Tony Stewart: Fiesta Bowl Grand Marshal

Of all the press releases I expected to read in preparation for this weekend's Sprint Cup activity in the "Valley of the Sun's" Phoenix International Raceway, I surely didn't expect this one:

Joe Gibbs Racing's Tony Stewart will serve as the grand marshal for college football's Fiesta Bowl Parade. Or is the more appropriate title grande? (Like FOX's Chris Myers, I kid because I care... anyways...)

As grand marshal, Stewart will not only lead this year's Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade, but will also serve as a special guest at the 38th Annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Monday, January 5, 2009, where he will participate in the pre-game festivities and coin toss.

I'm not really sure why Stewart was chosen to be the grand marshal, but hey, it's a little bit of free publicity for the Fiesta Bowl and the corresponding parade while NASCAR invades the Phoenix area this weekend.

For Stewart fans, it means the chance to see the two-time champion during NASCAR's off-season on one of college football's bigger stages.