By Joe Menzer
NASCAR.COM
January 29, 2008

Broadcaster Steve Byrnes was hosting a stop for the Chip Ganassi Racing organization on the recent Sprint Cup media tour when he turned to one of Ganassi's Nationwide Series drivers.

After learning that Bryan Clauson was born in 1989, Brynes cracked: "You might be the only guy on this stage who's younger than Reed Sorenson."

The fact of the matter, however, is that Sorenson, who will turn 22 on Feb. 5, is now the senior driver at Ganassi in terms of experience at the Sprint Cup level. He will soon be entering his third full season, one more than teammate Juan Montoya. The third Ganassi Cup driver this season will be rookie Dario Franchitti, who, like Montoya, is making the transition to stock cars after experiencing considerable success in open-wheel racing.

Unlike Montoya, who captured one victory both in what was then the Busch Series and Cup Series a year ago during his first full-time NASCAR season, Sorenson is still seeking to find Victory Lane in the big time. And he knows that most folks figure it's past due time for him to get there.

"It's like Chip has said. It's time to win," Sorenson said. "I think he's got all the other series mastered pretty well, so it's time to get the Sprint Cup cars going good and winning races."

Sorenson is well aware that he's 11 years younger than Montoya and even more years removed from Franchitti, both of whom have won the Indianapolis 500, and far less experienced overall than either as a racecar driver. But he said he still expects to assume a leadership role within the Ganassi organization this season.

"I think going into this season everyone is expecting Juan and I to lead the team into being better. Dario is going to be right there along with us, but I think Juan and I are going to be the ones to lead this team into Victory Lane," Sorenson said.

"Yeah, those guys are all older than me. I think Dario's the oldest. I haven't even found out his real age yet. He still hasn't told me."

For the record, Franchitti, the reigning Indy 500 winner, is 34. But age is just a number, Sorenson insists.

"It doesn't really matter. Once we start testing and going to the racetracks, a lot of that is forgotten," he said. "We don't really think about it that much, as far as who's older and who's been where and who has won what races. There wasn't one time last year when I thought of Juan as anything different other than a teammate who was willing to help me whenever I needed it, and vice versa. Like I said, once you get to the racetrack all of that other stuff is pretty much forgotten."

Sorenson has made 74 career starts at the Cup level, and has four top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. It also was he -- and not Montoya, the former IndyCar and Formula One star -- who captured the pole last year for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the Ganassi organization has long flexed its open-wheel muscle.

Yet he knows that his overall finishes of 24th in points as a rookie in 2006 and of 22nd last season aren't good enough. Asked if he feels added pressure to win heading into this season, Sorenson doesn't deny it.

But then he is quick to add: "There's always pressure in racing. I've felt it since I was age 6. We're ready to win. I think this is the year that we need to turn this team around and go from a 20th-place team in points [which Montoya was] to getting into the Chase and getting better. I think we can do it this year."

A former national champion in Quarter Midgets, Sorenson won his first ARCA event in just his second start in that series at Michigan in July of 2004. That was when he was pegged for future Cup stardom, which so far he has found to be elusive.

Nonetheless, he doesn't like to think of himself as a developing driver any longer.

"I hope I'm done developing. As far as making rookie mistakes, I don't plan on making any of those any more," Sorenson said. "I think as a team, we're at a critical point right now. We haven't won a whole lot of races over the past five years, and it's time to kind of turn our team around.

"We have a new car this year that we're running full time. We have three guys in myself, Juan and Dario who plan on being around for awhile. So I think this is the year that we need to turn Chip Ganassi Racing around, and turn it into a winning team."

Asked what makes him think this is the year that it actually will happen, Sorenson hedges the bet just a little.

"Well, I hope it's the year. We all do," he said. "We're all working really hard. There have been a lot of changes at the shop. Steve Hmiel is there now [as manager of competition after coming over from Dale Earnhardt Inc.]. We're really excited about having him there, and his guidance. He's been around the sport a long time. There's just a lot going on at the shop, and I feel like it's going to be a year-long process where we're going to gradually get better as the year goes on.

"I'm pretty determined this year to make whatever I can happen. I think Jimmy Elledge [crew chief on his No. 41 Dodge] is as well. I feel the pressure of winning; he's been on the 41 team longer than I have, so I know he feels the pressure of winning, too. But I think we're ready to take it on."

Then he thought about the pressure he's currently facing, and admitted it's different than when he was even younger.

"When I was 6, I didn't have a bull's eye on me. I wasn't representing Target," he joked. "I think Target is the best sponsor in Sprint Cup right now. You feel the pressure from your sponsor because you want to make them feel good. They're ready to win and so am I. I enjoy running for Chip, and along with Juan and Dario I want to be the one to help get this turned in the right direction and get back to Victory Lane for him."

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