Foyt looking for Road Racer to run Watkins Glen UPDATE P.J. Jones to run: A.J. Foyt Racing is attempting to hire a road course expert to drive its No. 14 Pontiac in next weekend’s Sirius at The Glen Winston Cup race at Watkins Glen International, spokesman Michael Rompf said. Heading the list of candidates is likely to be P.J. Jones, who attempted to qualify a second entry for Foyt in Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Mike Wallace has driven the #14 the past two races. No driver has been named beyond Watkins Glen.(ThatsRacin.com).(8-4-2002) UPDATE: A.J. Foyt has hired P.J. Jones to drive the #14 Conseco Pontiac in the Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen NASCAR Winston Cup race this weekend at Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, NY. Jones, the son of 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones, has raced at the 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York in both the Cup and BGN and holds the overall track record in the IMSA GTP sports cars. “Mike Wallace had told me he wasn’t comfortable on the road courses and suggested we look for someone who has more experience on road courses” Foyt said. “P.J. has run there in sports cars, Busch and Winston Cup cars so I hired him for that race. I am hoping that we can get some momentum going with a good finish there.” “It’s a one-off for A.J.’s team,” Jones said. “I was at the Glen last year as a driver coach for Jimmie Johnson in the Busch Series and I ran for Chip Ganassi the year before that in Winston Cup. It is much easier for a driver like myself to fill-in for a road course event than to try to run like we did at the Brickyard last weekend. The NASCAR drivers only run two roadcourse races a year so it’s not as difficult to stay current on the set-ups. I believe we’ll have a good weekend in the Conseco Pontiac at Watkins Glen.” Jones has three starts at Watkins Glen in Winston Cup cars with his best finish of ninth with the Melling team in 1993. His last Winston Cup start at the Glen was in 2000 driving for Chip Ganassi in the No. 01 BellSouth Chevrolet; Jones started 29th and finished 21st. Jones, whose wife Jolaina gave birth to the couple’s first son Parnell Jagger on July 29th, will test the #14 Conseco Pontiac at Virginia International Raceway’s road course on Tuesday in preparation for the race.(Foyt Racing)(8-5-2002)
