Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Target Dodge Team Facts:
Helping a Teammate’s Cause: Sorenson will be attending the BeLive Charity Gala, hosted by Connie and Juan Pablo Montoya, on Thurs., Nov. 15 at Karu & Y Restaurante in the Miami (Fla.) Arts District. The event proceeds will benefit Connie and Juan’s foundation, Formula Smiles, and five other charities to help raise awareness for Montoya’s home country of Colombia. The red carpet is set to begin at 7 p.m., with dinner, a fashion show by Colombian Fashion Designer Silvia Tcherassi and an exclusive concert by 12-time Grammy Winner Juanes.
Fishing For Charity: Sorenson will join NASCAR celebrities on Saturday morning, fishing in the Sixth Annual NASCAR NEXTEL Drivers Miccosukee Resort Charity Fishing Tournament. The event benefits the non-profit Darrell Gwynn Foundation to Cure Paralysis and the Betty Jane France Pediatric Center, “Speediatrics” at Homestead Hospital.
What the Driver Said: “We’re hoping to go down to Homestead and end the season on a high note. The mile and a half tracks have been our strong suit this season, so I think we have a shot at running strong on Sunday. We’ve had a lot of good moments this season, but also a lot of really bad luck. We just want to go down there, put together a solid run and start building momentum for 2008. It will be here before you know it.”
Points Update: Sorenson and the Target team maintained 22nd position in the overall NEXTEL Cup Series driver standings after the completion of the last event at Phoenix.
Chassis: Crew chief Elledge has selected chassis #206 for this weekend’s race at Homestead. This will be the last NEXTEL Cup Series event with the “old style” body and this particular chassis has a lot of history with the Target team. The car only raced once this season in the second Michigan race, but it was the busiest in the team’s fleet in 2006, running a total of seven races (California, Las Vegas, Charlotte 1, Pocono 1, Indy, Dover 2 and Charlotte) with a best finish of 10th coming in the May Charlotte race. The car suffered serious damage in the second Charlotte race last season, but has since been rebuilt. The Target team ran this car a total of 11 races in 2005 with driver Casey Mears. The team recorded six top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes, including a sixth-place effort at Indianapolis and two near victories in the final events of the season at Texas Motor Speedway (fourth) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (fifth).
