NASCAR: Dillon to qualify for Stewart at Talladega

Ty Dillon will qualify Tony Stewart's No.14 Stewart-Haas entry at Talladega this week as part of his pinch-hitter role while the three-time Cup champion continues to recover from back injuries.

"Sounds like Tony's got to get in and make some practice laps to make it official and then I'll get in and run some practice, and not sure if we're going to draft or what," Dillon told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "I'll qualify the car and Tony will start the race and it sounds like he'll run to maybe the first caution, but you never know with Tony. He might like his race car and want to stay out there.

"But I think he'll probably run to the first caution, we'll try and make the swap as quick as possible, hopefully not lose a lap, and we'll go to racing and hopefully get him that win he needs."

Stewart's injuries sidelined him from the first eight races of the season before his comeback at Richmond last weekend, where he finished 19th. He has been given a medical dispensation to remain eligible for the Chase, provided that he meets the standard criteria of either winning a race or finishing inside the top 30 in the drivers' standings.

Although he is expected to hand the wheel of the No.14 to Dillon mid-way through this weekend's race in the hope of minimizing his chances of being caught up in a high-speed accident, NASCAR rules dictate that he only needs to take the start to be eligible for points, regardless of how much of the race is actually completed by Dillon.

"There hasn't been a race in my life where I haven't gone out and the goal's not been to win the race," said Dillon. "I'm going to do everything as usual and get the best finish possible for Tony and if it ends up being a win, we're going to have a heck of a party."

Stewart is expected to return to the drivers' seat full-time at Kansas next week.