Tony Stewart's replacement named for NASCAR's first race

Ricky Stehouse Jr. (Getty Images) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will replace Tony Stewart in the year's first NASCAR race. That would be the Sprint Unlimited, a 25-car competition on Feb. 13 at Daytona.

Stewart is out of action for an undetermined length of time because of a severe back injury. His organization, Stewart-Haas Racing, has yet to announce a driver for his No. 14 car.

MORE: Daytona event dates, times | Daytona 500 winners | Best races

Stewart had surgery on Wednesday for injuries from an ATV accident on Jan. 31 in the California desert.

Stenouse was added to the Sprint Unlimited field over the weekend, the second driver named to replace a former Cup champion. Casey Mears will drive in place…