Reed Sorenson played it safe for much of the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday, holding position near the rear of the field and slightly outside of the main draft to avoid the multi-car accidents that restrictor-plate races are known for. When it was time to go, however, Sorenson nestled himself right into the middle of the pack and worked himself up to as high as fourth place on lap 98. Sorenson's strong, late-race run came to an end on lap 111 when he fell victim to a bump drafting incident. Restrictor-plate racing forces drivers to run into the back of each other in order to gain momentum on the cars they are racing beside of. Sorenson put a bumper on the car just in front of him (No. 66) and the contact along with the close-quarter racing sent the No. 66 spinning out of control. Eventually Sorenson was caught up as well. The car was too damaged to continue the race and the No. 41 team was scored with a 27th-place finish.
Prior to the accident, Sorenson commented he was taking some of the hardest hits he had ever felt in the draft. As a result the front grill got pushed in a little, causing the No. 41 Dodge's temperature to run hotter than normal. During the first caution on lap four, crew chief Brian Pattie brought Sorenson down pit road for four tires, fuel and the removal of tape from the grill. Afterwards, the car ran fine until getting swept up in the accident. Sorenson's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished 7th.
The No. 41 team now stands 26th in the overall Busch Series owner points, with 603 total points. The team is just one point out of 25th and 69 out of the top 20.
The Wrigley's Juicy Fruit team heads to Richmond International Raceway next for the Circuit City 250 presented by Funai on Friday, May 4. The event will air on ESPN2, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128 (Live,
7:30 p.m. ET).
