After two solid practice sessions and a sixth-place qualifying effort, Reed Sorenson and the Dollar General team were primed for a good finish in the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, after running in the top-10 throughout the majority of the 200-lap event, those hopes were dashed when the team got caught up in an accident just 10 laps short of the checkered flag. Even though the Dollar General Chevy sustained internal and external damage from the melee, Sorenson went on to finish 15th, on the lead lap.
Sorenson continued his streak of starting in the top-15 and qualified the Dollar General Chevy in the sixth spot. By the first caution on lap 32, he had dropped one spot to seventh, but was fairly pleased with his car. Needing the car to turn just a bit better, Sorenson brought his machine down pit road for air pressure and wedge adjustments, along with four tires and fuel. He restarted ninth on lap 37. Sorenson quickly headed toward the leaders and just before the half-way mark of the race, he had moved up to the sixth position.
When the caution flag was shown on lap 115, crew chief Trent Owens called his driver back to pit road for a fuel-only stop, hoping the team could make it to the end without needing another stop. Sorenson rejoined the field in the seventh position, but took the restart in 10th as three cars remained on track through the stops.
Again wanting to prove he had a fast car, Sorenson shot to the front and had moved the Dollar General Chevy up to the sixth spot when the caution flag was shown at lap 166. Owens made the decision at the last moment and Sorenson came down pit road for a quick two-tire and fuel stop, the last the team would make. Sorenson restarted in 11th as again, other competitors were exercising differing strategies. When racing resumed, Sorenson narrowly missed a spinning No. 22 car while running in the sixth spot when the caution came out once again on lap 184.
Unfortunately, the caution flag was shown just six laps later when the No. 66 got into the back of the No. 20 which set off the chain reaction that caught Sorenson with nowhere to go. Even though the No. 32 sustained some damage and lost the ability to shift below fourth gear, Sorenson got the car re-fired and moving and rejoined the field in the 21st spot, one lap down.
Because he was the first car one lap down, Sorenson got his lap back when the final caution of the afternoon came out on lap 197, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. He took the restart in the 17th spot and moved the Dollar General machine two more positions forward before the checkers fell to finish 15th.
“This is a real tough one for this team to swallow,” Sorenson said after the race. “We just had such a fast car all weekend throughout both practices and qualifying, so the finish is just really disappointing, especially to get caught up in something that wasn’t our doing. The Dollar General team had such great stops on pit road all afternoon and after running in the top-10 all day, we were just all ready for a finish that would reflect that. I guess we will just need to put this one behind us and get excited for the trip to Nashville, where I’m hopeful we will have better luck- especially in Dollar General’s backyard.”
Next Stop: The NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday night racing next weekend. The Federated Auto Parts 300 will be broadcast live on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on MRN affiliates on July 23.
Late Accident Ruins Chances for Top-10
at New Hampshire
#32 Dollar General Chevrolet
