He's getting old. It just happens sometimes.
On the topic of Buyten making the field: Even if Monster Jam needed to put Metal Mulisha in, why not put one of the Grave Digger drivers in it? Pablo Huffaker and Randy Brown both won their tours this year so I think they definitely deserve an invite. This would be a perfect chance to get them in the field without driving up the number of Grave Diggers in the show. They already put Pauken in Monster Mutt, one of those two should be in Metal Mulisha.
So here is my issue with it, why not give the seat to another person, they never had an issue with putting random drivers into other trucks if they deemed necessary. There is zero justification for him being in the Vegas field of trucks other then he took over the Mulisha seat this year, I would rather have Deegan drive it then.
He's been fairly impressive as a rookie but not necessarily deserving of an invite. Double Down Showdown on the other hand? Yes, by all means should he be in that bracket.
He isn't totally off here. Hartsock was one of the best from 2000 to 2012 and he isn't really the same driver anymore. You can probably account for everyone getting a lot better since then but Hartsock has in a way regressed in terms of driving ability. It's like David Smith or Steve Sims. Their decent drivers now when they used to be some of the best.
You know who's lost his touch more than any other driver? If you guessed Scott Hartsock, you're correct.
You may counter at me, but think about it; he was in the VERY FIRST World Championship Race. Now look at him. He's lost his touch so much you could almost say he's as low as Larry Jarzel.