Unfortunately, their impressive run came to a screeching halt after a restart on lap 255. The Target Dodge hung in gear, keeping Sorenson from getting up to speed and soon thereafter the engine let go, ending the team’s day in 41st position.
Driving a pink Breast Cancer Awareness car, Sorenson battled a loose in and tight on exit condition during the opening laps of the event. Crew Chief Jimmy Elledge made air pressure adjustments during a number of stops to get the car to turn better, but to prevent it from being any looser on corner entry. The car got better with each stop, but the biggest improvement came after Sorenson received a substantial hit in the rear from the No. 10 car of Scott Riggs as he was trying to get righted after a spin.
Sorenson completely came to a stop to avoid the No. 10 and once he started the rolling again he got hit hard enough in the left-rear tire to
cause the car to make two complete 360 degree spins. Sorenson entered pit road for tires and fuel and returned to the track. Afterwards, the car cut better in the center of the corner than it had all day, allowing Sorenson to pass competitors and maintain position inside the top 10 until the mechanical failure.
The Target team maintained 23rd position in the overall NEXTEL Cup Series driver standings. The team now stands 244 points outside of the top 20 with four events remaining.
There were 21 caution flags for a total of 127 laps, the average speed
was 66.608 mph and the time of race was 3 hrs, 59 mins and 45 secs.
The NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Sorenson’s hometown track—Atlanta
Motor Speedway—next for the 33nd of 36 races on the 2007 schedule. The Target team will again be running the Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Car. The Pep Boys Auto 500 is set to go green
at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 28, and will air on ABC, MRN and Sirius
Satellite Radio channel 128.
Additionally, Sorenson will host his inaugural Reed Sorenson Charity
Golf Classic next Wednesday, Oct. 24, at White Water Creek Country
Club in Fayetteville, Ga. Proceeds from the event will benefit Speedway Children’s Charities.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
REED SORENSON: “I’m not exactly sure what happened. The car got stuck into gear on the restart and then the motor let go. I didn’t think I over-revved the engine, but whatever the case our day came to an end in a matter of minutes. It’s a shame because we had a really good run going. For a while there the only car faster than us was the No. 48 and he ended up winning. I think we had a legit shot at a top-five finish, definitely a top-10 finish today. Hopefully, we’ll do better with the pink car next week at Atlanta.”
