Reed Sorenson Advance
Phoenix International Raceway
Race:
Subway Fresh Fit 500
Track:
Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval)
Location:
Avondale, Ariz.
Reed Sorenson and the No. 41 Target Dodge Team Facts:
Fastest at Richmond Test: Sorenson and the Target team are hoping much of what they learned at the Car of Tomorrow test at Richmond International Raceway (Apr. 3 & 4) carries over into this weekend at PIR. Sorenson posted the fastest lap of 65 cars and 51 drivers at the two-day test session with a time of 21.913 sec/93.215 mph. That time was posted during the morning session of the second day. Sorenson was fast during the entire test, posting the third, ninth and fifth fastest times during the other three sessions. Sorenson is very optimistic heading into this weekend’s event at PIR…
“We’re looking forward to going to Phoenix with the same setup we tested at Richmond. We think we’ll be OK at that track because they’re pretty similar. We learned a lot from the car, which was actually the same car we raced at Martinsville. We’re taking a different car to Phoenix, but it’s basically the exact same car and we feel like we’ll have a good solid baseline to start out with when we unload on Thursday.”
DirecTV “Hot Pass”: Sorenson and crew are one of five teams selected to be featured this weekend at PIR on DirecTV’s “Hot Pass.” Subscribers can watch all of the action from the No. 41 car and pit area on DirecTV channel 797.
Phoenix Performance Report: Sorenson has six starts at PIR in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series (2) and Busch Series (4). His best Cup finish is 29th, which came in last season’s Nov. 11 event. He has a runner-up finish in the Busch Series, which came in April of last year. He also has two other top-10s in the Busch Series.
Points Standing Not Indicative of Performance: Sorenson and the Target team have been strong at each event this season, however, they don’t necessarily have the finishes and points position to show for it. Sorenson has finished inside of the top 20 in each event he has completed except for one, with a best finish of ninth at Atlanta. Unfortunately he has not been running at the end of three events, two of which resulted in last place finishes. Sorenson was eliminated in each of those events for reasons out of his control, and if he had finished 20th in each, he would be firmly inside of the top 15 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings.
Native Arizonan: Target transport driver Brian Darr hails just down the road from PIR in Tempe, Ariz.
Points Update: The Target team fell four positions to 29th in the standings at the completion of the Texas race. The team stands just 69 points out of 25th and 94 outside of the top 20 heading to PIR.
Chassis: Crew chief Jimmy Elledge and the Target team have selected chassis #736 for the race at PIR. This will be the first race for the car.
