More On The Pruett-Sorenson Switch At Infineon

In ESPN’s Door 2 Door column, Marty Smith shined some more light on the Scott Pruett-Reed Sorenson switch this weekend at Infineon Raceway. According to Smith, Sorenson worked with Chip Ganassi to make the decision to put Pruett in the No. 41 Dodge this weekend at Infineon Raceway.

He did not want to fall out of the top 35 in owner points, and if he does, he will end up further behind on race setup, Smith says, because he’ll have to qualify for races on time.

Sorenson said:

I’m not hurt at all. The thing is, what I am hurt by is that we’re this far back in points and have to worry about it. That upsets me and Chip both the most. Scott should be better at the road course. He should be better than me. It’s what he does. It would be a bad idea if we didn’t try that.

Sorenson and the No. 41 are battling Robby Gordon, who performs well on road courses, and Regan Smith, whose No. 01 Chevy will be driven by Ron Fellows, to stay in the top 35 in points.

Smith commented:

I was typically skeptical about these types of decisions until recently, when I saw what Mike Skinner did for A.J. Allmendinger’s confidence. Ever since Skinner got in the No. 84 Toyota and helped assess some of the team’s shortcomings, Allmendinger has flourished.

Pruett In For Sorenson At Infineon

I was reading Tim Z.’s post over at Do You NASCAR? on Chip Ganassi Racing’s decision to put Scott Pruett in the No. 41 for Reed Sorenson.

Tim wrote:

My gripe on this one doesn’t necessarily lie so much with the addition of Pruett to the team for the road course race, but moreso with the seclusion of Sorenson. I’m a huge advocate of the theory that if you hired a guy to be your driver, then for Pete’s sake, let him drive! It may seem like an unlikely scenario at this point in Sorenson’s career, but what happens if the day comes that Sorenson is competing to make the coveted Chase field?

He goes on to point out that this is not the case this year, but it could be down the road.

But, with all due respect, I disagree. I think that Ganassi has to do everything he can to keep the No. 41 in the top 35 in owner’s points. Pruett gives him a much better shot at doing that at Infineon Raceway.

Looking at this year’s stats, I would say Sorenson is on the hot seat in that No. 41. He’s finished 31st or worse in nine of 15 races, and 20th or worse in 12 out of 15 races. Removing Sorenson this weekend might be an indication of his status in the team. He’s got to be in jeopardy of losing his seat.

In this case, I think Ganassi is right for pulling Sorenson from the seat this weekend. Especially if Sorenson is not in CGR’s long term plans. 

Caterpillar To Leave BDR For RCR

It’s official. Today, Caterpillar announced that it will be leaving Bill Davis Racing’s No. 22 Toyota and Dave Blaney as primary sponsor in 2009 and heading to Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 and Jeff Burton, an RCR press release reports.

AT&T is leaving the sport following the season, and given Jeff Burton’s performance over the last two years, it was hard to imagine him going without a sponsor next year.

BDR will announce plans for its second car, the No. 23, in the coming weeks, according to BDR’s press release.