Reed Sorenson
California Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Auto Club 500 on Sunday, February 24 (NSCS)
Track: California Speedway (2 miles)
Location: Fontana, Calif.
Reed Sorenson and No. 41 Energizer® e2® Lithium Dodge Team (NSCS)
NOTES
It Keeps Going and Going… The No. 41 Dodge will sport the Energizer® e2® Lithium paint scheme this weekend in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. The dynamic silver and blue paint scheme will feature Energizer® e2® Lithium, the World’s Longest Lasting Battery in High Tech Devices, as well as the famous Energizer Bunny®. The Bunny will be on hand this weekend to support Sorenson and team, and to partake in a number of media opportunities alongside Sorenson.
Solid Start to Season: Sorenson and the Target team recorded three top-five finishes in three races during 2008 Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway (Fifth-place finish in Daytona 500, second in Gatorade Duel, fifth in Budweiser Shootout). Sorenson led twice in the 500 for a total of five laps.
Career Best Points Position: Sorenson’s current position of fifth in the overall NSCS standings is a career-high. The position is also the highest and best start of the season for the No. 41 Target team.
California Stats: Sorenson has a total of four NSCS starts at California Speedway with a best finish of 21st (three times). He has an average start of 28.5, average finish of 26.5 and he has led a total of 8 laps. Note*: Sorenson and the Target team came up just two laps shy of capturing their first victory in the second California Speedway race on Aug. 3, 2005. A pit strategy gamble afforded Sorenson a commanding lead coming to the checkered flag, but the fuel cell ran dry relegating the team to a 21st-place finish.
Golden State Natives: Two members of the Target team hail from California. Crew chief Jimmy Elledge (Redding, Calif.) and shock specialist Roger Parkinson (San Diego). Prior to joining Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) in 2003, Elledge served as crew chief for Andy Petree Racing from 1999-2002. He made his first trip to Victory Lane with driver Bobby Hamilton at Talladega Superspeedway on Apr. 22, 2001. Parkinson has been building shocks since 1976 and began working in NASCAR full-time in 1993. Prior to joining CGRFS in 2003, his NASCAR experience includes working for Bill Elliott Racing, Ohlins Racing Shocks and Andy Petree Racing.
QUOTES
Topic: Give us your thoughts on running the first CoT race on an intermediate-sized race track
Reed Sorenson: “We struggled at Las Vegas during the West Coast test, but we had much better results at California. Those two pre-season tests were very beneficial for the team because it gave us an idea of where we needed to improve on our intermediate program. We made some changes to the car that we think will help it turn better and I’m very optimistic about our chances to run well this weekend. California is a multiple groove track so if the car isn’t working in one place you can search around for a different line.
“The Target team had a great Speedweeks and we’re hoping to keep that momentum going this weekend. This is our first stint inside of the top 12 and we’d like to keep ourselves there.”
CHASSIS INFO
No. 41 Energizer® e2® Lithium (NSCS): Chassis #803. No previous starts, tested at California.
