There was no doubt about it, Reed Sorenson (No. 32 Dollar General Toyota) struggled through most of 2009.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, his numbers were disappointing. Though he competed in all 36 races, he did not finish in the top five and landed in the top 10 just once. Sorenson’s average finish last season was just 25.3, his Driver Rating just 56.7.
But when he raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, it was like returning home. He was certainly more comfortable, numbers-wise. He ran only eight races, but almost all were strong. Sorenson had two top fives and five top 10s, an average finish of 11.9 and a Driver Rating of 92.2.
So “home” he will stay for the majority of 2010, save for a limited number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races for Braun Racing’s fledgling program. Already, it’s clear he enjoys his surroundings.
Sorenson missed the first three NASCAR Nationwide Series races of the season, ceding to teammate and 2003 series champion Brian Vickers, but has run the last two. Both results were stout.
At Bristol Motor Speedway, Sorenson finished seventh, with an Average Running Position of 11.7 and a Driver Rating of 98.1. Last Saturday at Nashville, he almost won — if the race were about five laps longer, he might have.
In a runner-up finish, Sorenson had an Average Running Position of 6.3 and a Driver Rating of 113.0.
In his two races this season, Sorenson has a Driver Rating of 105.6, an Average Running Position of 9.0, 12 Fastest Laps Run, a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 91.0% and a Pass Differential (passes minus times passed) of plus 34.
And those numbers should only improve.
Sorenson has a good history at Phoenix. He raced there last November to a third-place finish, with a Driver Rating of 113.5.
In his five career series races at the one mile track, Sorenson has an average finish of 10.4, a Driver Rating of 100.5, 23 Fastest Laps Run, a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 89.1% and a Pass Differential of plus-49.
Sorenson has finished in the top 10 in each of the last four races at PIR, and in the top five in two of the last four. Auto Racing Daily
CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR 1 James Buescher* Chevrolet Phoenix Racing 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet SponsorDavis.com 5 Victor Gonzalez Jr. Chevrolet 31-W Insulation 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* Ford Roush Fenway Racing 7 Landon Cassill Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 9 Jason Bowles Ford RAB Racing 10 Casey Mears Toyota Braun Racing 11 Brian Scott* Toyota BigSpot.com 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge Verizon Wireless 15 Michael Annett Toyota Pilot Travel Centers 16 Colin Braun* Ford Roush Fenway Racing 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Combos 20 Joey Logano Toyota Sport Clips 21 John Wes Townley Chevrolet Zaxby's 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge Discount Tire 23 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet R3 Motorsports 24 Eric McClure Ford Hefty / Food City 26 Brian Keselowski Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports 27 Greg Biffle Ford Red Man Moist Snuff 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Jay Robinson Inc. 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota Dollar General 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches 34 Tony Raines Chevrolet Long John Silver's 35 Jason Keller Chevrolet TriStar Motorsports 38 Jason Leffler Toyota Great Clips 40 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Key Motorsports 43 Scott Lagasse Jr. Ford Baker Curb Racing 60 Carl Edwards Ford Copart 61 Josh Wise Ford Specialty Racing 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota South Point Hotel & Casino 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 5-Hour Energy 70 Mark Green Chevrolet ML Motorsports 73 Derrike Cope Dodge AssetProtect / Charter 81 Michael McDowell Dodge Mobile-Shop 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet FrontRowJoe.com 88 Kelly Bires Chevrolet Whisky River Jacksonville 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet Faith Motorsports 90 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Chevrolet D'Hondt Humphrey Motorsports 91 David Gilliland Chevrolet D'Hondt Humphrey Motorsports 92 Dennis Setzer Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports 98 Paul Menard Ford Richmond Water Heaters / Menards 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 102 Andy Ponstein Chevrolet Team Winter .org / CorrieStottRacing.com 104 Tim Schendel Chevrolet SponsorDavis.com 156 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Mac Hill Motorsports 183 John Borneman III Ford Borneman Motorsports
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