NASCAR has again changed the rules in regards to who is entered into the Bud Shootout.

Last year it was some convoluted scheme involving the top drivers from each manufacturer. Then the rules were tweaked to get Tony Stewart into the field.

It was an unmitigated mess trying to figure out who was in and who was out after the manufacturer changes that occurred in the offseason. Oh this year we should be so lucky to have something that resembles simply an unmitigated mess.

Now they have moved to make anyone eligible who falls into the following categories: the 12 drivers that qualified for the 2009 Chase, past Cup Series champions, past Budweiser Shootout champions, past Daytona points race winners and the reigning rookie of the year.

Got that?

So that means that Geoff Bodine, Derrick Cope, Bill Elliott, John Andretti and Michael Waltrip will be able to run in this year's event. Woo hoo. Star-studded.

I guess that means if he could dig up a ride, David Pearson would be eligible. So would Richard Petty. Somebody find a ride for Cale Yarborough, I'm sure he could still turn a quick lap. Let's get Rusty Wallace out of the broadcast booth to run the race.

Hell, if I tried hard enough, I could probably figure out a way to get into that bad boy.

See, this is what happens when corporate sponsors get all mixed up and involved in who makes a race - even if it is an exhibition. This thing was simple when Budweiser sponsored the pole award and the Shootout/Clash/whatever. If you won a pole the year before, you were in the race.

Now Coors sponsors the pole award and rival Budweiser sponsors the race.

While I try to figure out a way to get into the Bud Shootout, here are a few random thoughts:

NASCAR is now looking at a return to spoilers on its Cup cars to replace the wings that have been in use since the "Car of Tomorrow" was debuted. Am I the only one who gets the feeling they have no idea what they're doing vis-a-vis this new car? I know, put a spoiler on the wing and see what it does ... Mark McGwire took steroids. Raise your hand if you are surprised. Anyone? Anyone? "I'm not here to talk about the past." Jerk ... In addition to the wing/spoiler debate, NASCAR is also looking to increase the size of the restrictor plate used at Daytona and Talladega in 2010 from the current 31/32-inch plate. Did I mention that the Daytona 500 is a month away? This is like Major League Baseball announcing it is changing the size of the baseball during spring training ... Lane Kiffin has decided to leave Tennessee after one season to return to Southern California as its head football coach. I guess that was an orange that he really couldn't sit with. Or he wasn't a dog lover. Or he thought Neyland Stadium looked like the inside of a garbage truck convention ... I wonder if anyone told the Seattle Seahawks' brass that Pete Carroll has, in fact, been a head coach in the NFL before. It didn't turn out too well.