Racing resumed on lap 24 and before the next caution on lap 31 Sorenson had maneuvered his way up to 35th. He commented the car was better but the team needed to keep inching in the same direction with the adjustments because he was on the verge of being too loose. He brought the car in for tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment and returned to competition in 28th.
The next run of the race the car was still tight exiting (Turn) three, but had become too loose entering the corners, specifically Turns 2 and 3. For the remainder of the event the crew continued to battle the finicky race car, never quite finding the right balance. Sorenson would eventually have to sacrifice being too loose in order to get off the corners, where most of the passing was made.
Late in the race Elledge opted for strategy, pitting under green
for fuel only on lap 164. The hope was to gain track position
and hold it by running the remainder of the race under green.
The call moved Sorenson up to 13th, but unfortunately there
was another caution. After pitting for tires and fuel, Sorenson
restarted in 25th and went on to wrestle the car to a 26th-place
finish.
“We were just off this weekend,” said Sorenson at the
completion of the race. “Not getting any practice on Saturday
really hurt us because we wanted to try a few things. The
start of the race was pretty much an unknown, but the car
was tight just like it was on Friday. Luckily, we don’t come back
here until next June, because we’ve got some work to do. On
the bright side, we finished better than we did the last time here.
“The Cup guys get a much needed weekend off, which will give everyone a chance to relax with their families and friends, and to regroup before we head to Indy. We had a great test there and we’re all looking forward to going back up there in two weeks.”
Sorenson and team dropped one position to 23rd in the standings at the conclusion of the Pocono event. They are only 53 points out of 20th and 203 out of 15th heading into the next event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 6. Sorenson’s Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and David Stremme finished 23rd and 29th respectively.
Sorenson and crew were forced to start the 200-lap event on Sunday not knowing exactly how the car was going to handle. They fought a primarily tight condition during the practice session leading up to qualifying on Friday, so prior to Saturday’s practices they made wholesale changes to the setup. Unfortunately practice was cancelled due to a low laying cloud layer and heavy rain.
After starting 23rd, Sorenson radioed in during the opening laps that the car had absolutely no front grip exiting the third turn. He went on to say it felt like the front end was lifting up off the ground, so during the first caution, mandated by NASCAR on lap 20, crew chief Jimmy Elledge called for four tires, fuel, air pressure changes and an adjustment to the shocks to help hold the car down on corner exit. The crew performed the lengthy service and sent Sorenson back out in 43rd.
