Reed Sorenson has been removed from his Nationwide Series ride at Turner Motorsports and will be replaced by Brian Vickers for the next two races.
Sorenson is running for the Nationwide and is currently third in the standings, 49 points behind points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. As of now, Sorenson does not have a ride for Kansas Speedway. No reason was given for the switch from Sorenson to Vickers.
“We are continuing to evaluate our racing program as we look to the 2012 season,” owner Steve Turner said in a statement. “Brian Vickers is a proven winner at NASCAR’s highest level in addition to being a driver at Turner Motorsports over the last four seasons. He has worked with [crew chief] Trent Owens in the past which will allow us to immediately focus on the task at hand. We are confident Brian can help assess where we are, as a company currently, and the direction we are going as we build our programs for 2012 and beyond.”
That direction is unclear at the moment, as Turner also announced that Dollar General — the sponsor of the No. 32 car that Sorenson has driven this season — will not be returning at the end of the year and that the organization may scale back its efforts in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. On Tuesday, the team notified its employees of potential layoffs at season’s end.
Currently, Turner Motorsports fields four cars in the Nationwide Series, including for Justin Allgaier and Jason Leffler, and three in the Truck Series.
Turner had been one of the few NASCAR teams that expanded recently, after buying Braun Racing’s Nationwide team in 2010 and adding truck teams.
Sorenson out at Turner Motorsports; team may downsize
