Mike Helton: Tony Stewart is Chase eligible, if he earns a spot in it

NASCAR President Mike Helton announced today that despite missing three races, Tony Stewart will be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup – if he qualifies for a spot.

“I do want to join everybody else in the garage area in welcoming Tony back.  He’s been a great asset to NASCAR.  He’s been a great champion, a great participant in our sport, so it’s nice to have him back,” Helton said. “Back to the Chase part for just a second.  I’ll remind everybody back earlier this year when we announced the format for the ’14 Chase, that announcement included some responsibility about the routine participation in the season in order to be eligible in the Chase.

“Along with that importance of routine participation also came the asterisk, so to speak, about except in rare instances.  This has been a very unique set of circumstances to Tony and to our sport.  As the league, it’s our responsibility to try to make decisions that are correct and right.  Sometimes we evaluate circumstances that are given us and then make those decisions as correctly as we can.

“After evaluating the circumstances around this occurrence, we’ve come to the conclusion that Tony would be eligible to participate in the Chase if he were to earn a spot in it.”

Stewart missed three races following an incident involving himself and Kevin Ward Jr. During a sprint car event on August 9th at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park, Ward Jr. was spun out by Stewart. He then got out of his car to display his displeasure, when Stewart’s car would make contact with Ward, sending him sliding across the track. Ward Jr. would be transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Stewart stated today that he sat out those races as a result of his own emotions, and out of respect for the Ward family.

Currently sitting 26th in points, if Stewart would win either this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway or next weekend Richmond International Raceway and stay in the top 30 in points, he’d be one of the 16 drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.