The Dollar General team had hopes for a solid finish at Friday night’s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway after a good practice and qualifying session earlier in the day. Reed Sorenson kept his No. 32 Chevy in the top-20 all evening and survived a lot of close, side-by-side racing throughout the 250-lap event to bring home a respectable 12th-place finish and keep the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) point leaders in his sights. With this finish, Sorenson remains in third-place in the point standings, only 10 markers back from the leader.
By the first caution period of the evening on lap 34, Sorenson had improved three spots from his 18th-place qualifying effort. He was pretty pleased with his car, but was looking for a little grip without affecting the handling of the Dollar General Chevy. While some of the leaders remained on track, Sorenson came down pit road for air pressure and track bar adjustments along with four fresh tires and fuel. He rejoined the field in the 18th spot.
As the run progressed, Sorenson’s car kept getting better and better. By lap 108, he had improved to the 14th position, but began to encounter a lot of lapped traffic that slowed his progression. Leader Clint Bowyer had caught Sorenson and the two fought for position until the caution came out on lap 124. NASCAR’s loop data showed Sorenson had fallen behind the leader, but he was quickly awarded his lap back as the Lucky Dog. He brought the Dollar General Chevy down pit road for a few more adjustments, as the team knew he would not lose any track position with the stop.
The field took the green flag on lap 131, but the caution came out just four laps later. Not happy with the previous adjustments, Sorenson again came down pit road for a few more slight changes and fuel. After vacating the 14th position, Sorenson rejoined the field and took the restart in the 12th spot. After a lap-150 restart, Sorenson quickly radioed to the team that his car was tight, but as the run progressed, it handled better with the more rubber that was laid down on the track.
By the final caution flag of the evening on lap 190, Sorenson had moved up to the 11th position. Crew chief Trent Owens called his driver down pit road one final time for adjustments, four tires and fuel. He took the night’s last restart in 12th. While continuing to hold his position, Sorenson relied heavily on spotter Tony Hirschman as he fended off challenges from the No. 16 and No. 66 for that 12th spot. Sorenson spent much of the final 10 laps in two and three-wide situations with the two competitors as he fought to maintain position, knowing that every spot is a point closer to the points lead. Sorenson took the checkers in the 12th position.
“We had a really good car tonight on the longer runs,” Sorenson said after the race. “The more rubber that got laid down on the track, the better this Dollar General car would turn which allowed us to complete a pass. This Dollar General team just fought hard all night for the finish and I had fun out there racing with some of these guys. My guys did a great job on pit road and Tony [Hirschman, spotter] was on the radio all night keeping me out of trouble. This points battle is still as close as ever, and I’m hopeful we can make up some more ground when we get to Atlanta next weekend.”
Next Stop: The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads south to Sorenson’s home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway for another night race under the lights. The Great Clips 300 will be held Saturday, September 3rd at 7:30 p.m. and broadcast live on ESPN2 and PRN affiliates at 7:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. respectively.
Reed Takes 12th at Bristol
#32 Dollar General Chevrolet
