In less than a week the Busch Series cars will be in Daytona Beach, Florida for pre-season testing. It will be Reed Sorenson’s first visit to the 2.5-mile super-speedway as he straps in for his freshman year driving the No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge Charger under the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates banner.
With nearly two months passing with no racing, Sorenson has still maintained a full schedule. Whether it was working at the race shop, attending charity dinners or testing, he’s stayed busy.
“We’ve done a lot of stuff in the shop. Dodge came out with the new body. The cars (Intrepids) we had built we had to
redo as Chargers. As it is, we’re going as fast as we can. We had to build a pit box and build the new cars,” Sorenson says of the hustle around the CGR race shop.
“We got new crew members so I’ve hung out with those guys to get to know them. The over the wall crew, everyone will be different because last year, they just pieced it together. Now, we hired a fulltime pitstop coach and the same guys will go over the wall every week all year.”
As he takes on his first full season in Busch competition the 2003 ASA Rookie of The Year is doing all he can to also claim those honors in the NASCAR ranks. He’s taking his freshman year very seriously and is at the shop throughout the week watching over his crew, led by Brian Pattie, and helping with the car.
“I’ve been in the shop a lot. I changed some stuff on my seat this year, the head rest. The whole interior, that’s my job, to make sure it’s how I want it.”
Another step towards success in ’05, tackling tracks he has not yet seen, with focus on the two road course races. In addition to attending the Bondurant School of Driving in Arizona, Sorenson has also taken on other interesting ways to gain road course experience.
“I tested a go-kart in Florida trying to get ready for Mexico City, it was just a fun deal I was trying to get on a road course. I’m trying to get any edge I can before we get to Mexico,” he says.
Off of the track, he’s also taking care of business and is ready for a long and successful relationship with his sponsor Discount Tire Co.
“We did a photo shoot and we’re shooting new commercials on the sixth,” he says.
“They’ve been a big help as far as getting apparel ready. They helped design the shirts, hats and things. They are more excited about it then I think any sponsor I’ve had before.”
But back to the task at hand and the reason for all of the extra work - racing. The season opener, the Hershey’s Take 5 300, will shake down on February 19th at the Daytona International Speedway.
First up, testing on January 22-24th.
“As long as we qualify and we make the show, we’ll just have to see how it runs. We’ll draft on Monday when we test. I’m interested to see how our car handles in a pack of cars.”
