Sorenson finds winning formula in crash-marred Gateway 250

MADISON, Ill. - It took nearly two years, but Reed Sorenson finally captured his third career NASCAR Busch Series victory Saturday night at Gateway International Raceway in the crash-filled Gateway 250 before a crowd estimated at 52,000.

Sorenson, 21, of Peachtree City, Ga., driving a Dodge Charger for Chip Ganassi Racing, had recorded his last victory at Gateway on July 30, 2005. Since then he had gone 60 starts without a victory. He led 95 laps for the night and earned $59,850 for his efforts. Before Saturday, Sorenson had not led any laps this season.

Scott Wimmer was second, David Reutimann finished third, Jason Leffler was fourth and rookie David Ragan wound up fifth.

"We knew we had a good car in practice," Sorenson said. "We didn't think it was that good, but ... we dominated all night."

Sorenson, a regular in the Nextel Cup series and 28th in the points there, was able to score after taking the lead from Reutimann on lap 159. He survived a late-race yellow flag on lap 179 when defending champion and Busch points leader Carl Edwards hit the wall in turn 4. Edwards has 3,229 points, while Reutimann is second with 2,377. When the race, the last one to run at Gateway under the Busch sponsorship, returned to green on lap 183, Sorenson had to hold off Wimmer and the rest of the field. Sorenson is 31st in Busch Series points with 1,336.

Anheuser-Busch announced earlier this season it was ending its association with the series. A new sponsor has not been found.

Wimmer, who piloted a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, said, "I'm excited about the way we ran. I thought we had a really good race. We just couldn't get the track position when we needed it at the end."

Said Reutimann, who tried but couldn't catch Wimmer or Sorenson: "We had a little less brake than we needed." Reutimann is another Cup regular who drives a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. "I couldn't stop it at the end. I had to ease off. We lost all kinds of time doing that," he said.

That time proved costly as Sorenson turned out to be the class of the 43-car field. Early on, Wimmer was at the head of the class after leading the first 53 laps. But a flat right front tire sent Wimmer to the pits on lap 54 and put Sorenson in front. He stayed there until a round of pit stops, beginning on lap 63, jumbled the leaderboard. During the stops, Mike Bliss, Edwards, Reutimann and Brad Keselowski all led at least one lap until everything cycled back, putting Sorenson ahead on lap 75.

He remained there until a series of yellow flags beginning on lap 94 for debris slowed the race. Before that, the only slowdown involved Steve Wallace when he lost his brakes entering turn 3 on lap 7 and slapped the outside retaining wall.

A yellow flag came out on lap 98 because of a three-car wreck involving Bliss, Kyle Krisiloff and Kenny Wallace in turns 1 and 2. Tim McCreadie actually started the mishap when he went hard into turn 1 and up the track.

That forced most of the field to slow down, and 18-year-old rookie Landon Cassill tapped Bliss from behind, sending Bliss spinning into the outside retaining wall.

As Bliss, who was running seventh, rolled back down the track, Krisiloff, son of former open-wheel driver Steve Krisiloff, drilled Bliss' car in the right front. Ron Hornaday then tapped Wallace from behind, sending him into the outside wall.

"I got hit from behind," Bliss said. "It looked like a 10-year-old. You let him by ... I don't know why he ran into me."

Cassill, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was involved in the next yellow, on lap 110, when he spun as he was about to exit turn 2, slamming the outside SAFER barrier. The wreck collected Keselowski and Travis Kittleson.

Before those yellows, record-setting pole sitter Wimmer, 31, of Wausau, Wis., led the first 53 laps. He led by as much as 3.628 seconds over Edwards before Wimmer's tire problem forced him into the pits, giving Sorenson the lead on lap 54.

There were nine cautions for the night for 44 laps in a race that took two hours and 37 minutes to run. There were 12 lead changes among seven different leaders, and the average speed was 94.977 miles per hour.