SORENSON STARTS FROM POLE, FINISHES FIFTH AT THE BRICKYARD

Reed Sorenson and the Target team knew they had a good car for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) after leading the first and only practice session and then capturing the pole position for the 160-lap event. The pole position marked the first of Sorenson’s young NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series career and he broke the record for the youngest driver (21-yrs. old) to score a pole position for a major event at IMS, breaking a record that stood for 72 years. The Target team brought the same chassis (#402) they used to win the pole position in 2004 with Casey Mears, and the car was equally as good if not better on Sunday.

After bringing the 43-car field to the green flag, Sorenson went on to set the pace around the 2.5-mile speedway until the first of nine caution periods on lap 14. He commented the car was loose in the corners so he pitted for four tires, fuel, air pressure changes and a track bar adjustment to tighten up the chassis.

Sorenson took the next green flag on lap 19 in the third position and he immediately radioed in that the car was too tight. The condition

seemed to plague the team for much of the race, which is a common trait at the flat speedway. Unless a car is out front or the field is stretched out enough for a driver to have clean air on the nose, all of the cars tend to pick up an “aero push” in the corners. Such was the case with the Target Dodge, but the condition didn’t prevent Sorenson from maintaining position in the top 10 (lowest position was 18th) for a majority of the race, or keep him from charging up to fifth-place to take the checkered flag. The top-five finish marked the Target team’s second of the season.

Sorenson and the Target team moved up four positions to 24th in the overall standings at the completion of the Brickyard 400. The team is 162 points out of 20th.

The Target team made four pit stops during the event, one under caution and one for two tires only. There were nine caution flags for a total of 43 laps and the time of race was 3 hrs, 24 mins and 28 secs.

The NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway next for the Pennsylvania 500 on Aug. 5. The race is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

REED SORENSON: “We knew we had a good car for the race after practice and getting the pole. All of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates cars were strong today. Juan (Pablo Montoya) had a great run and David’s (Stremme) car was good for much of the race, as well.

“The Target Dodge was pretty good at the beginning. It was a little loose so we adjusted on it and that hurt us a little for the next run. The car was real aero sensitive in traffic, but once we got some clean air it was pretty fast. Overall it was a good day and great weekend for the Target team. We definitely needed this.”