Strong Martinsville Performance Gives Reed a 12th-Place Finish

“It’s really loose getting into the corner, but it’s sliding the nose on exit,” said Reed Sorenson in the opening laps of the DirecTV 500 at Martinsville Speedway. “I can’t really be any looser getting in, but the car needs help on the throttle,” he continued.

The handling issues proved to be Sorenson’s nemesis throughout the event, along with some lapped traffic and aggressive driving by fellow competitors. All of that combined, however, didn’t prevent Sorenson from turning in his second best effort of the season at a track that not only had he never seen before, but is considered one of the toughest on the NEXTEL Cup circuit.

Sorenson took the initial green flag for the 500-lap event in 25th. On lap two of the race, he was pushed into a car in front of him that was slowing to avoid an accident. The Target Dodge sustained minor damage, but nothing that alarmed the team or required a pit stop for repairs. Sorenson continued on until pitting during the third of 18 caution periods on lap 89 running in 24th. The crew bolted on four tires, added fuel and made a track bar adjustment to help the car turn on corner exit.

The Target Dodge took the next green on lap 95 in 21st. Shortly into the run, Sorenson commented that the car was rotating well in the corner but it would lose the nose (get tight) once he picked the throttle back up. He pitted once again on lap 109 for tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to hopefully remedy the situation.

The Target team continued to make changes to the chassis during the caution periods and with each tweak the car’s condition improved. During the middle segment of the race Sorenson put on a driving display as he raced from 19th to 10th before the seventh caution flag flew on lap 225.

“The car is still loose getting in and a bit tight off,” Sorenson radioed in to crew chief Jimmy Elledge. “It gets better on the long run and it can’t be any looser on entry, so I guess just leave it like it is and I’ll do what I can.”

Throughout the remainder of the race, Sorenson hung around in the top-10, proving that he had a strong car and just needed track position. He was able to maintain position by using some short track prowess and solid pit stops by the Target over-the-wall crew. Late in the race the handling started to go astray, but Sorenson was able to wheel his way to a 12th-place finish.

“I’m extremely happy with our performance today,” said Sorenson at the conclusion of the event. “I’ve never raced here before so I didn’t know what to expect. We made a lot of changes yesterday after practice and they definitely helped. We still fought some handling today, but we learned a lot and should be better when we come back.”

Sorenson captured Raybestos rookie of the race honors for the second time this season and twice in the last three races. He is currently fourth in the rookie standings with 52 points and is

eight points behind leader Clint Bowyer. The Target team also moved up three positions to 24th in the overall standings at the conclusion of the Martinsville race. They are only 20 points out of 20th and 147 out of the top 10 heading into the next event at Texas Motor Speedway on Apr. 9. Sorenson’s Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and David Stremme finished 27th and 38th respectively.

The crew performed a four tire service stop and sent Sorenson back into competition in 13th. Sorenson had no problem whatsoever driving right back into the top 10 and up to a race high of seventh prior to the 14th caution on lap 304.The crew performed a four tire service stop and sent Sorenson back into competition in 13th. Sorenson had no problem whatsoever driving right back into the top 10 and up to a race high of seventh prior to the 14th caution on lap 304.The crew performed a four tire service stop and sent Sorenson back into competition in 13th. Sorenson had no problem whatsoever driving right back into the top 10 and up to a race high of seventh prior to the 14th caution on lap 304.