DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 9, 2008)-Driving a car he dubbed “Black Lightning” (special all-black Target paint scheme), Reed Sorenson drafted his way to an impressive fifth-place finish in his first appearance in the Budweiser Shootout. The pre-season event, featuring pole winners from the previous season and past winners of the shootout itself, is known for action packed excitement and last night’s race lived up to the hype.
Sorenson and the Target team qualified for the event by capturing the pole position at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway last season. After pulling a starting position of sixth-place during a televised drawing party for the Shootout, Sorenson maintained position in the top-five for a majority of the 70-lap dash for cash.
There was a 10-minute break after the completion of the first 20 laps for teams to change tires and make necessary adjustments to get their cars dialed in for the final 50-lap shootout. Sorenson commented that his car was good overall so the team bolted on four new tires, filled the tank full of fuel and sent him on his way.
The Target Dodge lined up third for the next segment of the race and moved up as high as second on lap 35. There was a caution with six laps remaining, setting the stage for an exciting battle to the finish. Sorenson took the final restart in fifth and managed to bring the car home in the same position even after getting bump drafted into the wall a couple of times on the final lap. The young driver put on a veteran-like performance against some of the best in the business.
CGRFS QUOTEBOARD:
REED SORENSON: “It was fun. That’s probably the most fun that I’ve had on a restrictor-plate race that’s for sure, but I just want to thank everybody. I’ve got some new pit crew guys for this year and they did a great job. Everybody back at the shop did a good job too. I think this black Target car is a pretty good look, so I might have to run the black helmet again. I had a great time tonight. I don’t really know if I had friends or didn’t make friends but I did the best I could. I pushed whoever was in front of me and had a great time.
“I tagged the wall twice. The first time I was on the outside of the No. 8 car and I’m not too sure if he knew I was there or not, but I had to stick it in there. It was fun because I was in the wall and against him at the same time. Then I came up on the No. 5 car and the spotter told me that I was clear and maybe I wasn’t all the way clear and I got in the wall there too, but it drove really good and I’m happy for all my guys and Target. It was a lot of fun.
“The rest of Speedweeks is going to be wild. That’s all I can tell you. After about 15 laps, and you know that it’s night time too and the grip is going to be better now, but after 10 or 15 laps it really starts moving around out there. The Duels and 500 are going to be good races but they are going to be wild.”
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