Sorenson Charges to Seventh-Place Finish at Chicagoland

Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Target team put on an impressive display at Chicagoland Speedway, racing from an 18th-place starting position to a seventh-place finish. Sorenson held position in the top 10 for a majority of the 270-lap race and led a total of six laps en route to his fourth top 10 of the season and second in the last four races. Additionally, he captured Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the fourth time in ’06.

From the word go Sorenson showed he had a great race car, moving from 18th into the top 10 in the first 26 laps. He continued his charge to the front until pitting under green while running in seventh. Prior to the stop he radioed in that the car was tight exiting Turn 2 so the crew bolted on four new tires, added fuel and made a slight air pressure adjustment. Sorenson cycled out in fifth after the completion of stops on lap 62.

Racing continued until lap 67 when the first of eight caution flag flew. Sorenson pitted for right side tires and fuel only and returned to the track in 12th, only because a handful of teams opted to stay out.

Racing resumed on lap 72 and once again Sorenson sliced his way through the field. By lap 111 he cracked into the

top five and shortly thereafter into fourth place. Sorenson maintained position until pitting under green on lap 128 for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment, this time to remedy a loose handling condition.

Sorenson found himself running in fifth when the second caution flag flew on lap 139. Since he had pitted just a few laps earlier, crew chief Jimmy Elledge called him in for fuel only. As a result Sorenson exited pit road with the lead and he set the pace for six laps after the field went back green. He faded to fifth during the next run, continuing to battle a slightly loose condition.

Caution halted the action for the third time on lap 171. Elledge call Sorenson onto pit road for another round of service that included more air pressure adjustments and the crew returned him to competition in seventh. Sorenson pitted again during the fourth caution on lap 199, readying himself for the final segment of the event.

“Can we make it on gas,” Sorenson asked just prior to the next green flag on lap 204. “No, we’re about six laps short, we’ll have to pit for gas again so get everything you can,” Elledge explained.

Sorenson and team pitted for a fuel only stop during the fifth caution on lap 215, which would be their final stop of the day. Unfortunately many teams opted to take a gamble on fuel and as a result the No. 41 team dropped to 15th. In the closing laps, however, Sorenson flexed some muscle, just as he had done for the entire race. He went on to take the checkered flag in seventh.

“We ran well today,” Sorenson said after climbing from his car on pit road. “The car was solid all day. I don’t think we ever really ran outside of the top 10 most of the race. We ran in the top five a little bit and this is probably one of the best cars we’ve had all season. The cautions at the

end hurt us because we were way better on the longer runs. Had the race remained green there at the end, we would’ve been good to go.

“We’ve had some bad luck this year, but today we finally got the finish we deserved. My hats of to the guys on the Target team and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates for building such a great race car.

Sorenson and the Target team moved up three positions in the overall standings to 21st. The team is only 56 points out of 20th and 190 out of the top-15. Sorenson’s Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates David Stremme and Casey Mears finished 22nd and 25th respectively.