The only shot Reed Sorenson and the Target team had for winning the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway was to try a little strategy and steal one from the other NEXTEL Cup Series teams. Crew chief Jimmy Elledge tried a number of pit strategy calls to get an edge on the competition including; pitting during a round of pit stops while most did not; leaving Sorenson and the Target Dodge on track when many pitted, which gained them the lead at that point; and finally short pitting to hopefully gain track position during what should’ve been the final stop of the day.
Elledge’s hand didn’t win him the jack pot, but had the race gone green throughout the final 70 or so laps of the race the Target team may have been celebrating a victory. Nevertheless, Sorenson and Elledge did the best they could with a car that wasn’t up to par in the handling department and were headed for at least a top-20 finish. Unfortunately, a tap in the rear from the No. 99 sent Sorenson spinning in the closing laps. He made contact with the wall and other race cars, but managed to limp onto pit road for some quick repairs by the over-the-wall crew. Sorenson was able to finish the race on the lead lap and bring home a 28th-place finish
Sorenson and the Target team maintained 24th position in the overall standings at the completion of the Pocono Race. The team is 101 points out of 20th.
The Target team made eight pit stops during the event, two of which were under green-flag conditions and one was for fuel only. There were seven caution flags for a total of 27 laps and the time of race was 3 hrs, 47 mins and 55 secs.
The NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International next for the Centurion Boats at The Glen on August 12. The race is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard, REED SORENSON:
“We couldn’t seem to get the handle on the car all weekend long. We battled loose entering the corners and no front grip, which makes for a pretty challenging race at a place like Pocono. Jimmy (Elledge) and the guys did a nice
job with the adjustments and the car was its best at the end of the race. We set ourselves up for a fuel mileage race, but it didn’t quite work out. Still we were headed for a respectable finish until we got hit from behind late in the race. That cost us a number of positions. Hopefully, we can rebound with a good run next week in Watkins Glen.”
