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Chip Ganassi Calls His Team "Pathetic"

Posted Apr 5th 2008 8:40PM by Geoffrey Miller
Filed under: Reed Sorenson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dario Franchitti

For any employee of Chip Ganassi's three NASCAR racing teams, it's a good thing that the owner is over a 1,000 miles away at the IndyCar event in St. Petersburg, Fla.

His words, though, about the performance of the No. 40, No. 41, and No. 42 teams could be well heard in the garage area of Texas Motor Speedway.

Ganassi sure didn't mince any words when talking about it on Saturday:

"Frankly, there are 46 cars there and if you can't beat three of them, that's pretty pathetic," Ganassi said on Sirius Satellite Radio. "I certainly have all the faith in the world in (Franchitti's) driving abilities. I don't think it's that. The fact of the matter is, we didn't give him a car that was capable of doing it."

Heading into Texas, Juan Pablo Montoya's team is 17th in points, Reed Sorenson's is 26th, and Dario Franchitti -- who didn't make Sunday's race -- sits 37th. Teamwork is the problem, Ganassi says.

"When you say 'this team' you hit the nail on the head – we're not working as a team," Ganassi said. "You can't have guys that are fast and guys that are slow. It doesn't make any sense. These guys, these teams are not talking to each other, they are not working together, they are not using all the resources that are available to them. That's how you end up in a fix like this."

You've got to love this brutal honesty. Ganassi indeed hits the nail on the head himself with the summary of his team. They have frankly been mediocre for a long while and with the sponsorship and racing experience a guy like Ganassi has, he knows when a team is reaching its potential.

And in this case, he knows that his Sprint Cup teams aren't cutting it. It should be an interesting week around the CGR shop.

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Dodges Wreck to Start Las Vegas Weekend

Posted Feb 29th 2008 5:55PM by Geoffrey Miller
Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup

After nearly 50 haulers passed through the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday afternoon, the Sprint Cup teams got off to a fresh start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday.

And yes, the weather for the weekend looks much, much better than teams were treated to at Auto Club Speedway last weekend. Sun is the only thing in the forecast with highs Friday topping at 77 degrees, and a high of 68 degrees expected for Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400.

Though the weather seemed plenty nice Friday afternoon, several Dodge teams had some significant problems during pre-qualifying practice, according to Jayski:

#77-Hornish scraped the turn two wall early in practice; #10-Carpentier (pictured) spun off turn 4 and looped around a couple times; #42-Montoya slammed the turn 2 wall hard and will go to a backup car. #41-Sorenson spun off turn 4; #9-Kahne smacked turn 4, unknown if they have to go to a backup, but little damage. Late in the session, #43-Labonte lost it in turn 4 and spun around, slapping the wall with the left rear and drivers side, the team will go to a backup car.

So the list of teams who will head to a backup car include Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte. Kasey Kahne could end up there.

The fastest laps of the practice session were turned by Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and David Reutimann. Busch's quickest lap of 179.946mph is just under five miles per hour slower than Kahne's pole-winning speed a year ago.

Qualifying starts with Travis Kvapil out first at 6:40pm/ET Friday on SPEED.

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Sprint Cup Races Monday After Long Sunday

Posted Feb 25th 2008 9:19AM by Geoffrey Miller
Filed under: Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Reed Sorenson, Denny Hamlin, Sprint Cup, Sam Hornish Jr.

Nearly 10 hours after the scheduled start of the Sprint Cup Auto Club 500, NASCAR officials finally ceded to the weather and track and decided the race on Monday.

It was Sunday night in California and Monday morning on the east coast when the postponement was declared just after 2:00am/ET.

Rain at the Auto Club Speedway had stopped much before that and most of the track indeed was dry. However, the battle that NASCAR and speedway officials have been battling all week with water seeping from the seams on the pavement reared its ugly head.

Before that, though, the action was exciting -- if not a tad unfair for some drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Casey Mears, Denny Hamlin, Reed Sorenson & Sam Hornish Jr. were caught up in wrecks less than 25 laps in to the event that appeared on television to be directly caused by the water seeping on to the track. Earnhardt Jr. was particularly unhappy about the race conditions.

Jimmie Johnson currently leads Travis Kvapil in the running order.

Monday promises to be a better day of racing -- if the seeping water can be corrected -- with a sunny day planned and a high of 67 degrees.

Tune in to FOX at 1pm/ET (10am/PT) to catch the resumption of the race from lap 87. The Nationwide Series race postponed from Saturday will be ran immediately in its entirety following that event on ESPN2.

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Crazy Wreck Takes Out Earnhardt Jr., Mears

Posted Feb 24th 2008 7:43PM by Geoffrey Miller
Filed under: Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Reed Sorenson, Sprint Cup

A crazy wreck on the backstretch of Auto Club Speedway on lap 21 of Sunday's Auto Club 500 took out two drivers from Hendrick Motorsports and further inflamed some drivers who thought the track wasn't ready to race.

