Reed Sorenson and the Target team fought a finicky race car for 312-laps of competition at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). After starting 25th and moving inside of the top 20 with relative ease, Sorenson and crew chief Jimmy Elledge became perplexed when the car went from handling fairly well to practically uncontrollable after a stop for four tires and no changes.
The Target Dodge was a bit on the loose side when the initial green flag flew, signaling the start of the Checker Auto Parts 500. After pitting a couple of times for some minor air pressure adjustments, the car’s handling improved considerably and Sorenson was able to start marching towards the front. All of a sudden, however, the car became extremely loose and at one point Sorenson believed he had a tire going down. Luckily, a caution flag flew before he had to enter pit road under green, but the crew discovered the tire wasn’t flat, leaving everyone scratching their heads.
The mysterious handling issues would plague the team for the remainder of the event. At times, the car was decent and other times Sorenson could barely drive it through the corner without spinning out. He put up a good fight and did the best he could with the hand he was dealt for the day to finish 19th at the 1-mile track.
Sorenson led once in the race for one lap. The Target team maintained 22nd position in the overall NEXTEL Cup Series driver standings. There were 10 caution flags for a total of 42 laps, the average speed was 102.989 mph and the time of race was 3 hrs, 01 mins and 46 secs.
The NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway next for final race of the 2007 season. The Homestead 400 is set to go green at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov 18, and will air on ABC, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
REED SORENSON: “I really have no explanation why the car reacted like it did. Jimmy (Elledge) and I really didn’t know what adjustments to make because the car started driving completely different and we didn’t make any adjustments at all. It was a tough day today, but we finished the race in one piece. We’ve got one more race and I’d really like to end the season on a high note to get ready for 2008.”
