Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Discount Tire team scored their second top-five finish of the 2006 season at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, finishing fourth in the Goody’s 250. The top five elevated Sorenson three positions in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, where he now ranks 13th and just 186 points outside the top 10 with 14 races remaining in the 2006 season.
Sorenson pulled another weekend shuffle, splitting his time between states to compete in both the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races. He started the weekend off practicing at Martinsville on Thursday, and it was a good practice run for the No. 41 Discount Tire team. Sorenson and team spent a good portion of the seven-hour open practice running at the top of the speed chart.
Saturday morning, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) development driver Kevin Hamlin stepped in to help the team qualify for the race while Sorenson was en route from Pocono. Hamlin grabbed the ninth-place starting position, lapping the .526-mile track at 94.6 miles per hour in 20 seconds flat.
Sorenson got back behind the wheel to run the 250-lap race that started just before 4 p.m. ET later that same day. If there is a driver change between qualifying and race time, NASCAR requires the team to start from the back, so as the field followed the pace car around the short track Sorenson dropped back to 41st before taking the green.
Knowing the leaders would be on his rear bumper in no time at all, Sorenson kicked his No. 41 Dodge into gear to work his way toward the front. By lap 18, he was a top-30 contender and then just 30 laps later he was a top-20 runner.
Sorenson told his team the car was a little loose but thought it would come around to him just like it did during Thursday’s practice session. He was right. Sorenson proceeded to gain more ground, and on lap 73 he moved into 10th place.
The team opted to make its one and only pit stop of the day under the sixth yellow flag of the race—on lap 80. Sorenson pitted for four tires and fuel, along with a right-rear wedge adjustment. Some teams pitted and some didn’t, so as racing resumed on lap 84, Sorenson was in 21st place. It didn’t take long for him to climb back inside the top 10. As the field came around to make its 10th restart of the race on lap 120, the No. 41 was 10th on the rundown chart.
From there it was all forward motion. Sorenson moved up to fifth just a little more than 20 laps later and settled into the top five the remainder of the event to eventually finish fourth.
Sorenson now stands 13th in the Busch Series driver standings with 2,078 points. He is just 186 points out of 10th. The team stands 16th in the owner standings with a running tally of 2,163. The team is just 9 steps out of 15th and 101 points outside the top 10.
While the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series takes a break next weekend, the Busch Series will head to Gateway International Raceway to run the Gateway 200 on Saturday, July 29 in Madison, Ill. The race is scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. ET and will broadcast live on TNT (TV) and MRN (Radio).