The wreck started when Mears' No. 5 shot up the track in turn 2, got loose, spun around and slid back down the track slamming teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the passenger side. Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 then spun and hit the wall drivers side.

Meanwhile, Mears car slid back up the track and slowed to a near stop along the wall heading the same direction as traffic when Sam Hornish Jr. slid behind him and lifted the No. 5 up in the air and then over on its roof. Fire then spewed from Hornish's engine while safety workers quickly jumped to aid both drivers and put the fire out.

All drivers involved -- including Reed Sorenson who was involved -- walked away OK, but very frustrated. Earnhardt Jr. had the most visible anger:

"The track ain't ready today. We rushed into this [...] " said Earnhardt Jr, referring to NASCAR trying to get the race underway.

Denny Hamlin wrecked a few laps earlier to bring out the race's first caution after he got loose in turn 3 and slid up and contacted the wall.

"42 other drivers agree that we should not be driving today," said Hamlin. "I hit a slick spot and my car took off. My car just took off after I hit a wet spot."

A red flag was brought out after the Mears incident and as of 7:40pm/ET the race had not been restarted due to water seeping into the race track because NASCAR might have finally saw what the drivers saw -- the track was simply too wet to race on.

Hopefully we'll get it going sometime tonight...

Photos: Female Drivers

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NASCAR FanHouse Top 25 Year-in-Review
Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Chip Ganassi Dodge

Posted Dec 13th 2007 7:00AM by Geoffrey Miller
Filed under: Reed Sorenson, Dodge, Chip Ganassi Racing

Welcome to the 2007 NASCAR FanHouse Year in Review. Follow along each day until the end of 2007 as we look back on the top 25 drivers of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for the 2007 season. Heck, bookmark us if you have to! Today, we review the season of 22rd-place Reed Sorenson.

Driver: Reed Sorenson -- Peachtree City, Georgia
Team: No. 41 Target Dodge
Points: 22rd (-3448)
2006: Finished 24th in Season Standings
Key Stats: 1 pole, 3 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s
Back in 2008?: Yes, same team

As good or bad as Reed Sorenson's 2007 season in your eyes, you've got to remember one thing. Sorenson turned 21 years of age back in February.

And yes, he's now completed two full NASCAR Nextel Cup Series seasons with a total of 74 starts. Not bad for a guy who just earned his way into a bar.

Sorenson's 2007 season was marked with typical Chip Ganassi Racing style -- flashes of brilliance, but no lasting light. Without a doubt, Sorenson's pole-winning run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 was a nice accomplishment for such a young driver. Indeed, that's a trophy that'll make its way to a prominent mantle. The 5th-place finish at Indy was a nice cap to the weekend.

Aside from Indy, two Top-5's -- one at Charlotte in May (4th) and one at Phoenix in April (3rd) -- were two other flashes from the No. 41 team, but again, sustainability wasn't there. As has been the story with Ganassi since Sterling Marlin's near miss at the championship in 2001, there just hasn't been consistency at the front for the team.

Continue Reading NASCAR FanHouse Top 25 Year-in-Review
Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Chip Ganassi Dodge

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Sorenson A Friend of Breasts, Needs Isaac Mizrahi, Stat

Posted Oct 22nd 2007 11:32AM by tallglassofmilk
Filed under: Reed Sorenson, Nextel Cup

How can a team go through the effort of designing a special paint scheme and firesuit only to forget the hat? And do they not know that pink and red only go together at Valentine's Day--and even then it has to be the right combination.

What we've got pictured here at the right is not the right combo. Target should have put Isaac Mizrahi on the case--he never would have let this happen.

But even though Reed Sorenson does look like a trackside fashion tragedy, it is for a good cause.

Unless you steer clear of all media, you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The NASCAR driver is doing his part with a pledge benefiting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Carolina Breast Friends' Project Pink House for the Atlanta race that Target will match.

Sorenson will donate $10,000 for a victory, $5,000 for a top-five finish, $1,000 for a top-10 finish, $4,100 for a pole and $12.62 for each lap completed, totaling $4,100 if he completes all of the scheduled 325 laps. He will also auction his autographed race helmet and fire suit.

The helmet, by the way, they got right:

Continue Reading Sorenson A Friend of Breasts, Needs Isaac Mizrahi, Stat

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Biffle Wins, Non-Chasers Dominate Top 10

Posted Sep 30th 2007 11:59PM by tallglassofmilk
Filed under: Casey Mears, Greg Biffle, Reed Sorenson, Nextel Cup

Greg Biffle got his first win of the season in a rain-delayed, daylight-shortened race with a flexibly-ruled finish. That's a nice lil' wedding gift from NASCAR ... that extra pocket change ought to come in handy next month.

