On Tuesday, shortly after a Turner Motorsports press release confirmed our breaking news from Monday (Dollar General gone), we found out that Reed Sorenson had been bounced from Turner’s #32 Chevy. The exact reason for why he was given the boot isn’t clear, but performance can be ruled out. Sorenson has a win this season, sits third in the driver points, and is consistently the best performing Turner driver. So now, left with no ride for the remainder of the season, and no big money behind him, Sorenson’s future looks bleak.
It’s certainly been a few years ago, but if you might remember, there was a time when Sorenson was the hottest young driver in NASCAR. After winning two races and finishing fourth in the points in his first full season in the Busch Series, Sorenson was given a full time Cup ride in 2006 with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Unfortunately for him though, that 2005 Busch season was the best of his career. After four and a half seasons in the Cup Series, and some moderate Nationwide Series success since, Sorenson now finds himself without a ride.
Considering his past, and the fact that he doesn’t have a sponsor in his pocket, I’m wondering who, if anyone, will give Sorenson another shot. He clearly won’t get another decent ride in the Cup Series, though he has shown he can be competitive in good equipment in the Nationwide Series. But what NNS team that fits that description is going to put him in a race car?
Following the Dollar General press release, Turner announced that Brian Vickers will drive the #32 at Kansas and Charlotte. Who will drive the car beyond that isn’t yet known, but Steve Turner said they will continue to “evaluate their racing program.” For Sorenson though, barring some sort of last minute miracle, don’t expect to see him get in another car to protect his third place position in the points. His 2011 season is now shot, and the future doesn’t look much better.
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This season NASCAR forced drivers to select one series in which to compete for a championship. The general idea being it would limit the number of Cup regulars competing in and winning in lower series.
What’s the result been? Truck and Nationwide Series regulars lead the points in their respective series, but there have only been three non-Cup winners in 30 races across all three series. And guess what? Neither of our two points leaders is one of those winners.
Obviously, NASCAR’s efforts have, thus far, not been very successful. This weekend though, we saw the potential of the Nationwide Series.
To start off, Iowa is such a great facility with a great fan base. Did you see that crowd? Fantastic. Then came the racing.
Rain washed out qualifying, so starting on the front row were Drew Herring, a 23-year-old with just four Nationwide starts under his belt, and Michael McDowell. Young Austin Dillon started 3rd.
Through the early portion of the race it was McDowell and Herring putting on the show. We saw four different race leaders, including Reed Sorenson who led the most (and is great on short tracks). And in his 500th start Kenny Wallace finished sixth. While we did see Cup regulars and Nationwide Series champions Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski as competitors throughout, it was Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who fought down the stretch with Stenhouse as our eventual winner.
Stenhouse has really taken full advantage of this season. If you’ll remember just a year ago, he got yanked from his ride after a disastrous beginning pushed him outside the top-30 in owners points and he DNQed at Nashville. Now he’s a race winner and sits just 8 points out of the points lead. What a difference a year makes.
It was refreshing to sit and watch a Nationwide race where most of the competitors were series regulars. It was great to see some young talent showcased and some series veterans have a real chance. The fact is, Cup drivers are Cup drivers for a reason. And though the occasional start is certainly acceptable, having just 10% of your winners come from outside the Cup ranks is ridiculous. It totally defeats the nature of the lower series.
NASCAR is in a pretty good place at this moment, but this is definitely an area that still needs some work. That said, Sunday was great and truly an example of how things ought to be. Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – it was a well earned and deserved win.
And then there were three. Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead are the last remaining races on the 2009 schedule before we put it in the record books. But before we start the home stretch, we’ve got more of your questions and our somewhat educated answers. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
Just a quick follow up from a few weeks back, we were asked what Michael “Fatback” McSwain was up to these days. We have confirmed that he is running an auto repair shop in Dallas, NC. – T.C.
1. From Kenny:
Do you think some drivers might intentionally spin out just to get screen time for their advertisers? I’m thinking about Robby Gordon here, because he seems to bring out a yellow at least once during every race.
