap race, which was extended seven laps past its scheduled distance due to a multi-car accident on Lap 74 creating a green-white-checkered finish.

Next up is Daytona 500 qualifying, during which Busch will be among 49 drivers going for the pole for the 54th annual Daytona 500. Qualifying is set to get underway at 1 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 19, with live coverage provided by FOX. The Gatorade Duel – twin 150-mile races which will set the rest of the Daytona 500 field – take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 with live coverage on SPEED. Speedweeks then culminates with the Daytona 500 at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at noon.

Members of NASCARMedia.com picked Johnson to reign supreme once again – despite a career-low sixth-place finish in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points.

Johnson received 147 votes in the annual preseason poll, just two more than Carl Edwards, who finished second in last season’s championship points. Rounding out the top 12: defending champion Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle.

Voting among the top four was especially close, as Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon were separated by only seven votes. Stewart trailed Johnson by three votes.

“To be honest I’m stoked they did,” Johnson said. “They know racing and know how much last year will motivate us. Now, we need to go out and do our best to make them all look good.”

Media members were also tasked with predicting the final top 10 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

NASCAR reporters feel déjà vu in NASCAR’s No. 2 series, picking Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to become the first NASCAR Nationwide repeat champion since Martin Truex Jr. accomplished the rare feat in 2004-05.

Stenhouse, who tallied 74 votes, nabbed two more than Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Austin Dillon and last season’s runner up Elliott Sadler. Filling out the top 10: Justin Allgaier, Sam Hornish Jr., Danica Patrick, Kenny Wallace, Cole Whitt, Trevor Bayne and Michael Annett.

Johnny Sauter came a scant six points short of winning last season’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. Instead, Austin Dillon wore the 2011 crown. Dillon’s gone now, moving to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCARMedia.com prognosticators believe Sauter will take advantage of his absence.

In the closest vote among the three series, Sauter’s 62 votes barely edged Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Ty Dillon (Austin’s little brother) for the top spot. The younger Dillon tallied 61 votes from the media.

Rounding out the top 10: Ron Hornaday Jr., Matt Crafton, James Buescheer, Timothy Peters, Parker Kligerman, Joey Coulter, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jason Leffler, Justin Lofton and David Starr.

Evernham will join ESPN’s team at Daytona Speedweeks and will be part of NASCAR Countdown before the NASCAR Nationwide Series race that airs on ESPN on Saturday, Feb. 25, at noon ET. He also will appear on NASCAR Now and SportsCenter from Daytona as ESPN’s multimedia platforms surround the opening of the NASCAR season.

Evernham, who won three championships and 47 races as crew chief for Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, will be an analyst on NASCAR Countdown for many of the 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races that will appear on ESPN networks in the second half of the season. In addition to his work on NASCAR Now and SportsCenter, he will help call several NASCAR Nationwide Series races from the booth.

Evernham was an analyst for ESPN from 2008-2010 but left prior to the 2011 season when he took a consulting position with Hendrick Companies, a management company that oversees strategic initiatives for chairman Rick Hendrick, who also owns Hendrick Motorsports.

“I chose to take a year off from ESPN out of respect for ESPN and Hendrick Motorsports,” said Evernham. “I didn’t want to create any perceived conflict of interest while I got my bearings at Hendrick and didn’t want to cause distraction to either company.

“Now that I’m settled at Hendrick Performance, I don’t have any involvement on the racing side of the operations and it frees me from any conflict with NASCAR teams,” he said. “Mr. Hendrick and I have worked out an agreement that allows me to return to the ESPN team.”

Evernham has a history with ESPN dating back to 2000, when he appeared as an analyst on ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the IROC Series and some NASCAR races. In 2007, he was a guest analyst on NASCAR Countdown for several NASCAR Nationwide Series telecasts and was featured in Race Wizard with Ray Evernham, a program that aired on ESPN2.

“I’m glad to be coming back to ESPN,” Evernham said. “I really enjoy the team camaraderie at ESPN and I’m very much at home with this group from my previous three years,” he said. “Stock car racing is my passion and I’m looking forward to being back involved. I’m excited about the momentum NASCAR has going into the 2012 season.”

