Reed Sorenson Will Drive the No. 43 in 2009

It appears that Reed Sorenson will race his fourth season behind the wheel of one of NASCAR's most historic race teams: the No. 43.

According to Sirius Radio. Tom Reddin, CEO of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, now that the merger with Petty Enterprises is official, Sorenson will drive the No. 43.

Sirius' David Poole caught up with Reddin on The Morning Drive Friday morning:

David Poole: "Will Reed Sorenson be in the No. 43 car and, if you make the deal with A.J. [Allmendinger] for the fourth car, would that be the No. 10? Is that the plan?"

Reddin: "Yeah, pre-merger Reed is in the No. 10, but post-merger Reed will be in the No. 43 for next year."

Poole: "What's the sponsorship situation on that car?"

Reddin: "We've got the majority of the races sold but we still have some races to sell. So if anybody's out there listening please give us a call. (laughs) But we've got the majority of the races sold and we're going to be announcing a sponsor in a few weeks on that car.

"And, again, that was the No. 10 and it will become the No. 43. And then our fourth car, we're working on the number right now, which number that will be, and we'll probably have an answer on that within a couple of weeks." (Sirius NASCAR PR).

The announcement comes just days after Gillett announced that Elliot Sadler would return to the No. 19 car for 2009.

In three years of racing, Sorenson has compiled one pole, 13 top-10 finishes and five top-fives.

With the news that Sorenson will fill the No. 43 vacancy and Sadler will return to the No. 19, Gillett now has three full-time rides.

It appears that his plan is to run a partial schedule with AJ Allmendinger.

Only a few spots now remain open in the NASCAR garage. The DEI-Ganassi No. 41 still has no driver, although Bobby Labonte has been rumored in recent weeks to be taking over.

Tommy Baldwin's new race team has yet to announce a driver, but rumors are swirling that Dave Blaney will be taking over that spot and that Blaney's team last year, now under Triad Racing Technologies, could be shutting its doors.

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This article also appears on my sports blog: Sports 101.