Peachtree City’s Sorenson switches rides

Since he joined the Sprint Cup Series at the age of 19, Peachtree City’s Reed Sorenson has been looked upon as a driver with great potential. But after three years behind the wheel of a Chip Ganassi-owned Dodge, he’s still seeking that first win, and for most of this season he’s languished near the bottom of the points standings.

But he now has renewed hope. On Tuesday, he announced that he would be moving to Gillett Evernham Motorsports next year, joining veteran drivers Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.

“I’m going over [to Gillett Evernham] to try to make myself a better race-car driver,” Sorenson said. “I wanted to be more competitive, and I wanted to have some more opportunities to win races and things like that. …

“I want to be a part of it and Gillett Evernham Motorsports and everything that they are about and represent.”

Sorenson, who has made 97 starts in NASCAR’s elite series, with five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, started this season with a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500, but things have gone mostly sour since.

He’s 31st in points, with an average finish of 27.7.

Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark said the latest move will benefit Sorenson and Ganassi, who will get a chance to try a different driver.

“I hope it’s a new beginning for Reed,” Clark said. “He’s still grateful for the opportunity Chip [Ganassi] gave him, but when things get stale and you don’t see any signs of progress, something has to change.

“We know Reed is a better driver than the results he’s been getting, so I’m glad he took the initiative and had the opportunity to go somewhere else.”

The 22-year-old driver’s sponsor and crew are yet to be determined, but Sorenson vows to do his part to make his new team successful.

“In the past three years, I haven’t won a race, but I learned a lot, and I can take that with me,” he said.

So far, in his brief visits to the Gillett shops, he likes what he sees.

“The whole organization seems like it’s structured really well,” he said. “It’s a team that will be here for a long time and seems to be heading in the right direction to win races.”