Catching up with ... Sorenson Reed

Reed Sorenson, a rookie Nextel Cup driver, nearly got his first Cup victory last week at California Speedway but ran out of fuel while leading with two laps to go. So far this season, he has one top-five and five top-10 finishes driving the No. 41 Dodge for Chip Ganassi's team. He's 22nd in the standings heading to Richmond. He also races in the Busch Series for Ganassi. He recently spoke with Rick Minter of Cox News Service.

Q. What's it like to be racing against drivers you knew only from TV a year or so ago?

A. A lot of the guys are just like I thought they'd be, and a lot of them are different. I'm not that close to a lot of them, but the ones I have gotten to know are pretty good guys and I enjoy racing with them.

Q. Which ones have gone out of their way to be friendly?

A. Obviously my teammates David (Stremme) and Casey (Mears) are good to me, and some of the veterans have been more helpful than others. Tony Stewart's a pretty good guy to talk to. He's been mad at me before on the track, but he's been nice after the race or the next weekend. Greg Biffle is a good guy; Matt Kenseth, too.

Q. What would you consider your biggest accomplishment of the season?

A. The best car we had was at California. ... A lot of the mileand a-half tracks we've had really good cars. It seems like we've had top-10 cars at a lot of those places.

Q. Where are you and your team weakest?

A. We were weak at the short tracks, but we built a new car and we're 100 times better.We've got Richmond and Loudon (New Hampshire) coming up that we're going to take that car to.

Q. How much of a strain is it to run both Busch and Cup?

A. It's been bad at times and really easy at times. I enjoy racing twice every weekend, and it seems to be helpful in most situations.

Q. How has your life changed since joining the Cup circuit?

A. It's just weird being gone every weekend, every Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday and then realizing that when you go home, Monday and Tuesday are your weekend, your day to wash clothes. That's if you're not testing somewhere during the week. You may have times where you're doing something 14 days in a row, and you may have times where you have two or three days off in a week. You've got to be ready for anything.

Q. Do you get recognized a lot?

A. Not really. I don't think a lot of people know who I am. Around a race facility, yes, but around home, it's not too bad.