In the wake of his involvement in the tragic incident resulting in the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward, Jr. at Canandaigua Track last Saturday, August 9th, Tony Stewart has decided not to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event this weekend at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Veteran driver Jeff Burton, a winner of 21 Sprint Cup races, will pilot the #14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in place of Stewart. SHR made the announcement at a press conference yesterday.
Last week, Stewart had qualified for The Cheez-It 335 At The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup race before the tragic incident took place. By skipping an entire weekend, he would need NASCAR to waive the requirement that a driver must qualify every weekend to be eligible for the Chase, assuming Stewart either wins one of the three remaining races in the regular season or acquires enough points to qualify among the top 16 drivers for the Chase. SHR Executive Vice President Brent Frood indicated yesterday that Stewart's involvement in the Chase is the furthest thing from the team's minds right now
NASCAR officials would not speculate whether they would grant a waiver, if one is requested.