Reed Sorenson will make his second start with the No. 43 Flying J Ford team this weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Filling in for the injured Michael Annett, Sorenson will compete in his 12th Nationwide race and 22nd NASCAR race at the World's Fastest Half Mile.
"We didn't have as much practice time going into the race last weekend with the rain, stated Sorenson. "I felt like we gelled pretty quickly, but it takes some track time to really get to know each other. Going into this weekend, I feel like Philippe and the crew have a better idea of what I am looking for in the car and I know how they operate. That will help us a lot this weekend."
Previously, Sorenson compiled three top-10s in his Nationwide starts, including a third-place finish in his track debut in 2005. With one race under their belts, Sorenson and the Richard Petty Motorsports Nationwide team have a better understanding of how each other work and can hit the ground running at the .53-mile track.
"I enjoy racing at Bristol. It is a challenging track which makes it fun, Sorenson continued. "I have seen success there but have also got caught up in some wrecks. It's important to race clean to be there at the end. Hopefully, we can keep the fenders on the Flying J Ford and get a good finish."
The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 703 for Bristol. This is a new chassis the team built in the offseason.
"I love Bristol," added Crew Chief Philippe Lopez. "It's a really cool track, everything happens fast. You have to keep up with it and stay out of the wreck, because there will be a lot of wrecks. It's like a superspeedway where you have to make it to the end. It's just that superspeedways have a big one and Bristol has a bunch of little ones. You have to not be one of the 20 wrecked race cars to have a solid finish."
Fans can catch the Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 300 from Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, Mar. 16 at 2 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on ESPN, and will be available on the radio from MRN and SiriusXM 90.
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