LEVEL CROSS, N.C. - Buckshot Jones has been fired by Petty Enterprises and replaced in the NASCAR Winston Cup ride by Steve Grissom, who will begin driving the team's No. 44 Dodge this weekend in Talladega, Ala.
``We have not performed to our expectations, and we felt like it was time to make a change,'' Kyle Petty, CEO of Petty Enterprises, said Wednesday. ``Sometimes you change the coach, and sometimes you change the quarterback. This time we decided to shake up the chemistry by changing the quarterback.''
Jones, 31, said his dismissal is unfair because he did all the Pettys asked him to do this season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday. He said he has run as well as or better than Andretti and often better than Petty.
Jones, who grew up in Tucker and Monticello and lives in Chateau Elan northeast of Atlanta, was 35th in points this season with no top-10 finishes. He was in his second season as a teammate to Petty and John Andretti. For his career, Jones has one top-10 finish in 54 starts.
He said he has had other offers to drive but wants to wait a few days before making a decision.
Grissom, a former Winston Cup competitor and Busch series champion, drove for Petty in the NASCAR truck series in 2000. He has been a test driver for the team, helping to develop the new Dodge models that returned last year to Winston Cup.
``We believe that Steve, because he's been around us and has helped us with these cars, can step in and move the Georgia-Pacific team forward,'' Petty said. ``Because of the way we've done our testing with our R&D program, Steve has more laps in some of our cars than I do or John does.''
Saturday
April 19th, 2025
5:18AM