Evernham, who raced Modifieds in his native New Jersey, rose to prominence in NASCAR after hanging up his helmet and becoming a crew chief. After his championships with Gordon and Hendrick in the 1990s, he started his own team to coincide with Dodge’s return to the top level of NASCAR racing in 2001. He sold the race team in 2007.

With the return of Evernham, ESPN will again have five former NASCAR champions as analysts, including 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup driving champion Rusty Wallace, 1999 champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chiefs Tim Brewer and Andy Petree.

“We welcome Ray back to the team and look forward to enhancing our coverage of NASCAR with the knowledge and expertise he brings to the table,” said Rich Feinberg, ESPN vice president, motorsports, production. “He’s a solid professional and a well-respected voice in the sport.”

ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage begins with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29.

More than half of the temporary track was sand, a pair of turns and a long strip of beach linked to Route A1A’s pavement. It was unique to say the least but ultimately drew tens of thousands of post-war race fans to Central Florida before Speedweeks was shifted a few miles northwest to Daytona International Speedway in 1959.

“It was just like a dirt track,” said NASCAR Hall of Fame member Glen Wood, who won three sportsman races on the beach and finished 11th in his only NASCAR premier series start in 1957. “The turns were like a half-mile track – one bank to the other.”

On Friday, last year’s Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne will drive his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford over a section of the beach course to the track’s former north turn. Following a press conference, Bayne will continue on to the speedway, where he’ll present the American Ethanol Green Flag to symbolically open 2012 Speedweeks festivities.

Racing began on a 3.2-mile course in 1936. Daytona Beach racer Sig Haugdahl promoted the first two events, which weren’t commercially successful. City officials gave promotional rights to Bill France, who wore both a promoter’s hat and a competitor’s helmet – and with the latter won the Labor Day event in 1938 and a July race the following year.

France reinstated competition following World War II. The course was lengthened to 4.1 miles, beginning at 4511 S. Atlantic Blvd. then continuing two miles down paved A1A to the Beach Street approach where the track’s south turn took the field onto the packed sand for a two-mile run back to the north turn. The races were scheduled to coincide with low tide.

The formation of NASCAR, at the nearby Streamline Hotel, led to the beach races becoming the organization’s premier event until the construction of Darlington Raceway in 1950. The 1949 race, won by NASCAR’s first champion Red Byron, was held in July. The following year’s event was moved to February where it remains today.

Additional races for convertibles, modifieds and sportsman cars were added during NASCAR’s first decade creating the Speedweeks concept upon which France expanded even further with the opening of Daytona International Speedway in 1959. A total of 10 NASCAR premier series races were run at the Beach & Road Course.

Some highlights from those early races:

• The 1952 race, won by Marshall Teague in a Hudson, was shortened two laps because of the incoming tide.

• In 1953, a whopping 136 cars started the modified/sportsman race, still NASCAR’s largest field.

• Technical infractions caused apparent winners in 1954 and 1955 – Tim Flock and Fireball Roberts – to be disqualified handing victories to Lee Petty and Flock.

• Charlie Scott became the first African-American driver to start a NASCAR premier series race in 1956. Scott, driving one of Carl Kiekhaefer’s famed Chrysler 300s, finished 19th in a field of 76 cars.

• Cotton Owens drove a Pontiac, sponsored by Daytona Beach auto dealer Jim Stephens, to its first NASCAR premier series win in 1957.

Flock and Teague won twice. Byron, Owens, Petty, Harold Kite, Bill Blair and Paul Goldsmith were the race’s other winners. The race maintained its local flavor throughout the years. Teague, who later lost his life testing an Indianapolis-type roadster at Daytona International Speedway, was from Daytona Beach as was master mechanic and innovator Smokey Yunick, who fielded Goldsmith’s winning Pontiac in 1958.

Teague was nicknamed “King of the Beach” based on his performances but Wood’s favorite was Curtis Turner, who won two convertible races and had a best NASCAR premier series finish of second. Turner, along with NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bud Moore, will be inducted into the Oceanside Rotary Club of Daytona Beach’s Hall of Fame on Feb. 20. NASCAR President Mike Helton will induct Moore. Both Wood and his brother Leonard also are members of the hall.

