MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 30: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, sits in his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 30, 2015 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
Tony Stewart doing Tony Stewart things. Finally.
Wednesday, Stewart told several national media outlets that there was still no timetable for his return to the cockpit and that he was still rehabbing the burst fracture of his L1 vertebrae that he suffered Jan. 31 in a sand dune accident.
And then, Thursday morning, Stewart announced on Twitter that he will be returning to the cockpit of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
This weekend.
At Richmond International Raceway.
The move was classic Stewart -- media misdirection followed by huge announcement.
I suppose the journalist in me should be pissed off that Stewart had us chasing our tails yet again for the umpteenth time since he started racing.
But, really, that isn't the case at all.
Because whether you love Tony Stewart or loathe him -- and there are plenty of people on both sides of the fence -- there is one un-refutable truth about him: The racing is more interesting when he's in it.
Not better, not worse, but more interesting.
Stewart is that rarest of commodities in NASCAR, a driver who speaks his mind and says and does what the hell he wants, consequences be damned.
At times, he has paid dearly personally and professionally for his choices, but he's never backed down from being his own man and I respect that about him.
For NASCAR, this instantly makes a very good and compelling season even better.
Like Kyle Busch last year, Stewart has been granted an injury waiver and if he performs on track, will be eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
And that means, in his final season, Stewart will have an opportunity to go out in a blaze of glory like Jeff Gordon did last year.
But will he?
Ever since his horrifying sprint car accident in Iowa in 2013, Stewart has struggled on track in NASCAR.
Over the winter, the entire Stewart-Haas Racing organization rededicated itself to Stewart having a great final season.
Maybe he will do the seemingly impossible and win a fourth championship on his last try.
Maybe he'll struggle to run in the top 20 every week.
Chances are it will be somewhere in between.
But it's going to be one more big storyline -- maybe the biggest storyline -- of the entire 2016 season.
I don't know about you, but I think it's going to be fascinating to watch.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.