Reed Sorenson: "If I am a little tired on Monday, then that is just what it is going to have to be." Credit: Autostock

Sorenson ready to face challenge of double duty

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Running two full schedules in NASCAR is nothing new, but Reed Sorenson will become the youngest and least-experienced driver to give it a shot when he shows up for the Daytona 500.

Sorenson, who doesn't turn 20 until February, is set to drive the No. 41 Dodge in both the Busch Series and the Nextel Cup Series in 2006.

	REED SORENSON •   Driver Page •   Sorenson to run No. 41 Dodge in '06 •   Sorenson wins Gateway; points race tightens Reed Sorenson talks about his third-place finish at IRP Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Sorenson has known for a while that he would have to pull double duty next year. At a test in Michigan, he cornered Carl Edwards, who is running both series this year, and asked him about everything involved: the logistics, the physical strain and the mental strain.

"I asked him how it was, he said he was doing it again next year," Sorenson said. "I figured it must not be bad. I think the experience you gain you do it is way more valuable."

Chip Ganassi's move to put Sorenson in both cars was no doubt influenced by the success drivers have enjoyed by running both series. Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Edwards have all done it, with positive results.

"The Cup cars are a little bit different than the Busch cars, so any time you can get inside a Cup car and run some laps, it'll help you," Sorenson said. "If I am a little tired on Monday, then that is just what it is going to have to be."

Jamie McMurray says the difficulty factor from Busch to Cup is underrated. In Oct. 2002, McMurray was immediately thrust into the Cup Series as a substitute for the injured Sterling Marlin.

McMurray won in his second start, and the strains on his time were immense.

"Trucks to Busch is a big step, but when you go from Busch to Cup, the demands of your time and the pressure put on you is a huge step," McMurray said.

Ganassi has already been testing Sorenson in Cup cars, mainly at non-Nextel Cup tracks like Nashville and Gateway. Ironically, Sorenson went on to win Busch races at those two tracks.

Sorenson's two Busch victories this season are the only wins Ganassi's organization has scored this season. Ganassi's Nextel Cup operation is winless since October 2002.

"I know of people in the media look at results week in and week out, and I can you that there are a lot of victories in this team that maybe don't show up in the results," Ganassi said.

Logically, Ganassi would like to give Sorenson a Nextel Cup start before the season is over, but his team is already stretched thin trying to give David Stremme some seat time before the year is up.

Stremme and Sorenson will both be rookies next year.

"There is no plan as of this moment [to run Cup races with Sorenson] but it is certainly not out of the question," Ganassi said. "We are just trying to take a look at our people and our workload, how we get through the next couple of races.

"We have a commitment to run David Stremme as well, so we are kind of measuring that but we would certainly like to. There is nothing nailed yet."

Sorenson has worked well with crew chief Brian Pattie this season, but it is not known whether Pattie will make the move to Nextel Cup with him.

Ganassi announced his 2006 driver lineup last week at Watkins Glen, but he didn't reveal his crew chief lineup.

"It is still all up in the air," Sorenson said. "No one knows who their crew chief is going to be."