Even after a scare on their first pit stop of the day, Reed Sorenson and the Dollar General team scored a top-15 finish and gained two points on the lead in the Nationwide Series point championship on Saturday at Watkins Glen International. In a race dominated by Sprint Cup Series ‘regulars’, Sorenson and his team made the best of their race within the race and fought for every position, even overcoming a very tense green-white-checkered finish to take the checkered flag in 13th, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ (NNS) second road course race of the season. With the finish, Sorenson remains in second-place in the standings, just 10 points behind leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
In the road course qualifying session, Sorenson went out in the sixth of eight groups and qualified the Dollar General Chevy in the 15th position. After the green flag dropped, he began to move forward and had moved to 13th by lap 16. He radioed to the crew that he needed more rear grip, but other than that, Sorenson seemed relatively happy with his ride. Green-flag pit stops began on lap 21 and crew chief Trent Owens called his driver down pit road just one lap later, calling for four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Unfortunately, as Sorenson left his stall, Owens noticed a puddle of water left on the concrete. Fearing an issue with the engine, Sorenson came back down pit road to ensure there was no water leaking from the engine. When the team found everything to be in order, Sorenson returned to the track in the 21st spot.
By lap 33, Sorenson had maneuvered up to the 17th spot, but was having trouble with the car overheating. Again, not wanting to deal with an engine issue, Owens instructed his driver to come down pit road in order to clean off the grill and pull the remaining tape from the front of the car. Even after pitting under green-flag conditions, Sorenson rejoined the field in the 19th position.
Because they had come in to avoid an overheating issue, Sorenson could remain on track longer than the leaders because he had taken fuel. With the hopes of catching a late-race caution to keep track position, Owens waited as long as possible and directed Sorenson to come down pit road on lap 65, while scored in the 10th spot. The Dollar General team changed four tires and added fuel and Sorenson rejoined the field in 18th.
A full-course caution flag waved for only the second, but final time on lap 79 ensuring a green-white-checkered finish. Sorenson came down pit road one more time to get a fresh set of tires for the two-lap shootout around the 2.45-mile track. He took the green-flag restart in the 18th position, and endured competitors going two- and four-wide trying to secure a better finish. In the final two circuits, Sorenson picked off five positions to finish in the 13th spot.
“It’s frustrating to have the potential for an issue like we did today,” Sorenson said after the race. “But I’m glad we came down pit road to make sure everything was OK. I’d definitely rather finish where we did, gaining points in this championship battle, than finish in the garage because we had overheated. This Dollar General team worked really hard today and I’m excited about our progress. I went off the course there once, so that’s something I’ll have to work on in preparation for next week at Montreal. I’m excited to get up there and race for the first time. I think we have the opportunity to gain more points in this fight for a championship”.
Next Stop: The NASCAR Nationwide Series makes the trip across the border to Montreal, Canada to the series’ final road course race of the season at Circuit Gilles Villenueve. The NAPA Auto Parts 200 will be held next Saturday and broadcast live on ESPN and MRN affiliates at 2:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. respectively.
Reed Overcomes Early Scare for
13th at "The Glen"
#32 Dollar General Chevrolet