For sure, Turner’s driving style stood out on the beach portion of the course. “He was the most spectacular of anyone,” said Wood. “He’d turn it sideways (on the straightaway) but he was under control the whole time. You knew it was him when he’d come into sight crossways. Buck Baker and Joe Weatherly were fast but not as spectacular.”

Racing conditions were hit and miss – mostly miss during the race’s latter stages. The turns would get chopped up. Historic photos taken during modified and sportsman races show cars that had gone over the embankments on their sides and left where they stopped.

“I remember Ralph Moody did a complete flip, landed back on his wheels and kept on going,” said Wood, who completed eight of the nine races in which he participated and never was involved in an accident. “If you missed the turn, you’d go down the beach, turn around and come back.”

Racing in the sportsman division, the Woods replaced their car’s vacuum-powered windshield wipers with an electrical unit which caught fire. Wood pulled off the track prepared to watch his 1950 Ford go up in flames. A man appeared out of the palmetto bushes with a CO2 extinguisher and put out the fire – a figure apparently undeterred by France’s “Beware of Rattlesnakes” signs designed to keep out non-paying customers.

“I still had my helmet on so I got back in, kept going and we still won,” said Wood.

Although the Woods towed their cars to Daytona, many competitors drove to the event, taped up headlights and raced, “basically like running on the highway,” said Wood. Not everyone, however, was able to make the return trip on four wheels.

Louise Smith, according to Wood, was one who had to make the “uh-oh” telephone call when she crashed her Ford on the first lap of the 1950 race. “She called her husband to tell him she’d wrecked it,” said Wood. “I’m not sure it was even paid for.”

And once again, a three-time series champion – this time Tony Stewart, who captured Sprint Cup titles in 2002, 2005 and 2011 – will mentor Patrick as she adjusts to a full-time, stock-car racing schedule. Patrick is slated to compete in 10 Sprint Cup races in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet while also participating in a full NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The road to Daytona from Homestead wasn’t simply a drive up I-95 on the east side of Florida but rather an incredible journey for Patrick, who has become widely known simply by her first name.

Since that sunny day in March 2005, the Go Daddy Girl has set numerous records and twice appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, making her just the fourth racecar driver (Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., and Al Unser being the others) to grace the cover of the famous magazine two times.

In April 2008, Patrick became the first woman to win a major-league open-wheel race in a North American series with her win in the IndyCar Series Indy Japan 300 at the Twin Ring Motegi oval in Japan. Six times, she finished in the top-10 in points in the IndyCar standings, including a fifth-place result in 2009 – the best ever by a woman.

But nowhere did Patrick perform better than on the biggest IndyCar Series stage of all – the Indianapolis 500. She burst onto the scene at Indy in May 2005 when she stunned the world by leading three times for 19 laps and finishing fourth in her first “500” – becoming the first woman to lead laps and score a top-five finish in the historic race.

She set numerous records during her Indianapolis 500 debut and set the tone early when she posted the fastest lap on the opening day of practice. She went on to set the fastest practice lap five times throughout the month – more than any other driver – including Pole Day and Carburetion Day.

Patrick’s practice lap of 229.880 mph on Pole Day was the fastest of any driver during the month and the fastest turned by any woman in the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During her qualification attempt, Patrick made an impressive save as her car bobbled in turn one on her first lap, earning her rave reviews for her car control by longtime Speedway observers. She ended up qualifying fourth, the best-ever starting position for a woman in the race.

On race day, with 11 laps remaining in the 200-lap event, Patrick blew past leader Dan Wheldon and held the point until lap 194, when she was forced to slow down in order to conserve fuel to make it to the finish. Her efforts earned her Rookie of the Year honors.

Patrick scored six top-10 finishes in seven starts at Indianapolis and qualified 10th or better five times. Her third-place result in 2009 is the best finish ever for a woman in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

As the scene switches this month to the historic Daytona 500, it’s easy to notice numerous similarities to the Indy 500. Both are conducted on 2.5-mile ovals, both are 200 laps and both are 500 miles in length. Both events have more lead-up on the racetrack than any other race (Indianapolis is two weeks in duration, Daytona is 10 days) and a victory in either race can change a career.

