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What’s Vexing Vito: Reed Sorenson Yanked to Dollar General’s Benefit

What is a bigger crime: Reed Sorenson getting yanked out of the No. 32 Turner Motorsports car for the final five races, ending his hopes of making a late rally for a Nationwide Series championship – or Brian Vickers being excited to the point of using exclamation marks in a press release about taking over the Dollar General Chevrolet?

Both drivers have experienced getting the rug pulled out from under them this year, with Sorenson taking the brunt of Turner’s topsy-turvy ride from former Cup regular to being bounced with a few races left and in contention for the title, and Vickers getting released from the Red Bull Racing Team as they prepare to pull up the stakes and take the party back to Austria for the most part.

See also
Confusion as Turner Motorsports Announces Potential Downsizing, Layoffs

Perhaps the biggest winner in all of this is sponsor Dollar General. They get maximum exposure from a big news story in a slow NASCAR news week, a Cup driver and former Nationwide Series champion Vickers for this season and a rumored alliance with Kyle Busch Motorsports next year. And they just won an IndyCar Series race this past weekend at Kentucky with Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher. (Editor’s Note: Fisher noted in a victory lane interview Sunday that Dollar General is not returning to Sarah Fisher Racing for 2012.) I guess it’s good to have options.

Here we are in October already, and there are drivers all around the sport – name drivers with a proven pedigree, who are unsure of their plans for 2012. Vickers, Mark Martin, Todd Bodine – even Clint Bowyer, who will be announcing that he is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing, is a bit of a surprise, arguably taking a step down from driving Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets for the past six seasons.

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Travis Pastrana tweeted Wednesday night.

I’m all for being a free spirit and everything, but if you missed your first NASCAR start because you were dicking around on a dirt bike, maybe it might be good to let the stunt stuff take a breather for a few months? When you see how hard it is to get sponsorship at any level of motorsports right now no matter who you are – or where you are in the championship standings – squandering opportunity and putting your return/debut at further risk and peril is not the best way to engender yourself to a community that is as tightly woven as those in NASCAR.

Speaking of tweeting, a number of NASCAR personalities were sending out messages of condolences to the family and loved ones of Apple founder and pioneer of just about everything that we hold dear electronically, Steve Jobs, who passed away following a bout with pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant. You may be reading this on an iMac, iPad or iPhone, or listening to your iPod while perusing your email, the result of one individual pursuing his life’s passion.

With all of the pink that was displayed around Dover last weekend, and just about every other professional sporting event, it is a reminder of no matter how much money you have, or much of an impact you have on the world as a whole, if you get sick, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it – for now.

Please continue to support such organizations as Susan G. Komen for the Cure, www.Livestrong.org, www.candlelighters.org and the American Cancer Society. Over the last three years I have had three people very close to me in their late 20s and early 30s diagnosed with cancer – and all three are still here today thanks to the advances and gains in detection and treatment.

It isn’t beat yet – but we’re a lot farther along than even 35 years ago – when the first single-board computer named the Apple I – was released.

About the author

Frontstretch.com

Vito is one of the longest-tenured writers at Frontstretch, joining the staff in 2007. With his column Voice of Vito (monthly, Fridays) he’s a contributor to several other outlets, including Athlon Sports and Popular Speed in addition to making radio appearances. He forever has a soft-spot in his heart for old Mopars and presumably oil-soaked cardboard in his garage.

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