Race 2 Win: Coca-Cola 600 - Reed Sorenson Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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Coca-Cola 600 - Reed Sorenson Notes

Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Advance – 5/13/06

Target Team Fast Facts:

Ellis Charity Auction This Thursday: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) is hosting a memorial charity auction this Thursday, May 25, to honor the loss of teammate Bill Ellis, who passed away last month at the young age of 42. CGRFS is holding a live and silent charity auction at its Concord, N.C. shop from 1 to 4 p.m. ET, with all proceeds going directly to the trust currently being set up for Ellis’ wife and children. The team welcomes everyone to attend. Admission is free. Some of the almost 200 items that will be up for bid include: Casey Mears autographed No. 42 Texaco/Havoline hood, David Stremme No. 39 autographed Commit hood, Reed Sorenson autographed gloves, Tony Stewart and Sterling Marlin autographed driving shoes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. autographed jacket, Steve Young autographed jersey, Jamie McMurray autographed helmet, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman autographed helmet visors, and much more. For more information and to see a complete list of the item bid list, go to www.chipganassiracing.com and click on the Charlotte race weeks schedule toward the bottom-right side of the page. Then, click on special charity auction.

Chassis: Crew Chief Jimmy Elledge and the Target Team have selected chassis #206 for this weekend’s NEXTEL Cup event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS). The team competed with this car last week in the NEXTEL Open (14th-place finish) and it has also run at California Speedway (21st) and Las Vegas (40th).

Building Impressive Results at LMS: So far in his young racing career, Sorenson has a pretty good history at LMS. He competed in the May 2004 ARCA race at the speedway, starting from the third position and finishing fourth. Later that same year in October, Sorenson started from the outside pole in the ASA (American Speed Association) race and then proceeded to score his first career series win at the Concord, N.C. track. Sorenson has two starts at the 1.5-mile track in Busch Series (2005) with a fifth-place effort in the May event.

Meet Pruett This Week in Concord: Scott Pruett, co-driver of the #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus-Riley, will be at the CGRFS Concord, N.C. shop this Thursday, May 25, to meet area fans and sign autographs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. Copies of his three children’s books, “Twelve Little Race Cars,” “Twelve More Little Race Cars” and “Rookie Racer,” will also be available for purchase and signing, so bring the kids to meet the 2004 Rolex Series Champion.

CGRFS Trio to Celebrate with the Fans: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Racing is hosting a fan appreciation day at its Concord, N.C. race shop this Friday, May 26, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Fans are welcome to visit the shop and try out the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge race car and pit stop simulators. Free hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks will also be provided while supplies last. Then, the main events will take place starting with a CGRFS driver autograph session from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson and David Stremme will all be present to meet fans and sign autographs. Live entertainment will also be provided by Hambone Alley from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. *Wristbands for the autograph session are no longer available, but more autographs will be permitted as time allows.

NEXTEL Cup Points Report: Sorenson and the Target team are 24th in the overall standings after their 11th-place effort in the last points awarded event at Darlington Raceway. The team is only 46 points out of 20th, 128 out of 15th and 242 out of the top 10.

Rookie Round Up: Sorenson currently sits fifth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 93 points. He trails leader Denny Hamlin by 26 points. Sorenson has captured rookie of the race honors in two of the nine races run thus far in ‘06 (Atlanta – 10th-place finish, Martinsville – 12th).

Switching It Up: The Target team is reversing the colors of its primary paint scheme for the fourth consecutive race, with what was red now white and visa versa. The scheme will also be displayed at other night races this season including Daytona in July and the October Lowe’s event.

Busch Series Update: Sorenson is 14th in the overall Busch Series standings heading into this weekend’s race. The Discount Tire team is 55 points out of 10th and 243 out of the top five.

Reed Sorenson on the 600…
“The 600 should be a pretty interesting event. We got an indication of how the car will handle in actual race competition, but there are still a lot of unknowns because the race is so long and starts in the daylight and ends at night. We’re using the same car we ran in the NEXTEL Open and I was very happy with the performance.

“I’m very happy with the direction our team is headed. The communication is great and the cars are performing strong each week. We’re anxious to get on track this weekend and hopefully turn in a top-10 finish and keep notching our way up in the points.”

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