Sorenson moves to Gillett Evernham
By Sorenson moves to Gillett Evernham
ATLANTA -- Since he joined the Sprint Cup Series at the age of 19, Reed
Sorenson has been looked upon as a driver with great potential. But after three
years behind the wheel of a Chip Ganassi-owned Dodge, he's still seeking that
first win, and for most of this season he's languished near the bottom of the
points standings.
But he has renewed hope now. On Tuesday he announced that he would be moving to
Gillett Evernham Motorsports next year, joining veteran drivers Kasey Kahne and
Elliott Sadler.
"I'm going over (to Gillett Evernham) to try to make myself a better race-car
driver," Sorenson said. "I wanted to be more competitive, and I wanted to have
some more opportunities to win races and things like that. ...
"I want to be a part of it and Gillett Evernham Motorsports and everything that
they are about and represent."
Sorenson, who has made 97 starts in NASCAR's elite series with five top-five
and 13 top-10 finishes, started this season with a fifth-place finish in the
Daytona 500, but things have gone mostly sour since then. He's now 31st in
points with an average finish of 27.7.
Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark said he believes the latest move will
benefit Sorenson and Ganassi, who will get a chance to try a different
driver.
"I hope it's a new beginning for Reed," Clark said. "He's still grateful for
the opportunity Chip (Ganassi) gave him, but when things get stale and you
don't see any signs of progress, something has to change.
"We know Reed is a better driver than the results he's been getting, so I'm
glad he took the initiative and had the opportunity to go somewhere else."
Sorenson's sponsor and crew are yet to be determined, but Sorenson vows to do
his part to make his new team successful.
"In the past three years, I haven't won a race, but I learned a lot, and I can
take that with me," he said.
So far, in his brief visits to the Gillett shops, he likes what he sees.
"The whole organization seems like it's structured really well," he said. "It's
a team that will be here for a long time and seems to be heading in the right
direction to win races."
Rick Minter writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: rminter AT
ajc.com.
