After starting seventh, Reed Sorenson and the Target team had a strong car throughout the entire 400-lap event at Dover International Speedway. During the midpoint of the race Sorenson even had a commanding lead over the competition, and when he wasn’t out front he ran consistently in the top five for a majority of the race. While running in fourth with two laps remaining, however, the fuel cell in the Target Dodge ran dry, relegating the team to an 11th-place finish.
Sorenson turned in his best qualifying effort of the season on Friday, posting a lap time of 23.174 sec./155.346 mph, placing him seventh on the starting grid for Sunday’s race at “The Monster Mile.” After two impressive practice sessions on Saturday morning, Sorenson and the Target team were ready to attack the track and the competition.
From the drop of the green flag it was apparent Sorenson was going to be a contender. At the completion of the first lap he had already moved into the top five, where he would spend most of his time prior to pitting during the fourth caution on lap 47. Sorenson radioed in that the Target Dodge needed front grip, so he pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and returned to the track in seventh (some remained on track or pitted for two tires only).
Racing resumed on lap 52. Sorenson moved into fifth place shortly thereafter and then pitted during the fifth caution on lap 98 for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to help the car rotate in the corner.
The field was unleashed again on lap 103 with Sorenson placed in sixth. He methodically began working his way to the front and by lap 140 he had overtaken second place. After an awesome stop by the Target over-the-wall crew during the sixth caution on lap 164, Sorenson returned to competition with the lead, which he would hold until pitting on lap 204.
When Sorenson forfeited the lead to pit during the eighth caution on lap 204, some teams once again opted to take two or stay out. After the stop he returned to the track in eighth, but he had no trouble regaining positions. During the initial laps of the next run that started on lap 212 Sorenson commented - the car was loose, but eventually the handling came around and by lap 296, when the ninth caution flag flew, he was back inside the top five.
At this point of the race strategy began to play out. The Target team pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, then returned to pit road just before the green came out for a splash of gas that should’ve helped the team reach the checkered flag without stopping again. Sorenson took the green in eighth on lap 306, raced up to seventh and then moved into third when some competitors in front of him made their final stops during the last caution on lap 323.
Sorenson put up an impressive fight during the final 73 laps of the event, holding off some hard chargers as the race neared its end. With just two laps remaining Sorenson radioed in that the fuel pressure light was on and moments later he was out of gas. He coasted across the finish line in 11th.
“Looking back on it we probably should’ve pitted for gas during that last caution, even if we didn’t get tires,” said Sorenson at the completion of the race. “I think our car was good enough to finish top five, and it was. We were running fourth and ran out of fuel. Still, we had a really good car today, probably one of the best performances we’ve had all year. The crew did an excellent job all day. Nobody made any mistakes today and that’s what matters most.”
The Target team moved up one position to 21st in the overall standings. They are now 52 points out of 20th heading into the next event at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 1. Sorenson’s Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates David Stremme and Casey Mears finished 18th and 22nd respectively.”
