SORENSON WHEELS DISCOUNT TIRE DODGE TO 21ST AT CHARLOTTE

The Discount Tire crew continued to make adjustments on the No. 41 as the sun went down but after a green-flag pit stop on lap 68, the team fell one lap down to the race leaders and wasn’t able to get it back before the checkered flag waved.

“We had to pull the back-up car out after qualifying on Thursday,” Sorenson said. “We ran it in California and got an 11th-place finish. Not getting to practice with the car before the race definitely didn’t help us. We seemed to be chasing the handling of the car all night. I started out tight and barely able to turn and then it got loose. The guys on the Discount Tire team worked hard to make the necessary adjustments but we couldn’t quite get it dialed in. After starting in the back of the field though, we were able to gain some ground and some points so that is good.”

The green flag waved just after 8 p.m. ET Saturday night and it wasn’t too long after that the first caution flag waved when the race leader got loose and hit the wall on lap two. Sorenson was up to 39th and reporting there was a lot of smoke inside the car. Just seven laps later another caution flag flew when the No. 33 car got loose off turn four and hit the frontstretch wall.

When racing resumed on lap 21, Sorenson restarted 20th. He worked his way up to 15th by lap 33 and radioed the crew the car was “real tight in the center.” The Discount Tire Dodge continued to get tighter as the laps clicked away. On lap 68, crew chief Brian Pattie called Sorenson to pit road under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel.

After a Thursday night qualifying accident forced Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Discount Tire team to bring out their back-up car for the Carquest Auto Parts 300, they fought the mishandling all night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Saturday before bringing home a 21st-place finish.

As green-flag pit stops cycled through the No. 41 was shown in the 16th spot, one lap down to the race leaders. The leader of the 200-lap event, the No. 17 had passed Sorenson after he returned to the track.

The third caution came out on lap 111 and Sorenson was 18th. The pit crew made a track bar adjustment, put on four fresh tires and added gas before sending the car back on the track in the 18th spot.

“This thing is loose in and tight in the center,” Sorenson told his crew over the radio before the caution came out on lap 128.

The Discount Tire Dodge continued to be too tight as Sorenson battled to stay in the top 20 over the final 72 laps. Pattie made one last attempt to improve his team’s position by calling Sorenson to pit road on lap 158 under caution. The team put on four tires, added fuel and made a wedge adjustment on the No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge and then sent Sorenson back out in 19th place.

Sorenson went on to take the checkered flag in the 21st position. Teammate Casey Mears led for several laps before settling for fourth place at the end of the 200-lap event.

Sorenson and the No. 41 Discount Tire team now stand 13th in driver points and 16th in owner points. They are 85 points out of 10th in driver points and 255 points out of fifth. In the owners’ standings, they are 127 points out of 10th and 255 points out of fifth.

The NASCAR Busch Series teams will travel to Dover International Speedway for the StonebridgeRacing.com 200 on Saturday, June 3. The race is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET and will broadcast live on FX (TV) and MRN (Radio).