Although he was racing a much looser race car than he prefers, Reed Sorenson worked with his No. 41 Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Dodge to find the right stride at New Hampshire International Speedway Saturday and did just that in the closing 50 circuits of the 200-lap NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) competition to nail down a ninth-place finish.
Sorenson lined up 14th to take the green Saturday afternoon. By lap 10, he was a top-10 contender. The 21-year-old racer told his team the No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) Dodge was snug through the corners of the 1.058-mile oval and loose off the wall. Still, Sorenson maintained a top-10 run the entire first half of the race.
Just after the fifth yellow flag waved on lap 103, Sorenson told his crew chief Brad Parrott the car had developed a rear-end chatter and seemed to be getting even looser. Parrott decided to call the young driver in to make his third pit stop of the day just before the field returned to green. The No. 41 Wrigley’s pit crew dropped the track bar on its bright yellow Dodge and topped it off with fuel. Parrott was now banking on fuel mileage to get at least a top-five finish. As racing resumed on lap 108, Sorenson was scored in 25th place.
The next 50 laps played according to Parrott’s plan and stayed green as Sorenson cautiously picked his way up through the crowded field. By lap 116, he was 20th, and by lap 150 he was just outside the top 15 in 16th place. Then, just as Sorenson took over the 13th spot, the sixth and final yellow flag of the race waved on lap 165. Sorenson asked his team to take one more look at the car’s handling as it just didn’t feel right, so the Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit crew performed its last four-tire, fuel stop of the day and sent its driver back on track in 12th place. From there,
the No. 41 CGRFS Dodge picked up three more positions on fresher tires to grab a well-earned ninth-place finish. Sorenson’s teammate Juan Pablo Montoya maintained a top-10 run the majority of the race before getting taken out by the No. 2 car driven by Clint Bowyer on lap 165. Montoya finished 34th.
The No. 41 CGRFS Busch team now stands 25th in the NBS owner points. The team is 137 points outside the top 15 and 230 away from the top 10.
Sorenson and the No. 41 Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit crew will return to Daytona International Speedway to embark on the second half of the 2007 NBS season next Friday night. The 100-lap race is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN2, MRN radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.
REED SORENSON: “The Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Dodge really picked up the pace there toward the end. Brad made some great calls and I know he was really trying to get us out of here with a top five, but the car needed a little push there in the end. The fresher tires definitely helped, but Brad and all of the guys did a good job getting the car to come around by the end so we could bring home a top 10. This is definitely a great way to start the second half of the season.”