While I don’t think this is going on (if it is Robby is doing a very bad job of it because Jim Beam is leaving at the end of the season), anything is possible. One thing to remember though, is if you’re a company sponsoring a lesser team you go into it knowing that you’re not going to get a lot of TV time. These sponsorships are much larger marketing efforts (that can be said for any team). If they just wanted TV time it would be a lot cheaper to buy TV advertisements. – Journo
2. From Ross:
T.C.: It’s probable that someone on the blog has ripped your driver. Does that make you cringe a bit when you read it?
Nope, everyone is entitled to their opinions. I know how things really are with my driver, so outside talk doesn’t bother me. Besides, maybe we’ve ripped my driver on here too… – T.C.
3. From Bobby#7Fan:
What is the deal with NASCAR giving AJ a breath test before practice Friday? It seems to me it’s just a way to embarrass him. Did they really think he was throwing back shots before getting into the car? I saw Tony Stewart scratch his ass before practice once, did they check him for hemorrhoids?
I’ll be honest with you, I was in favor of NASCAR suspending him, but I thought the breathalyzer was over the top. I really don’t know what the purpose of it was. It was a little press for them, but it really only served to add to AJ’s embarrassment. – Journo
4. From AJ:
I don’t know how to ask this in a question but has a superstar from the Nationwide series ever gone on to win the Cup? Two sets of drivers come to mind for me, Matt Kenseth and Jr, and Truex Jr and Clint Bowyer. Both Jr’s were 2 time nationwide champs, but it was the runner ups Matt and Clint that have gone on to preform better on the Cup level. Same for JJ and Stewart, they never really got their barring in the lower level and it wasn’t until they came to Cup that they excelled in stock cars.
Are you asking if any former “Nationwide” champions (before they went to Cup) have gone on to great success in the Cup Series? Ned Jarrett was a Sportsman Division champion and Bobby Labonte, Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle were all Busch Series champions. It’s an interesting point and one I’ve never really thought about. As of now I guess it really isn’t a great indicator of success in the Cup Series. – Journo
5. From Mike:
Since this week was an impound race many cars and most go or go home cars were probably still on some kind of qualifying setup. Since you know it was probably going to be cancelled can you adjust them back to race trim or is there a stop work time? On a normal week can’t you work on it until right before it goes on the track?
Qualifying trim for an impound race is really only a taped up grill, pumped up air pressures, and some other small adjustments. Once qualifying is cancelled, NASCAR allows the teams to make final adjustments, which includes taking the car out of qualifying “trim.” On a normal, non-impound weekend, teams can work on the cars right up until they need to be in line for pre-race inspection on race morning. – T.C.
6. From Lost In Texas:
The firing of the #18 crew chief is bothering me. Can either of you lend some insight into how something like that happens. How much did Kyle have to say about it? Sure would to be a fly on the all at JGR.
I would say the situation differs from team to team. Some drivers have more say about these situations than others. Look at Juan Pablo Montoya. He had three different crew chiefs last season, and I can tell you he wasn’t happy about any of the changes. I honestly can’t tell you internally what the conversation was at JGR, but I’d guess there were pretty lengthy discussions between Jimmy Makar and the Gibbs’. I’m a little skeptical of this move too, but they must think this situation will be better. – Journo
7. From Ric:
I have noticed that some over the wall people wear 1 piece suits, others wear two piece suits. Who decides what you wear? What is the pro / con of both of them? Is there another type?
Some teams decide which kind they want their guys to wear, but in many cases it’s just a preference thing. Often times when Simpson, Impact, or whoever is making the firesuits does their fittings with the crew guys, they will ask what your preference is. I’m not really sure of pros vs. cons, it’s really just what a guy thinks is most comfortable. There is also a three piece, which is pants, a top, and then a vest that goes over the top. – T.C.
8. From Ric:
I noticed on the back bumper about middle to right of the car either a cover (guessing about 3?X3?), or something sticking out slightly from the car. What is this?
This is where they put the rear facing on board cameras. If the car is carrying it, the camera is mounted there, and if it isn’t carrying one the hole is just covered. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!