In a few weeks, we’ll be seeing the Bud Shootout -- the first race of the year for NASCAR’s stock cars.

A week ahead of Daytona, we get a sneak peek at the cars and drivers we’ll be rooting for all season. And there’s no points on the line, so in theory it should be a solid race where the drivers let it all hang out and take some chances.

But with all the rules changes this year, exactly what the hell does the race even mean anymore? In previous years, When Bud also sponsored the pole award each week, the race featured all the pole winners from the previous year. Now, in a strictly sponsor-driven move in response to Coors taking over the pole sponsorship, Budweiser decided in 2008 that this year’s race would be more like a manufacturer’s battle and feature the top six drivers for Chevy, Ford, Toyota and Dodge.

But a funny thing happened along the way. Tony Stewart got left out of the mix, as he’s moving to a Chevy team that finished well down in the standings. So what’s the next move? Well, they changed the rules so a “wild card” can enter for each manufacturer, allowing Stewart into the race with his new team.

To make matters more confusing, Robby Gordon, who is switching to Toyota this year from Dodge, will be allowed to compete in the shootout in a Dodge, then make the switch. If this is the case, it’s possible others drivers switching makes, such as Juan Pablo Montoya, could do the same so they have the right to compete.

I don’t know about you, but my head hurts just thinking about the rules of this race. Anyone who doubts this rule change is about anything but Stewart is fooling himself. I’m a longtime supporter of Stewart and think he’s a great driver, but that doesn’t mean the rules should be changed just to accommodate him. Between this and the bad call giving him the win over Regan Smith at Talladega, I’m beginning to wonder whether he has some compromising pictures of NASCAR bigwigs.

I’m not saying the race will be terrible. I’ll watch it with the usual excitement I have for the races, and it may be amazing.

But all of these rules changes, made simply due to a sponsorship war, have taken away some of the meaning of this race. Instead of a race between pole winners for the year, it’s a race between pretty much everybody. With almost 30 cars in the race, why not run the entire field? Is there really much of a difference?

I mean, seriously, Michael Waltrip is in the race … what’s wrong with this picture?

EGR to two cars?
As I recently hinted could happen, the drivers at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing have hinted in recent interviews that there might not be three full-time cars at the team this year, as it’s looking more and more likely the #41 won’t run at all and the #8 has no guarantee to run after Daytona.

So let’s look at this situation … This big merger comes through, making headlines about a new four-car team that hopes to compete. Now, they may only have two full-time cars, a situation that makes it even harder to take on the big teams. The big loser is Almirola, who had shown glimpses of talent and would be wise to go to a team that will actually let him race

Overall, it’s clear this team is struggling even before it gets off the ground, and barring a major turnaround in their luck this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of its main owners (Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi) decides to get out of NASCAR completely.