Sorenson seeking job security

DOVER, Del. – In a sense, Reed Sorenson's job security may be in teammate Juan Pablo Montoya's feet and not his hands.

There has been speculation that Montoya, unhappy with Chip Ganassi for making yet another crew chief change, could leave at the end of the season, possibly to replace Tony Stewart at Joe Gibbs Racing if Stewart decides to move on.

Though unlikely, if Montoya were to leave Ganassi, it might be the only way Sorenson gets to stay in the No. 41 Target Dodge.

But if Montoya does stay put, which would appear the more likely scenario, Sorenson could be on his way out.

The 22-year-old Sorenson has been with CGR for five years, starting first as a developmental driver, then as a Busch Series competitor and subsequently a quick ascension to a full-time Cup ride at the age of 20.

He finished 24th in the standings in his rookie campaign two years ago, improved to 22nd last season, but has had a horrible start to his junior season in NASCAR's major league.

Sorenson enters Sunday's Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway in 30th position, with just one top-five finish in the first 12 events (a fifth-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500).

"We're obviously not in the points position we want to be," Sorenson admits. "We're working on some things and just trying to make sure the team is better. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

With the exception of a 12th-place showing earlier this month at Richmond, the Peachtree City, Ga., native has struggled terribly since Daytona, with just one other top-20 finish (18th at Las Vegas).

How bad has it been? In his last five starts, Sorenson has scored finishes of 42nd, 43rd, 12th, 32nd and 22nd.

The last four races came under new crew chief Donnie Wingo, who switched roles/teams with Jimmy Elledge (Montoya's former crew chief) just before Sorenson's last-place finish at Talladega on April 27.

Wingo had done wonders working with Montoya for roughly a year and a half, but the going has proven harder with Sorenson. There's no question that the young driver has talent, but turning that talent into consistent top-10 finishes is much easier said than done.

And Ganassi has a history of changing drivers if they slump too long.

Still, Sorenson sees hope that being paired with Wingo will eventually pay big dividends – provided he's still around by season's end.

"What we're trying to do right now is getting Donnie and me working well together and just kind of build some momentum and get some good, solid finishes," Sorenson said. "That's what the plan is."

Unfortunately for him, time may not be on his side. He's in the final year of his three-year contract with CGR. While he's trying to remain optimistic that he'll be retained, two things seem to be working against him.

First, Sorenson acknowledges with a shrug he's heard rumors that Dan Wheldon, who drives for Ganassi in the Indy Racing League, is interested in jumping to NASCAR to join fellow former open-wheelers Montoya and Dario Franchitti.

It's highly unlikely Ganassi would expand his Cup program to four teams, meaning one driver currently in his stable would have to go. More than likely that would be Sorenson, who would find himself in the same position as former teammate David Stremme, who was bounced to the curb last year in favor of Franchitti.

Secondly, Sorenson's overall performance this season does not put him in a very strong bargaining position. While a longtime Ganassi favorite, Sorenson is expendable, particularly if a guy like Wheldon decides to make the switch.

Sorenson's average finish this season has been a hair above 28th place.

But perhaps the most telling statistic is lead-lap finishes thus far in 2008. He's only managed three.

Still, as bad as things have been thus far, Sorenson continues to tout an optimistic line.

"Up to this point, all I've done is to try to make sure I can do the best I can right now," he said. "I figure if I can do really good the next couple months, we'll see what happens.

"But until that point, I'm just worried about the racing going on right now. I feel like it's so early in the season – and honestly it seems like it gets earlier and earlier every season – but obviously it's pretty wild to talk about next year when I feel like I'm still trying to get this season going."

Sorenson will start from the 42nd spot in the 43-car field for Sunday's race, turning in the slowest speed of all 45 drivers who attempted to qualify Friday. If it hadn't of been for being 31st in owner points, Sorenson would have gone home instead of taking the green flag on race day.

"I'm kind of making sure I concentrate on (this year) before I get too carried away with next year yet," he said. "I figure if I can run good here for a little while, then (whether he'll stay with CGR) will take care of itself."

If not, all Sorenson needs to do is see what happened to Stremme to know what fate likely awaits him.