Tony Stewart to guest star on "Last Man Standing"

After winning the 2011 Sprint Cup championship, Tony Stewart's next challenge is holding his ground against comedian Tim Allen on tonight's episode of "Last Man Standing." Credit: Twentieth Century Fox TV Distribution

With the Daytona 500 less than two weeks away, fans can expect to see NASCAR stars gracing their TV screens to promote the big race. Carl Edwards, 2011 Sprint Cup championship runner-up, was on WWE’s Monday Night Raw last week, asking wrestling superstar John Cena to be the Great American Race’s honorary starter.

Now it’s the champ’s turn. Tony Stewart will bring his sense of humor to the small screen when he guest stars on Tim Allen’s hit ABC series “Last Man Standing” tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

The reigning Sprint Cup champion will appear as himself in the episode, aptly titled “Adrenaline.” Stewart brings his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil1 Chevrolet to the Outdoor Man, the sporting goods store where Allen’s character Mike works, as part of a promotion. Stewart’s only instructions are that no one can touch his title-winning racecar. But with this being a sitcom, hilarity is sure to ensue.

Stewart filmed the episode in Los Angeles on Jan 16-17. Leaving the track behind for a TV sound stage, Stewart said the change of pace was a welcome one.

"It's a lot of fun,” Stewart said in a statement. “This is something that obviously is a little bit out of our comfort zone because we're used to being in a uniform in a 3,400-pound stock car, so to come here and do TV is something that is pretty fun. It's exciting to do something different and get out of that norm a little bit."

Allen also had fun on the set - he took Stewart’s racecar for a drive and even did some burnouts.

"I just like cars, anything to do with cars,” Allen said. “I don't think I could do a donut in anything else so we figured we wanted the best. NASCAR's the best, Tony’s the best driver, so what are we going to do?"

NASCAR fans will see Allen again in just a few weeks. The funnyman will serve as the grand marshal of the Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 11.