Should Tony Stewart take the rest of the year off?

I read an absolutely horrible article in the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday. It seemed clear that the author was a stick & ball reporter who had no understanding of the sport or of Tony's day-to-day personality. If I was Tony Stewart's handler, I'd tell him to take the rest of the year off. You have to start all of the races in order to get into the Chase, so he's already out.

There are twelve races to go and I don't see what good can be accomplished by racing. It will only reignite a story that is taking a long time to fade away. I think that SHR should spend very little time on Tony's car and and start-and-park for the rest of the season. Concentrate on Harvick & Busch in the chase. His sponsors won't be pleased but they must also realize that this is a no-win situation.

He has to stay in the top 30 doesn't he? Something about having a guaranteed spot in the field?

updated by @andy-denardi: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

I dont think that is in his Genes !

With Tony not qualifying or racing at Michigan, he is no longer eligible for the final 10 race championship anyway - unless he were to be granted a waiver by NASCAR whereby he does not have to attempt every way in order to be eligible. I don't think he'd ask for one - and I think NASCAR would have a PR challenge on its hands if they granted him one anyway.

Even if he were granted a waiver, the likelihood is slim that Tony would win a race over the next 3 races at Bristol, Atlanta or Richmond anyway to qualify for the championship. He wasn't running well enough to win races even before the recent dirt track accident. So best to lay out a few more weeks - particularly with the legal investigation continuing.

Once the championship begins, NASCAR will want the media's total focus on the final 10 races and the 16 drivers who will begin competing at Chicago to race for the title at Homestead.

I'd suggest NASCAR's marketing and legal folks are working with Mobil 1, Bass Pro Shop, Coke, etc. to keep Tony on the sidelines the rest of the year.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

Yeah, I didn't phrase that as well as it was in my mind. I meant for him to grab a Nationwide driver and start & park for the rest of the season. I think there's a rules that makes it desirable to stay in the top 30 in points so they can't just park the car. Stewart is 35th now, and if my memory is correct then they'll want to run enough laps with a substitute to move it up a few spots. I agree that it would be best for Tony to take some time off. He's got two guys in the chase and it would probably be beneficial for the team to worry about one less car.