Reed Sorenson

Sorenson with one foot out at Ganassi

After Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates made former open wheeler Juan Pablo Montoya when they fired his crew chief, Jimmy Elledge, against his request just a couple of weekends to go.

With Silly Season getting sillier, there is now speculation that Juan Pablo may make the move to Joe Gibbs Racing if Tony Stewart decides to leave the organization this year.

This scenario may be the only way Reed Sorenson will be able to stay at Ganassi.

Sorenson started as a developmental driver for the team in the Busch series (now Nationwide Series). He was quickly given a cup ride at the age of 20. In all, Sorenson has been within the CGR organization for five years.

Sorenson is a free agent after this season. With his performance at CGR, it is a long shot that he will be resigned.

Sorenson’s performance isn’t the only thing that could play against him.

One of Ganassi’s IndyCar drivers, Dan Wheldon is rumored to be interested in following the likeness of Dario Franchitti and Montoya in making the jump for the Sprint Cup Series next year.

Sorenson’s performance has not changed much for the better since his rookie year. He has now wins yet in the Sprint Cup Series. He only has 5 Top-5s, 12 Top-10s, and 1 pole. He has compiled $9,383,680 in career winnings, and out of 23,036 laps he has only led 132 laps.

When reached for comment from Amy Vadnais - Public Relation for Reed Sorenson - she wished not to comment until she had more information. So there is now word if there are contract negotiations at this time. I will be following this and other free agent stories throughout the year at NASCAR FanZone and the Finish Line blog.

Fearless Forecast: The Winner At Richmond Will Be….

Let’s be scientific about this. I respect all 43 guys in the field, but let’s be real- we can eliminate 15 drivers right off the top. we’re talking about the guys in the line-up who’ve never won a Cup race. That includes the likes of David Ragan, Reed Sorenson and Patrick Carpentier-who did put forward good qualifying efforts. To me, this place is just a little too tough for a guy to get his first win. This whittles the field down to 28.

Then there’s the guys, that while capable, just don’t have the equipment to win. There’s about another 4 guys here who’ve won races, but because of things like funding and equipment- they have as much chance as a kerosene cat in Hell with gasoline boxers on. Kyle Petty, Sterling Marlin, and Joe Nemechek are among the racers that fall into this category. OK- now we’re down to 24.

Among the 43 entries are guy who just don’t win at short tracks. This includes all the Roush Fenway guys. I’m not sure what’s missing in their “Car of Today” short track program, but something’s missing. The you’ve got guys like Michael Waltrip, who is to Super Speedways like Boris Said is to road courses. I find 8 drivers in this group- taking the possibilities down to 16. Hard charger Kyle Busch is also in this group. He’ too aggressive on short tracks. You need some patience to win here.

Let’s not forget about the “luck factor.” There’s always somebody out there at any given time who arejust unlucky. Tony Stewart is having a run of bad luck. Bobby Labonte is another one. Overall, this group of guys number 4, so now we have 12 drivers to pick from.

Among the drivers who are left are guys who have the best chance of winning today. Guys who are “in their element” in Richmond. I’m talking about Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer from RCR, Mark Martin from DEI, Kasey Kahne from Gillett Evernham, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. from HMS (Jeff Gordon is one of my “bad luck” guys), and Ryan Newman from Penske- as well as Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs.

Frankly, it comes down to two guys- Denny Hamlin and Junior. Earnhardt has won 3 races at Richmond, and he’s been good enough to win this year, even though he hasn’t broken the spell. Now, I know that Hamlin is going to try to win from the pole- which isn’t easy. I also know the the “law of averages” are against a weekend sweep and he won last night. Yet there’s an “X” factor in all of this, I think the “11′ car has it. So in light of that, I predict…

DENNY HAMLIN WILL WIN AT RICHMOND- fulfilling his dream of winning at home. The odds may be a bit long, but that’s why we call it the “fearless forecast.”