Well, it was a rumor that appeared on Jayski nearly a month ago and one that I believed with much dejectedness, since anyone who knows me well remembers how I reacted to the Sonoma deal. I believed it more and more as MWR did not deny the hearsay of PJ Jones once again replacing David at a road course. However, there was one glimmer of hope left in me that if David performed well in the Busch race at Montreal he would be in the Cup car at the Glen, but it was a foolish hope to begin with since the entry forms are sent to NASCAR more than a week before the event. He was either in or out.
And when I saw Jones’ name on the entry list this past Monday my heart sank. Then I became very angry.
I’m sorry, I don’t see much logic beyond my “quick fix” theory about this move! Jones made Sonoma by the skin of his teeth and finished 12th because of pit strategy, not because of an astonishing charge to the front. David could have done the same, with the added bonus of bringing some momentum to his team.
I was further irritated by the lack of official announcement by MWR. All we got was a PJ JONES READY FOR WATKINS GLEN article on Michael’s site. Was MWR trying to fly below the radar with this notably unpopular decision?
Qualifying on Friday was rained out, and ironically the only reason Jones is racing on Sunday is because of David and the 00 team’s hard work throughout the season. The thought of Michael putting David back into the car crossed my mind but I figured NASCAR wouldn’t allow it; that one would have to be injured / sick / previously engaged to “apply” for that. I was in for a surprise when today Boris Said, originally DNQed as a result of the rain, was put in the #21 in place of Bill Elliott. Interesting. And I wasn’t the only fan of MWR who wondered, “Why doesn’t Michael put David in the 00?”
I wonder?
The bottom line is that David needs experience, Michael goes on and on about that fact. And yet how exactly is David going to get experience when he doesn’t get the chance to experience anything? To placate David and his fans, possibly, Michael insists that David’s replacement is because of Jones’ advantage at qualifying: “The road races are exceptionally difficult and being outside the top-35, we felt it was necessary to have PJ’s experience in qualifying the car.” Okay, so the car is qualified. Why not allow David to gain some precious seat time, on a road course and in a New Car too? Why put him at an immediate disadvantage next season, when everyone else will be saying at the road courses, “Ah, I remember how this feels,” while David will be likely thinking, “What the hell am I doing?”
So far Jones will be sitting in David’s 00 tomorrow, leading me further to toss the “what’s best for MWR” theory and solidify the “quick fix to please sponsors” theory. What’s best for MWR—if they plan to resign David, that is—is for David to have his butt in his car, right? Out of everything else that makes the most sense to me. David is the future of this organization, not PJ Jones. That is what’s so frustrating to me as not only a fan of David’s, Michael’s and MWR’s, but as a fan observing those three as an unbiased bystander. It would be like preparing for a horse race with one horse and then taking another and expecting it to run well in all the races it enters. Where is the logic in that?
And when I saw Jones’ name on the entry list this past Monday my heart sank. Then I became very angry.
I’m sorry, I don’t see much logic beyond my “quick fix” theory about this move! Jones made Sonoma by the skin of his teeth and finished 12th because of pit strategy, not because of an astonishing charge to the front. David could have done the same, with the added bonus of bringing some momentum to his team.
I was further irritated by the lack of official announcement by MWR. All we got was a PJ JONES READY FOR WATKINS GLEN article on Michael’s site. Was MWR trying to fly below the radar with this notably unpopular decision?
Qualifying on Friday was rained out, and ironically the only reason Jones is racing on Sunday is because of David and the 00 team’s hard work throughout the season. The thought of Michael putting David back into the car crossed my mind but I figured NASCAR wouldn’t allow it; that one would have to be injured / sick / previously engaged to “apply” for that. I was in for a surprise when today Boris Said, originally DNQed as a result of the rain, was put in the #21 in place of Bill Elliott. Interesting. And I wasn’t the only fan of MWR who wondered, “Why doesn’t Michael put David in the 00?”
I wonder?
The bottom line is that David needs experience, Michael goes on and on about that fact. And yet how exactly is David going to get experience when he doesn’t get the chance to experience anything? To placate David and his fans, possibly, Michael insists that David’s replacement is because of Jones’ advantage at qualifying: “The road races are exceptionally difficult and being outside the top-35, we felt it was necessary to have PJ’s experience in qualifying the car.” Okay, so the car is qualified. Why not allow David to gain some precious seat time, on a road course and in a New Car too? Why put him at an immediate disadvantage next season, when everyone else will be saying at the road courses, “Ah, I remember how this feels,” while David will be likely thinking, “What the hell am I doing?”
So far Jones will be sitting in David’s 00 tomorrow, leading me further to toss the “what’s best for MWR” theory and solidify the “quick fix to please sponsors” theory. What’s best for MWR—if they plan to resign David, that is—is for David to have his butt in his car, right? Out of everything else that makes the most sense to me. David is the future of this organization, not PJ Jones. That is what’s so frustrating to me as not only a fan of David’s, Michael’s and MWR’s, but as a fan observing those three as an unbiased bystander. It would be like preparing for a horse race with one horse and then taking another and expecting it to run well in all the races it enters. Where is the logic in that?