Reed Sorenson failed to qualify for Saturday's race in his normal No. 41 Dodge. Credit: Autostock

Sorenson picks up ride from teammate Marlin

Rookie fails to qualify in own Dodge, veteran comes through

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Reed Sorenson failed to qualify for Saturday's Aaron's 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his team quickly arranged for him to take over Sterling Marlin's seat in the No. 40 Dodge.

Sorenson, 19, is a native of nearby Peachtree City and currently sits fourth in Busch Series points.

	Reed Sorenson Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Reed Sorenson's career Busch Series stats heading to Atlanta Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Laps Led 10 0 2 6 47 Carl Edwards wins the Busch Pole in Atlanta Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Marlin had qualified 28th in the No. 40 FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge for the Aaron's 312.

"I was looking forward to running the race, but Reed is a teammate of ours," Marlin said. "We'll do whatever we can to help him out."

Sorenson's Dodge suffered gear failure as his shifted from second to third gear during his qualifying lap, sending the rookie into a spin.

His team, Chip Ganassi Racing, had five minutes to make repairs, but the time elapsed with the crew still struggling to free the jammed transmission.

"Typically, if it clings up in two gears, it's easy to get out," said crew chief Brian Pattie. "It's not uncommon. You pop it out of gear and go on to the next one."

Sorenson finished 19th in the race.

"The setup was OK," Sorenson said. "There were a few little things different in the car. I wasn't sure what the deal was and I got more comfortable with it. The seat was really off, so I was pretty uncomfortable. About halfway through the race that thing was killing me, and now I feel like my body is broken in half."

Sorenson ran in the top 15 but had a tire problem in the closing laps.

"I was getting pretty excited there toward the end because we were running 15th or so and I figured we might be able to get a few more and get close to the top 10," Sorenson said.

"We had a couple loose wheels there at the end, and we had to come down pit road and get those tightened up."

If the team had qualified on time for the Aaron's 312, the team would have been home free the remainder of the year, since NASCAR rules lock in the top 30 teams from week to week.

"We made it through Mexico, Daytona, Vegas and California," Pattie said. "To show up at Reed's home track with one more lap and have it happen, it irks me a little bit."

Even with the missed race, the No. 41 team will remain in the top 30 in owners' points for next week's event at Nashville, when NASCAR will set qualifying based on 2005 points.