The neglected Hendrick Motorsports driver, Casey Mears, quietly scored his fifth top 5 of the season. Could've been his sixth.

Reed Sorenson scored his fourth top 10, Dale Earnhardt Jr. his 12th. Junior, incidentally, has gained as many or more points as the Chase drivers since the Chase started. Too bad that trend didn't start earlier.

Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler both had top 10s, Kahne his sixth on the season, Elliott his second. This is just the second time this season two Evernham drivers have finished in the top 10--the first was 28 races ago in Daytona.

Dave Blaney was the LifeLock 400's highest-finishing Toyota driver, but the #22 still sits outside the top 35 in owner points, 49 behind the #21. In the fight for owner points, there were no gains or losses this week in the 32nd to 41st positions.

All three Michael Waltrip Racing drivers started--and finished-- today's race. Well done. I think that's a first (?).

David Ragan was the highest-finishing rookie, but he's running out of races to catch Juan Pablo Montoya for rookie of the year title. I'm still holding out hope.

LifeLock 400 Results | Nextel Cup Standings

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Sorenson Tops Busch Series in St. Louis

Posted Jul 22nd 2007 1:24PM by Geoffrey Miller
Filed under: Reed Sorenson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Busch Series, NASCAR Tracks

Two years ago, Reed Sorenson took his 2nd-career Busch Series victory at Gateway International Raceway.

Saturday night at Gateway (just outside St. Louis), Sorenson picked up his 3rd-career Busch triumph, 61 races later.

Now if you would have told me in 2005 that Sorenson, who was on his way to Nextel Cup in 2006, would not find victory lane again until two years later, I would've said you'd lost your mind.

Bygones are bygones, however, as Sorenson no longer has that streak of winless competition under his belt.

Sorenson led a race-high 93 laps in a race that saw 9 cautions for 43 laps.

Busch Series point-dominator Carl Edwards ran strong much of the night before getting loose into turn 3 while in the top-5 and slapping the rear-end of the car against the SAFER barrier.

Continue Reading Sorenson Tops Busch Series in St. Louis

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Coca-Cola 600 Top 5 A Motley Crew

Posted May 28th 2007 5:05PM by tallglassofmilk
Filed under: Charlotte, Casey Mears, Brian Vickers, Reed Sorenson, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing

The Coca-Cola 600 saw some unlikely names in the top 5:

Casey Mears
J.J. Yeley
Kyle Petty
Reed Sorenson
Brian Vickers

and some Nextel Cup milestones:

Mears' first career win
Yeley's best-ever finish
Petty's first top 5 in 10 years
Sorenson's best-ever finish
Toyota's best-ever finish

I couldn't have been happier for Petty with his run. When he started running consistently in the top 10 with about 100 laps to go, I already knew I would be thrilled for him to get a top 10. A third-place finish for the member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family in the sponsor's title race with a Coca-Cola Zero paint scheme delivered an extra-caffeinated jolt to my happy meter.

In his post-race interview, the always gracious and articulate driver gave all the credit to his crew and praised Casey Mears for his win:

"We've really struggled with our pit crew and they stepped up huge today. They're the ones that put us in position to have the Lucky Dog. They're the ones that put us in position to have a good run there at the end. I can't say enough about that.

"I couldn't be more excited for Casey Mears if his name was Adam Petty. I can tell you that. I'm tickled to death for Casey Mears. That kid is a great racecar driver."

Yeley, Sorenson, Petty and Mears all gained five spots in the owner standings.

What Say You?
Who'll drive to victory lane first? Joe Gibbs Racing's J.J. Yeley (W-0, T5-1, T10-4) or Chip Ganassi Racing's Reed Sorenson (W-0, T5-2, T10-7)?

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Fat and Out of Shape Tops Practice Charts

Posted May 8th 2007 11:50AM by tallglassofmilk
Filed under: Charlotte, Reed Sorenson, Nextel Cup

David Stremme slid three spots to 17th in the points standings this week after suffering his first DNF of the season in Richmond.

But the "fat and out of shape" driver is back on track already.

Stremme topped yesterday's practice sessions at Lowe's Motor Speedway with a top speed of 187.000 mph in the second session.

No other driver even came close--Jeremy Mayfield came in 2nd almost two seconds behind Stremme at 185.134mph.

Paul Menard, Ward Burton and Reed Sorenson rounded out the top 5.

If these guys are fastest in practice, how come we never see them running in the top spot -- or even the top 5? Of those five drivers, only Stremme and Sorenson have cracked the top 10 with an 8th and 9th place finish respectively.

So ... what's the difference between practice and racing?