There are differences, as well, and none bigger than the style of racing. Speeds at Indianapolis approach 220 mph in open-wheel, open-cockpit, rear-engine racecars that weigh about 1,600 pounds. Speeds at Daytona are in the 190-mph range in cars that weigh 3,400 pounds and look more like the standard street car with an enclosed driver compartment and the engine situated in front.

During the Indianapolis 500, cars tend to spread out a bit more with the majority of the passing taking place at the end of the 5/8-mile front and back straightaways. At Daytona over the years, it’s typical to see either one, long pack of cars circling the oval (restrictor-plate-style “pack” racing) or, in recent years since the repave of the facility in 2010, a two-car “tandem draft,” in which pairs of cars align themselves in a draft to make headway toward the front of the field together.

Whichever style of racing will be most prevalent at Daytona this year, it will be different than what Patrick was used to at Indianapolis. However, she has plenty of drafting experience, having competed in one Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) race and three NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Daytona. Both series are feeder systems to the premier Sprint Cup Series.

In her most recent outing at Daytona in July 2011, Patrick worked with Stewart in a two-car draft during the Nationwide Series race and led 13 of 100 laps en route to an impressive 10th-place finish.

While the focus at Daytona this month will be to gain experience and continue her stock-car education, Patrick and the Go Daddy team are still focused on winning. And, why not, when one considers that Trevor Bayne, making just his second Sprint Cup Series start and his first at Daytona, shocked the racing world by winning last year’s Daytona 500?

It’s been an incredible journey for Patrick since March 2005 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and she’s hoping another exciting chapter in her career begins not too far up the road at Daytona.

The “Great American Race” is set for 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb. 26 (FOX, MRN Radio, and SIRIUS/XM NASCAR Radio to broadcast nationally).

But first things first. Thursday’s 13th annual NASCAR Media Day opens Speedweeks activities at Daytona International Speedway, followed by Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona and Sunday’s Coors Light Pole qualifying to set the front row for the 54th running of the Daytona 500.

All lead up to the following week’s Gatorade Duel (Feb. 23, 2 p.m., FOX), two 150-mile qualifying races to complete the Daytona 500 field; the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m., SPEED); the NASCAR Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 (Feb. 25, 1:15 p.m., ESPN); and, of course, The Great American Race.

Based on last year’s unprecedented NASCAR Sprint Cup Series dead-heat championship finish, and Trevor Bayne’s surprising and dramatic Daytona 500 victory in the legendary No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, the 2012 season is filled with anticipation.

Dress rehearsal for the Daytona 500 … The Shootout at Daytona will be held for the 34th time. The format is unchanged from 2011, with a slight wrinkle in eligibility requirements. Criteria are based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during the past season:

• Drivers finishing among the top 25 in the 2011 championship driver points.
• Past Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola champions and winners of Shootout events.

As has been the case since 2003, the Shootout will be run in two segments, the first 25 laps and the second a 50-lap sprint for the win. That’s 187.5 miles on the track’s high-banked, 2.5-mile layout.

Following the first segment, a 10-minute “pit stop” gives crews the opportunity to make normal adjustments to their cars. Other notes: All work must be done on pit road or in the garage; teams may not change springs, shocks or rear ends; all green- and yellow-flag laps in both segments will count. Following the 10-minute “pit stop,” the event’s second segment remains a 50-lap sprint for the win.

Those entered, 25 in all, in Saturday’s race: Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Ragan, Joey Logano, Michael Waltrip and Jamie McMurray.

Several drivers will be making their first appearances with new teams including Bowyer with Michael Waltrip Racing, Kahne with Hendrick Motorsports, Kurt Busch with Phoenix Racing, Ragan with Front Row Motorsports and Allmendinger with Penske Racing. Allmendinger already has one 2012 Speedweeks victory in last month’s GRAND-AM Sports Car Series Rolex 24. Kurt Busch is the defending champion of the Shootout.

