As he begins his third full season as a Sprint Cup driver, Peachtree City's Reed Sorenson is still seeking his first victory in NASCAR's elite division, and it seems as if that major milestone can't be reached soon enough.

For a young driver to remain a full-time ride, winning isn't optional, it's required. Those that don't produce eventually get shuffled aside.

Sorenson's team, Chip Ganassi Racing, fields three cars, including those driven by open-wheel veterans Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti. Sorenson's teammates are new to NASCAR — Montoya's in his second season and Franchitti is a rookie — so at age 22 he's the senior member of the team, experience-wise. And he's also the youngest Cup regular.

But in the past five seasons, the team's only victory was by Montoya on the road course at Sonoma, Calif., last year. Sorenson's best finish has been a fifth twice, in the Daytona 500 last month and at Michigan in 2006.

Tony Glover, Ganassi's team manager, said that even though Sorenson has endured two winless seasons, he still has plenty of confidence in the youngster's abilities behind the wheel and in his ability to handle the demands of the job.

"You still have to remember that he's a young man and a very talented young man," Glover said. "He's really focused now on what he wants to do. He really matured a lot about midseason last year. I saw a lot of positive things toward the end of last season, on and off the track."

Sorenson's crew chief, Jimmy Elledge, acknowledges there's pressure on him and his driver for improved results this year.

"It's definitely time," he said. "We've got to get it done this year."

Sorenson said the key to winning is simple. He has to have cars capable of more speed and have them more consistently.

"We're going to have to get faster; it's that simple," he said. "Guys like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have a chance to win almost every weekend and end up winning seven or eight every year," he said. "If we can put ourselves in positions where we're fast enough, even if it's every other week, we're going to win eventually."

And he said that when he has found himself in the lead pack with Johnson and Gordon, it's actually easier on him than when he's mired in mid-pack.

"When you get up front, everybody kind of knows they're up front and they don't act as wild because they don't want to lose everything," he said. "Everybody's more calm, and there's more give-and-take. If you can get fast enough to get up there, it's just you and a handful of guys. You don't have to pass 15 people to win."

Some in the sport have questioned why Sorenson, with all his potential, has remained with a team that hasn't had multiple Cup victories since 2002.

"It's real simple," Sorenson said. "When I was running ASA, it was a family-owned team. Chip gave me my first opportunity [in NASCAR]."

Then after he won a couple of Busch Series races and finished fourth in points in 2005, other owners came calling.

"That was when everybody wanted to look at me, but I stayed with Chip because he gave me a chance," Sorenson said. "I don't regret any decision I've made. As long as I give 110 percent to Chip and he gives 110 percent to me we can win races together.

"I'm going to give it as long as I can. Hopefully, I've got a lot of years in racing. Something else might happen. You never know."