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NASCAR: 10 small-team drivers who deserve Danica Patrick’s ride

By Asher Fair

LOUDON, NH - JULY 14: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton's 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
LOUDON, NH - JULY 14: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton's 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NC – MAY 19: Reed Sorenson, driver of the #15 Internetwork Engineering Chevrolet (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – MAY 19: Reed Sorenson, driver of the #15 Internetwork Engineering Chevrolet (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

#10 – Reed Sorenson, Premium Motorsports, No. 15 Toyota

In 13 seasons as NASCAR Cup Series driver, Reed Sorenson, 31, has only ever been a full-time driver in five of them, most recently in the 2014 season. He hasn’t had a ride with a solid team since the 2009 season when he drove for Richard Petty Motorsports following three seasons of driving for a rather solid Chip Ganassi Racing team.

Have a look at all of these teams he has driven for since the 2010 season. It’s no wonder he hasn’t finished in the top 10 in over seven years. In the 2010 season, he drove for Braun Racing and Team Red Bull. The following season, he drove for Robby Gordon Motorsports.

In the 2012 season, Sorenson drove for Turn One Racing, FAS Lane Racing, Humphrey Smith Racing and Go Green Racing. The following season, he drove for Leavine Family Racing before getting another full-time ride in the 2014 season with Tommy Baldwin Racing.

It doesn’t end there. In the 2015 season, he drove for Team Xtreme Racing, RAB Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Premium Motorsports before driving for Hillman Racing and Premium Motorsports again in the 2016 season. So far in the 2017 season, he has only driven for Premium Motorsports.

Through all of this, he still has better career statistics than Danica Patrick, whose five full-time seasons have all been with Stewart-Haas Racing. Sorenson has driven in 279 career races and has finished in the top 10 a total of 15 times, with all but one of those top 10 finishes coming in his seasons driving for Chip Ganassi Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports.

Meanwhile, Patrick has just seven top 10 finishes in 177 career races, with 167 races of those races coming in her time at Stewart-Haas Racing. And Sorenson also has five top 5 finishes with a career-high finish of 3rd place, while Patrick is still searching for her first career top 5. Sorenson’s career-high finish in the championship standings is 22nd place, while is two sports better than Patrick’s career high of 24th. He has never driven for a team as good as Stewart-Haas Racing, either.

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