DOVER, Del. (Sept 23, 2007) Reed Sorenson and the Target team raced from their 33rd-place starting position into the top 11 at one of the more challenging tracks on the NEXTEL Cup Series circuit Dover International Speedway a.k.a. The Monster Mile. For much of the race Sorenson battled a loose race car, which he described as unpredictable. Even so, he was able to motor his way towards the front and avoid the accidents that brought out seven of the 13 caution flags throughout the 400-lap race. Unfortunately the No. 41 Target Dodge got swept up in the 12th caution while running in 11th and making a run towards the top 10. The car sustained enough damage to force Sorenson to the garage and to call it a day in 30th place.
Crew chief Jimmy Elledge made multiple adjustments throughout the race to give Sorenson more drivability with the front end of the race car. The adjustments only made the car too tight but didnt remedy the loose condition. Elledge reversed many of the changes and therefore Sorenson was challenged to just work with the loose condition. He eventually found his groove and at times was as fast as the leader. Once again, the Target team proved they are starting to get a handle on the Car of Tomorrow (CoT), only this time they didnt have the results to show for it.
Sorenson and the Target team maintained 23rd position in the overall driver standings at the completion of the Dover race. The team is 213 points out of 20th with eight races remaining in the 2007 season.
There were 13 caution flags for a total of 66 laps, the average speed was 101.846 mph and the time of race was 3 hrs, 55 mins and 39 secs.
The NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway next for the 29th of 36 races on the 2007 schedule. The LifeLock 400 is set to go green at 2 p.m. ET and will air on ABC, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
REED SORENSON: This is very disappointing because the guys worked so hard on the car this weekend and we were definitely going to get a top 10 out of this. We started off really bad on Friday, but Jimmy (Elledge) and everyone on the Target team did a great job of getting the car drivable for today. It was a handful today, but it was fast. Im still adjusting to the way these new cars drive and were constantly working to improve our CoT program. Each week we seem to be getting a little better. We definitely had a competitive car today, too bad we didnt get the finish to show for it.
