More Thoughts on D. Reut's Sonoma Situation
Spurred on by Rusty Wallace’s comments during the Busch race, my mind has been filled with David Reutimann. Specifically, David’s hesitation as he gathered up his emotions during an interview so he could speak about how badly it hurts to be taken out of the 00 and away from his team. Even more particularly, my reaction – which was close to tears – to that expression of pain on his face. If I didn’t hate this deal before, I really despise it now.
PJ Jones just barely squeaked into the Cup race at Sonoma. I was fairly happy for MWR because it’s a quick fix and got quite a bit of exposure since all three MWR cars made the field – the first time since Daytona. But isn’t it sad that only one of the drivers is a full-time MWR driver? To be completely honest, I think the only reason Dale Jarrett is in the 44 this weekend is because Michael doesn’t have the gall to replace him and that UPS wouldn’t have it anyway. David is an easier target. Passionate but quiet, not very popular yet but reasonably well-liked. Most of all, he won’t badmouth Michael publicly.
Why did Michael do this when he knows how sensitive David is? He sucks up to David by saying on his TV shows what a great driver he is and how proud he is of him, but what confidence does replacing David for a race show? Did Michael feel so bad about replacing himself with Terry Labonte that he felt he needed to bring someone else down with him?
This move is nothing but bad news for both MWR and the fans. MWR won’t benefit because hello, David is the fulltime driver and so is Michael, coming off their best finishes of the season (how ironic). David needs as much practice in the New Cars on road courses as he can get, and even first practice and DNQing would have been better than nothing. Instead of bringing the MWR drivers and their teams together, Michael is allowing them to be ripped apart. David is devastated. His spotter and cousin, Shawn, is royally pissed off. His fans, the passionate D00 Crew, are in an uproar. What was Michael thinking? A quick fix. He took one cookie before supper and not a whole plate after supper.
Team Red Bull is an organization that I have been immensely impressed with, especially since they are brand new to NASCAR. Their entire team – whether you are a driver, crew chief or crewman – are a close knit bunch, in it together. They triumph together and they fail together, but as long as they never rip apart they get stronger every day. I don’t know if MWR is too proud or too panicky, but they’d do a lot of good for themselves if they followed that lead.
David is talent. Pure talent and pure class. Rusty mentioned that teams are already looking at him (whether he was bluffing or not that should be a wakeup call to Michael) and I’m not surprised. I love Michael and MWR, but I also love David and want to see him be successful like he was born to be. I want David to do what he feels like is best for him, be it at MWR or not. He won’t lose this fan.
PJ Jones just barely squeaked into the Cup race at Sonoma. I was fairly happy for MWR because it’s a quick fix and got quite a bit of exposure since all three MWR cars made the field – the first time since Daytona. But isn’t it sad that only one of the drivers is a full-time MWR driver? To be completely honest, I think the only reason Dale Jarrett is in the 44 this weekend is because Michael doesn’t have the gall to replace him and that UPS wouldn’t have it anyway. David is an easier target. Passionate but quiet, not very popular yet but reasonably well-liked. Most of all, he won’t badmouth Michael publicly.
Why did Michael do this when he knows how sensitive David is? He sucks up to David by saying on his TV shows what a great driver he is and how proud he is of him, but what confidence does replacing David for a race show? Did Michael feel so bad about replacing himself with Terry Labonte that he felt he needed to bring someone else down with him?
This move is nothing but bad news for both MWR and the fans. MWR won’t benefit because hello, David is the fulltime driver and so is Michael, coming off their best finishes of the season (how ironic). David needs as much practice in the New Cars on road courses as he can get, and even first practice and DNQing would have been better than nothing. Instead of bringing the MWR drivers and their teams together, Michael is allowing them to be ripped apart. David is devastated. His spotter and cousin, Shawn, is royally pissed off. His fans, the passionate D00 Crew, are in an uproar. What was Michael thinking? A quick fix. He took one cookie before supper and not a whole plate after supper.
Team Red Bull is an organization that I have been immensely impressed with, especially since they are brand new to NASCAR. Their entire team – whether you are a driver, crew chief or crewman – are a close knit bunch, in it together. They triumph together and they fail together, but as long as they never rip apart they get stronger every day. I don’t know if MWR is too proud or too panicky, but they’d do a lot of good for themselves if they followed that lead.
David is talent. Pure talent and pure class. Rusty mentioned that teams are already looking at him (whether he was bluffing or not that should be a wakeup call to Michael) and I’m not surprised. I love Michael and MWR, but I also love David and want to see him be successful like he was born to be. I want David to do what he feels like is best for him, be it at MWR or not. He won’t lose this fan.
