Will Replace Annett in the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford
CONCORD, N.C. (March 6, 2013) -Reed Sorenson, who will fill in for Michael Annett, looks to make the most of his opportunity to drive the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford. This weekend will mark Sorenson’s fourth Nationwide start at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Peachtree City, Ga., driver has an average finish of 14.2 at the 1.5-mile track and tallied his best finish of sixth in his Nationwide track debut in 2005.
The No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford team posted a 13th-place finish in last season’s event and found success at similar tracks throughout the season.
Comments from Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang Driver Reed Sorenson:
“I haven’t run a race at Vegas in two years, but I really like the track. I had a really good car there in 2011 and finished well. It’s a great race track, and the surface is getting better and better. I’m just ready to get back there.
“I really look forward to working with the Pilot Flying J team. We will have over four hours of practice since the series will be racing on a new tire. This will give us significant amount of time to get to know each other. It will also help them figure out what I want in the car and help me to figure out how they do things. It will be nice to have that extra time.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity and look forward to making the best of it. We want to have strong runs with the Pilot Flying J Ford while Michael heals.”
Comments from Crew Chief Philippe Lopez on Vegas:
“We found a lot of success at mile-and-a-half tracks last season. We’re in a position now where we can take more gambles now that Michael is out for a few races. We want to help build the program while he is gone so we can hit the ground running when he gets back. The additional practice time this weekend will help us get into a good groove with Reed. I think we will see good speed this weekend and hopefully can come away with a good finish.”
Chassis History:
The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 754 for Vegas. This is a new chassis the team built in the offseason.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneurs Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force and STP and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Stanley and DEWALT. In addition, Michael Annett wheels the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
NEXT RACE:
Sam”s Town 300
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 9, 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Radio: MRN/SiriusXM 90
Qualifying:
Saturday, March 9, 1:05 p.m. ET
TV: SPEED
QUICK LINKS
RichardPettyMotorsports.com
PilotFlyingJ.com
LOOKING FOR A PILOT FLYING J STORE?
There are two locations within 100 miles of Phoenix International Raceway.
The nearest location is 6.9 miles from the track. (Pilot Travel Center (I-15 Exit 48) 3812 E. Craig Road, North Las Vegas, NV 89031). Visit PilotFlyingJ.com/locations to find the nearest locations to you.
