Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit team were knocking on the door of the top 15 in Saturday’s Nicorette 300 at Altanta Motor Speedway when the No. 38 car suddenly broke loose and slammed the No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge into the outside wall. Unfortunately, Sorenson’s car was damaged beyond repair and thus the team had to reluctantly call it a day on lap 64 of the 195-lap competition in 39th place.
Racing at his hometown track, Sorenson took the green in 30th place just after 3 p.m. ET Saturday. Less than four laps later, the Georgia native was a top-20 runner. He radioed his team the car was lacking front grip but it didn’t seem to greatly impact his on-track performance.
Running in 23rd place, Crew Chief Brian Pattie called Sorenson to pit under a mandatory competition yellow on lap 37. After making an air pressure adjustment to improve the car’s grip, the over-the-wall Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit crew fitted the bright yellow No. 41 Dodge with four fresh tires and then topped it off with fuel. Racing resumed on lap 40 with Sorenson three positions ahead of where he was prior to his stop—in 20th place.
It was just a little more than 20 laps later when the race came to a screeching halt as Sorenson’s team members watched their car slide down the front stretch, scraping the outside wall.
The wreck damaged the car beyond repair, but fortunately Sorenson was evaluated and released from the infield care center. The No. 41 CGRFS team placed 39th in the final rundown and still stands 32nd in the overall NASCAR Busch Series owner ranks.
Sorenson’s teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished eighth.
The Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit team and Sorenson head to Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday, March 24, to race in the Sharpie Mini 300. The race will be broadcast on ABC (LIVE, 2: 30pm ET).
Reed Quotes:
“The Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit team was actually having a pretty good run, but it’s really hard to say how things would have gone because we really were just getting started there. I am not sure what happened. It looked like the No. 38 blew a tire and just lost control. Unfortunately, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
