Over the years, NASCAR has proven time and again how brutal it can get. One weekend, the driver is in contention for the championship, and the next weekend, he is left fighting for a seat. This was something former driver Reed Sorenson experienced. 

The year was 2011, with five races left for the O’Reilly season to wrap up. Sorenson was up in third place in the driver’s championship. However, Turner Motorsports announced that Sorenson was fired and he was being replaced by Brian Vickers for the remaining races.

A decade later, Sorenson has now opened up about the incident. He recently made an appearance on the "Dale Jr Download" podcast, where he addressed what might have led to him losing his seat.

"From what I was told, he (team owner Steve Turner) and he passed away, so I can’t speak of what he has said or didn’t - He didn’t like something I said about the car at some point, it not being good," said Sorenson. "But we ran so good the year before, like we were prepared for 2011 to have a shot at the championship, which we did."

He further explained to Dale Jr. how the decision not only shocked him but also his crew. 

"I had the same guys as I had the year before. Great group of guys, and even all of them when that happened were like, 'What the hell?'" 

Dale Jr further questioned Reed if he had noticed any signs of the firing coming. To which he replied, saying:

"It was the oddest thing I've ever experienced. I was in tears, to be honest."

Before being fired abruptly, Sorenson had secured one victory and multiple top fives for the team. These statistics only make the decision to fire him seem odd. After Reed was fired, the team put out a statement that the decision to let him go came after they were downsizing the team due to a potential lack of resources.

After stepping away from his driving duties, Reed Sorenson now works as a spotter for Josh Williams in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts series. 

Like Sorenson's abrupt end of tenure at Turner Motorsports, a similar incident took place last season.

Why Niece Motorsports Booted Kaden Honeycutt

During the 2025 season, a similar incident took the NASCAR world by storm as Niece Motorsports announced it was immediately parting ways with its Truck Series driver, Kaden Honeycutt. 

The news came in after the team learned about Honeycutt signing with a different OEM for the 2026 season. All of this went down in August 2025. 

Before being let go from the team, Honeycutt was sitting in sixth place in the driver’s championship, and only two regular-season races were left. He was in contention to get into the playoffs with a 75-point lead. 

Just as the decision to fire Reed Sorenson mid-season was deemed silly, so was the decision to fire Kaden Honeycutt. It once again served as a reminder of how volatile NASCAR can be.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak