Sorenson Takes Checkered Flag 13th at Texas Motor Speedway

“Man we had a great car today,” said Sorenson at the completion of the race. “It’s unfortunate we lost all of that track position there at the end. I was trying to give myself some room to get out and just didn’t quite get in the box. That’s a pretty hard pill to swallow, but on the bright side of things, we were a contender today. We were one of the fastest cars towards the end of the race. The guys did an incredible job setting up the car and on pit road today, and if we keep running like this, top-five finishes and a win are just around the corner.”

The stage was set for Sorenson and the Target team to potentially capture their first top-five of the season when the last caution of the day at Texas Motor Speedway came out with just 22 laps remaining in the 334-lap event. Sorenson took the ninth caution flag running in fifth, but a slight mishap on pit road cost him and the team valuable track position. Sorenson was attempting to pit short to avoid getting blocked in by the competitor in front of him. He stopped just slightly outside of the pit box [NASCAR rules state the rear tires must be inside the back line of the pit box prior to servicing the car] and the extra seconds it took to move forward relegated the team to 17th when Sorenson returned to competition.

Though a bit dejected, Sorenson pulled his belts tight and fought for every position possible in the closing laps. He was able to overtake four before taking the checkered flag in 13th.

“Welcome to the top five buddy,” crew chief Jimmy Elledge radioed to driver Reed Sorenson as he cracked into top-five for the first time in the Samsung/RadioShack 500 on lap 281.

Sorenson took the initial green flag in 13th after posting his best qualifying effort of the season on Friday afternoon. Shortly after the start he began his impressive run that saw him climb into the top-10 for the first time on lap five. Barring a few pit strategy moves that saw some teams take two tires during a couple of pit stops, Sorenson and the Target team ran in the top 10 for a majority of the race.

Early in the event Sorenson commented that the car was really stable entering the corner and through the center, but that it was a bit “snug” on corner exit. Elledge and the crew attempted to remedy the situation by making air pressure and wedge adjustments during ensuing pit stops.

Towards the middle segment of the race, Sorenson radioed in that the car was better on exit but had become loose on corner entry. The Target team was zeroing in on the right balance and they discovered it during the seventh caution of the race after reversing some changes made during the previous pit stop.

Sorenson took the green after the seventh caution on lap 256, running in ninth. From there he went on to motor past each competitor he came upon until reaching fifth position on lap 296. He continued to maintain position until making his final pit stop, after which the team dropped to 17th. Sorenson and the Target team were disappointed to see a possible top-five finish and definitely a top-10 finish slip away, but they left Texas knowing they had one of the cars to beat.

The Target team moved up five positions to 19th in the overall standings after their strong performance at Texas. They are only 43 points out of 15th and 144 out of 10th. Sorenson currently sits fifth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 60 points. He is only 11 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.

Sorenson’s Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and David Stremme finished 14th and 21st respectively. The NEXTEL Cup Series has the weekend off and then heads to Phoenix International Raceway for the eighth race of the 2006 season on Apr. 22.