CUP: Reed Sorenson Goes 2-For-2, Setting Up LASTCAR Showdown With McDowell, Wise

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Reed Sorenson picked up the 10th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #91 Plinker Tactical / MCM Elegante Toyota fell out with engine problems after he completed 6 of the race’s 335 laps.

The finish was Sorenson’s fifth of the 2012 season, his second in a row, and his fourth in the last nine races. With just two races to go, Sorenson is now tied with defending LASTCAR Cup Series Champion Michael McDowell for the series lead.

Sorenson qualified 39th for Sunday’s race at an average speed of 185.714 mph, ranking him seventh among the eleven "go-or-go-homers" who attempted to qualify. He moved to the 43rd spot soon after the green flag, taking it from last-place starter Joe Nemechek. He never relinquished it and was the first car to go behind the wall, beating J.J. Yeley by four laps. It was Yeley’s third 42nd-place finish in the last four races.

The LASTCAR championship now comes down to three drivers: Sorenson, McDowell, and runner-up Josh Wise, who trails the lead duo by one finish. In the tiebreaker, which is determined by bottom-five finishes, Sorenson has the advantage over McDowell, 14-13. Wise has 14 bottom-fives as well, but needs to finish last this Sunday at Phoenix to move into contention at Homestead. All other drivers were eliminated from LASTCAR contention this week - Scott Riggs and Scott Speed would have needed to sweep both 43rds at Phoenix and Homestead, but neither are entered in this week’s race.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for both Sorenson and the #91 in a Cup Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #91-Reed Sorenson / 6 laps / electrical
42) #37-J.J. Yeley / 10 laps / overheating
41) #19-Mike Bliss / 32 laps / brakes
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 33 laps / vibration
39) #36-Dave Blaney / 37 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell, Reed Sorenson (5)
2nd) Josh Wise (4)
3rd) Scott Riggs, Scott Speed (3)
4th) Mike Bliss, Joe Nemechek, J.J. Yeley (2)
5th) Trevor Bayne, Kelly Bires, Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Brendan Gaughan, Jason Leffler, David Ragan, Brian Vickers (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #98-Phil Parsons Racing (5)
2nd) #26-Front Row Motorsports, #91-Humphrey-Smith Racing (4)
3rd) #19-Humphrey-Smith Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports (3)
4th) #49-Robinson-Blakeney Racing, #79-Go Green Racing, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (2)
5th) #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #33-Richard Childress Racing, #34-Front Row Motorsports, #36-Tommy Baldwin Racing, #55-Michael Waltrip Racing, #74-Turn One Racing, #83-BK Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (16)
2nd) Toyota (10)
3rd) Chevrolet (8)