Reed Sorenson and the Target team took their solid starting position of 11th and turned it into a ninth-place finish with flawless execution on the racetrack and on pit road. Sorenson moved into the top 10 on the third lap of the race and he remained inside of it for the duration of the 325-lap event. He took the lead on lap 133, during a round of green flag pit stops, to gain five valuable bonus points, but for the majority of the race the Target car hovered around positions seven, eight and nine.
The Target Dodge was its best on longer runs and at times Sorenson was the fastest car on the track. After moving into sixth position in the closing laps and catching fifth position, and untimely caution came out. Sorenson pitted one final time and returned to the track in ninth. After 11 laps of furious racing, he took the checkered flag in that very position, capturing his sixth career top-10 finish.
The Target Dodge was spot on in the handling department throughout the event. Sorenson made four pit stops before requesting any changes be made to the chassis. Even after that, only minor air pressure adjustments and one round of wedge were needed to get the car dialed in. The Target Dodge developed a loose condition during the middle portion of the race, but some excellent calls from crew chief Jimmy Elledge remedied the situation for the latter half of the event. Bottom line, Sorenson and crew were eight positions away from putting together the perfect race.
There were six caution periods during the Kobalt Tools 500 for a total of 27 laps. Sorenson and crew pitted seven times, three under green and the rest under caution. Sorenson led one time for a total of one lap.
Sorenson’s CGRFS teammates David Stremme and Juan Pablo Montoya finished fifth and 13th respectively. Sorenson and the Target team jumped up six positions in the overall standings to 25th. The team is 45 points out of 20th and 100 behind the top 10.
Sorenson and the No. 41 Target team head to Bristol Motor Speedway next for the Food City 500. The race will be broadcast Sunday, March 25, on FOX, PRN radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 (LIVE, 1:30 pm ET).
Reed's Quotes:
“It was a great day for the Target team and Chip Ganassi Racing with
Felix Sabates. Juan (Pablo Montoya) had a great run and David
(Stremme) was pretty solid too. This just shows the improvements
we’ve made to all of our teams and it’s nice to be able to showcase it
today with three strong runs.
“Had the race continued green at the end, we probably could’ve
gotten into the top five. The car was so much better on the longer
run and we were catching some of those guys pretty quickly.
“Overall it was just an awesome day. The car handled great and the
guys did an incredible job on pit road. This is a huge momentum
booster and my hats off to everyone that works on these cars at the
track and back at the shop. What a great feeling to come here and
run this good in front of the hometown crowd. Hopefully there will be
much more of this to come.”
