NASCAR top-tier ride: Making the case for Reed Sorenson

By Asher Fair | Sep 4, 2017

FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 04: Reed Sorenson, driver of the #55 Trump - Pence Toyota, drives during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

There are several NASCAR Cup Series drivers who deserve better rides. Reed Sorenson is one of them. Will he ever get a ride with a top-tier team?

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 2014. He hasn’t had a ride with a decent team since 2009 when he drove for Richard Petty Motorsports following three full seasons driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. In his rookie season in 2005, he drove one race for Chip Ganassi Racing and one race for Phoenix Racing.

Looking at all of the teams Sorenson has driven for since 2010, it’s not a surprise that he hasn’t finished in the top 10 in over seven years. In 2010, he drove for Braun Racing and Team Red Bull before driving for Robby Gordon Motorsports in 2011.

In 2012 alone, he drove for Turn One Racing, FAS Lane Racing, Humphrey Smith Racing and Go Green Racing. Then in 2013, he drove for Leavine Family Racing before finally getting another full-time ride in 2014 with Tommy Baldwin Racing.

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In 2015, he was on the move again. In that season alone, he drove for Team Xtreme Racing, RAB Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Premium Motorsports before driving for Hillman Racing and Premium Motorsports again 2016. So far in 2017, he has only driven for Premium Motorsports.

So far this season, Sorenson sits in 37h place in the championship standings. He has driven in 18 races. He has finished all but two of those 18 races, but he has only managed a top finish of 25th place with just four other finishes in the top 30.

Sorenson has driven in 281 career races and has finished in the top 10 a total of 15 times, with five of those 15 top 10 finishes being top 5 finishes. All but one of those top 10 finishes came in his seasons driving for Chip Ganassi Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports, so he has proven that he can do well driving for solid teams. Now let’s hope he gets a chance to perform for a top-tier team.

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Do you believe Reed Sorenson deserves a Cup Series ride with a top-tier organization? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter.