STATESVILLE, N.C. – After a
recent spate of good runs
ruined by late race
problems, Elliott Sadler’s
luck finally took a turn for
the better last Sunday when
rain ended the race early at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
and propelled the No. 19
Best Buy Dodge to a
season-best, fifth-place
finish.
But
only those watching the
scoring monitor closely knew
how fast Sadler’s No. 19
Dodge was in the final half
of the race so that he could
capitalize on the early
ending. Sadler’s lap times
were as quick as the leaders
after the midway point.
This
week at Daytona, Sadler
hopes luck is on his side
this week and that his Dodge
is just as fast as it was in
the late stages of the
Daytona 500 where he
finished sixth. He owns
three top-five finishes at
the 2.5-mile restrictor
plate track including
top-six finishes in four of
the last five races.
Sadler is 25th in driver
points.
Elliott Sadler Quotes
About racing at Daytona:
“Daytona has always been
one of my favorite tracks. I
don’t know why but there are
certain places you feel
comfortable at and Daytona
is one of those tracks for
me. In the Daytona 500 we
kind of bided our time and
there at the end we came on
pretty strong. Who knows
what to expect this weekend.
Daytona is like a different
track in July compared to
February. Usually it is a
lot slicker and handling
becomes even more
important.”
Momentum after New
Hampshire: “That was a great
race for us but I’m not just
talking about the finish. It
was a great team building
day. We were really
struggling in the early part
of the race and we were off
the pace. But we talked out
what we could do for the car
and got it fixed about
halfway through the race. It
was night and day
difference. That’s the kind
of thing that gives you
confidence. We never gave
up. If we run into something
like that again we will know
that if we keep at it we can
solve just about any
problem.”
Best
Buy Reward Zone and its
Racing Club: Sadler isn’t
the only one who will
celebrate the best finish in
the history of Best Buy
Racing this week. Best Buy
Reward Zone Members who are
members of the racing club
will enjoy triple reward
zone points for each dollar
spent this week because of
Sadler’s top-five finish.
For more information go to www.myrewardzone.com
then join the racing club so
you too can earn the bonuses
every time a Gillett
Evernham Motorsports driver
posts a good run at the
track.
Sadler at Daytona: In 19
starts he has recorded seven
top-10 finishes while racing
3272 of 3357 laps for a 97.5
percent completion rate.
He’s led four of those races
for 14 laps. Best Start:
Second (Feb.
2004) Best
Finish: Second (Feb. 2001)
This
race last year: Started 22nd
and finished 33rd
Sadler 2008 Season: In 17
starts, has four top-10
finishes and seven top-10
starts; including outside
pole at Phoenix.
Career stats: Has won three
Sprint Cup races while
earning 17 top-fives, 59
top-10s and seven pole
awards in 338 career starts
Get
Sirius with Sadler: Sirius
NASCAR Radio Ch. 128
listeners can hear Sadler
talk with “Sirius Speedway”
host Dave Moody every
Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. about
whatever comes to their
collective minds.
Sadler on Trackside Live:
Each Friday for the rest of
the season, Sadler resumes
his panelist duties with the
popular Speed TV at every
track. Check local listings
for exact time it will air
each Friday from the track.
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