A unique qualifying format … Sunday’s Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole qualifying session is the year’s only time trials in which just the front row positions are set. The remaining qualifiers are seeded into Thursday’s Gatorade Duel, a pair of 150-mile races from which the final starting grid for the Daytona 500 is set.

The front row starters and remaining top 35 owners’ cars are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. Where they start is based on how they finish in the Duel events, along with the two top finishing, non-top 35 cars in each qualifying race.

How important is Sunday’s qualifying? Critical in that the remaining starters – as many as four cars – will be based upon speeds recorded in time trials, which begin at 1:05 p.m. ET and can be seen live on FOX.

The most recent Daytona 500 pole winner to win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000, one of two drivers (Bill Elliott is the other) to sweep Shootout, pole and race in the same season.

Fast Facts

What: 34th Annual Budweiser Shootout At Daytona
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Track Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval
When: Saturday, Feb. 18
Time: 8:10 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX, 8 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN; SIRIUS/XM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90
Distance: 75 laps/187.5 miles (25 laps in first segment; 50 laps in second segment)
2011 Winner: Kurt Busch

After NASCAR, perhaps a career in Hollywood is in order for the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion?

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Stewart when referencing his appearance on the hit sit-com. “This is something that obviously is a little bit out of our comfort zone because we’re used to being in a uniform in a 3,400-pound stock car, so to come here and do TV is something that is pretty fun. It’s exciting to do something different and get out of that norm a little bit.”

Stewart will appear as himself on the upcoming episode entitled “Adrenaline.” Mike (Tim Allen) gets Stewart and his race car to jazz up the Outdoor Man retail space for a promotional opportunity. After Stewart tells Mike that no one is to touch his car, little do they know that Kyle (Christoph Sanders) has done something unthinkable with Tony’s car that could jeopardize the whole promotional event.

Stewart’s fit with “Last Man Standing” is a perfect one, as Allen professes to love everything that has anything to do with cars. Allen was even able to take a spin and do some donuts in the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil1 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet.

“I just like cars, anything to do with cars,” Allen said. “I don’t think I could do a donut in anything else so we figured we wanted the best. NASCAR’s the best, Tony’s the best driver, so what are we going to do?”

Stewart shot the episode in Los Angeles with Allen and the rest of the “Last Man Standing” cast on January 16 and 17. Less than a month after the airdate of “Adrenaline” Allen will serve as the Grand Marshal of the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 11 (FOX, 3 p.m. ET).

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts, salvage and surplus merchandise. The Pennsylvania-based company currently operates 114 stores in 12 states and has previously sponsored other drivers in various NASCAR series.

“We’re excited to support Dave Blaney and TBR and to have a part in the Daytona 500,” says Mark Butler, president and CEO of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. “A lot of our customers are NASCAR fans, so it will be great for them to see our car out on the track.”

Blaney had to qualify into last season’s Daytona 500. He made the race, led three laps and finished 26th in the 2011 Daytona 500. He will once again attempt to qualify for the Great American race this season for his 23rd start at the 2.5-mile speedway.

“We are thrilled to have Ollie’s come on board for this year’s Daytona 500,” said Tommy Baldwin. “We were pleased with our superspeedway efforts last year and feel like we can build on that for this season. With Ollie’s joining for the biggest race of the season, it is a win-win for all of us. They have worked with Dave in the past, and we are excited to have them as part of our program at TBR.”

Blaney will qualify for the Daytona 500 Sunday, February 19 and compete in the Gatorade Duels Thursday, February 23 to attempt to race in the 2012 Daytona 500.

Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolets, had an MRI Thursday after experiencing swelling in his left knee. The MRI revealed a torn meniscus, which was treated this morning with a partial medial meniscus removal. Following the common arthroscopic procedure, he was released from an outpatient facility in Charlotte, N.C.

Kahne will practice, qualify and race throughout NASCAR’s season-opening Speedweeks, and Hendrick Motorsports has no plans to have a backup driver on standby in Daytona Beach, Fla.

In April 2011, Kahne had a procedure on his right meniscus and earned a third-place finish the following race at Richmond, Va.