Sorenson immediately began an impressive charge towards the front when the initial green flag flew, signaling the start of the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After 15 laps of competition he radioed in to crew chief Jimmy Elledge that he was “loosing the nose” of the car (experiencing at tight condition) in the corners. That may have been an indication the right front tire was going down because the team hadn’t dealt with that particular handling problem all weekend. Elledge replied saying they would make some adjustments during the first pit stop to remedy the situation.
Unfortunately the Target team never got the opportunity to make a pit stop because just before its first scheduled stop, the tire went down and sent Sorenson into the wall. He was able to drive the car into the garage area, but major repairs were needed before the No. 41 Target Dodge could return to competition.
“I can’t believe the luck we are having,” said Sorenson while standing in the garage stall overseeing the repair work. “Our cars have been extremely fast all three races so far this season, but every time something keeps us from getting the finishes we deserve and are capable of. I hate it for everyone on this team because they’re working really hard to bring competitive race cars to the track. We’ll get it fixed and go back out and try to get as many points as we can.”
If it weren’t for bad luck, Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Target team would have no luck whatsoever. Their nemesis at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a blown right- front tire on lap 41 that resulted in heavy contact with the outside retaining wall and a 62-lap stint in the garage for repairs. Prior to the accident, however, Sorenson had one of the fastest cars on the track, racing from his 36th-place starting position up to 22nd.
Sorenson eventually returned to competition on lap 105. The Target team clearly did an excellent job making the repairs because Sorenson began mowing down the competition just as he was before the accident.
“This thing is even better than it was before,” exclaimed Sorenson after turning a few laps.
The team lost too many laps while making repairs though, and only attrition was going to allow them to make up positions. Rather than give up, they took the opportunity to use the remaining laps as a test session.
“This will be a good time for us to try a few things with the adjustments, and hopefully we’ll learn something from it,” said Elledge. “Reed, you can practice getting on and off pit road, and the over-the- wall guys can get some good pit practice.”
Sorenson went on to finish the 267-lap event in the 41st position, but the entire team left the track knowing it had another strong car. Once they have a little luck on their side, the Target driver and team will eventually prove they can compete with the best of them.
The finish dropped the Target team from 24th to 32nd in the overall standings. The team is now 82 points out of the top 20 heading into the next event at Sorenson’s hometown track, Atlanta Motor Speedway, on Mar. 19. Sorenson currently sits in seventh place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 19 points. He is 12 points behind leader Clint Bowyer.
