Opinion: Gibbs or Wallace Could Save Sorenson’s Season
For all of the entertainment it provides, we often forget that NASCAR is ultimately a business.
That was made abundantly clear on Tuesday, when fresh off the announcement that primary sponsor Dollar General was bolting at the end of the season, Turner Motorsports dismissed lead driver Reed Sorenson from his driving duties effective immediately.
The first wave of backlash painted team principal Steve Turner as the villain, as he replaced his driver with five races remaining in the season with Sorenson thick in the middle of the championship hunt. Both of his remaining full-time drivers, Jason Leffler and Justin Allgaier will stay on-board with Brian Vickers and a host of others driving the no. 32 for the duration of the year.
So the obvious and yet unanswered question is why the car can run for the next six races but not feature Sorenson, especially with the team within striking distance of its first championship.
An announcement isn’t expected until after the weekend so I’ll reserve judgment until we hear from Steve Turner. But my first reaction is that something’s not quite right. Sorenson’s had disputes with teammates over the years and has been called out as a poor worker by some in the garage. Most signs point to this being a disciplinary decision.
Meanwhile, Sorenson has a quick turnaround to Kansas and this weekend’s Kansas Lottery 300 and is in need of a ride. So we’ll spend the duration of this post looking at his options.
You can read about them after the jump!
Three teams can immediately be taken off Sorenson’s wishlist with Roush-Fenway Racing, JR Motorsports and Kevin Harvick Inc. all having the most to benefit from Sorenson’s eventual slide down the championship. Aric Almirola is currently fourth in the standings, 25 markers behind Sorenson. Third-place becomes a near guarantee if Sorenson misses a race or finds himself in faulty equipment. The other JRM car is the GoDaddy no. 7, set to be piloted by Danica Patrick for the remainder of the season.
Roush-Fenway Racing and Kevin Harvick Inc.each have full-time rides available but are both focused on their own championship hopes with Ricky Stenhouse and Elliott Sadler respectively.
Barring taking a start-and-park ride for the rest of the season to save his spot in the top ten, Sorenson has only two chances to stay in the title hunt and those lie with Rusty Wallace Inc. and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Both are long-shots and for two entirely different reasons.
Rusty Wallace Inc. fields two full-time rides for Stephen Wallace and Michael Annett. While neither team has performed at an elite level, RWI consistently has its drivers in the top-10. Its cars are much faster than eighth and 10th in the standings indicates, mostly due to the inexperience of Wallace and Annett. Rusty has the resources and personnel to back a third car but sponsorship quickly becomes an issue in this scenario with Flying J/Pilot and 5-Hour Energy already committed to Wallace and Annett.
Could Sorenson and Wallace work out a deal before teams make their way to Kansas? It’s unlikely but stay tuned.
Joe Gibbs is the most appealing destination with two full-time cars in the no. 18 and no. 20 respectively. Both Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are committed to their Cup teams during the home-stretch of the season, making one of the two cars a near-perfect fit.
The no. 18 team, powered by veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff is already in the hunt for an owner’s championship, making the opportunity to double-dip an appealing one. From the financial perspective, Z-line Designs has the opportunity to be seen as the brand that saved Sorenson’s season and possibly propelled him to a Nationwide Series championship.
At the end of the day, Reed Sorenson represents a gift opportunity to win a Nationwide Series championship. Now who wants it?
