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Elliott Sadler

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Elliott Sadler
Awards1983-1984 Virginia State Karting Championship

North Carolina Gold Cup 1991-1992

1995 South Boston Speedway Track Champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
Car no., team38 - Robert Yates Racing
2006 position22nd
Best finish9th - 2004 (NEXTEL Cup)
First race1998 Coca-Cola 600 (Lowe's)
First win2001 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last win2004 Pop Secret 500 (California)
Wins Top tens Poles
3 54 7

Elliott Sadler (born April 30, 1975 in Emporia, Virginia) is a race car driver in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. He currently drives the #19 Dodge Avenger for Evernham Motorsports with teammates Scott Riggs and Kasey Kahne. He has three career Craftsman Truck Series starts, his best finish coming at Richmond in 2000. His older brother Hermie Sadler races in the NASCAR Busch Series and occasionally in the NEXTEL Cup series.

1983-1995

Sadler began racing in go-karts at the age of seven, and moved up to the Late Model stock car division at the local race track. His accomplishments include over 200 total wins, the 1983-84 Virginia State Karting Championship, and the North Carolina Gold Cup in 1991-92. He was runner-up in 1989 for the World Karting Association national title.[citation needed]

When he turned 18, he moved to the Winston Racing Series and ran full-time beginning in 1993. That same year, he achieved his first victory, and in 1995 was crowned track champion at South Boston Speedway, where he achieved 13 wins that year, including a 6-race winning streak.

Sadler attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and was a walk-on on the basketball team until he injured his knee, effectively ending his basketball career.

1995-1998

Sadler made his Busch Series debut in 1995 at South Boston. He qualified fifteenth in the #46 DeWalt Tools Chevy, and finished eighth. He ran another race that season at Richmond International Raceway, but finished 24th. He began 1996 driving a part-time schedule for his family-owned team, before switching over to the #29 WCW Chevy owned by Diamond Ridge Motorsports. He had three top-tens in the Diamond Ridge ride, his best finish coming at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex, where he finished fifth. After making thirteen starts that year, he finished 35th in points.

Sadler and Diamond Ridge began 1997 unsponsored, but grabbed two poles, at Daytona and Darlington respectively. Midway through the season, Phillips 66 came onboard as the team's sponsor and Sadler won his first career race at Nazareth Speedway. He followed that up with back-to-back wins at Myrtle Beach Speedway and Gateway International Raceway. He won an additional four pole positions and finished a career-best fifth in points. He also attempted the UAW-GM Quality 500 in the Cup Series for Team SABCO, but failed to qualify.

In 1998, Sadler's team switched to the #66, and won early in the season at Bristol. He made his Cup debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the #92 for Diamond Ridge, starting 31st but finishing 42nd after an engine failure. He ran another Cup race later at Bristol, finishing 24th. After another win at North Carolina Speedway, Sadler announced he would leave Diamond Ridge at the end of the season.

1999-2004

Sadler moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 1999, driving the #21 Citgo Ford Taurus for Wood Brothers Racing. His best finish that year was a tenth at Texas Motor Speedway, and he finished 24th in points, runner-up to Tony Stewart for Rookie of the Year honors. He also returned to the Busch Series on a part-time basis, filling in for the injured Andy Santerre for Innovative Motorsports, his best finish fifth at California Speedway. He also drove a handful of races for Lyndon Amick. Sadler's only finish in 2000 was a tenth at Bristol, and he dropped to twenty-ninth in points.

In 2001, Motorcraft became Sadler's new sponsor, and he won his first career Cup race at Bristol. He had another top-ten and finished 20th in points. After seven top-tens and a drop to 23rd in points in 2002, Sadler left for Robert Yates Racing to drive the #38 M&M's Ford. In his first season of competition with Yates, Sadler won the pole at Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway, and finished 22nd in points. The following season, Sadler won at Texas Motor Speedway and California Speedway and finished a career high ninth in the championship standings.

File:ElliottSadlerCar.jpg
Elliott Sadler races to the finish to win the 2004 Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

2005-2006

Sadler failed to win again in 2005, but won four poles. He also drove sixteen races for RYR's Busch car, the #90 Citifinancial Taurus, and had three top-five finishes. In 2006, Sadler had a pole at Talladega and was nineteenth in points. He made seven Busch starts, his best finish was second at Richmond. Sadler repeatedly said that he feels his team is not performing up to par this season, and it has been confirmed by sources close to Robert Yates Racing[1] [2] that he will be heading over to Evernham Motorsports to drive the #19 Dodge in 2007 (and according to a recent article on NASCAR.com, could move over to the #19 sooner than expected, with the release of Jeremy Mayfield. Sadler left RYR in 2006 for Evernham Motorsports.

2006-Present

Elliot Sadler drove the #38 for the entire season with four DNF's. Sadler's best finish of the season, in the #38, came at the Daytona 500 where he finished 4th.

In the 2007 Daytona 500, Sadler among many other drivers were caught in a cheating scandal. Despite being docked 50 points, he still went on to finish 7th. Sadler then has had many ups and downs throughout the season. He is currently 20th in points, 219 points out of the 12th position.

Trivia

  • Sadler made his Nextel Cup debut at 21 years old, and his age matched his car number at the time 21, owned by the Wood Brothers.
  • Sadler is a huge fan of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill athletics. Brother Hermie was a lacrosse team equipment manager, and a roommate of Benny Parsons' son Keith.
  • He loves hunting, and during the off season, he serves as a hunting guide in Virginia. He is also an avid golfer, playing two times a week during the racing season.
  • Sadler keeps 38 (a reference to his current car number) hunting dogs at his Virginia home, and he can identify each of them by the sound of their bark. That was also a reference his sponsor Mars, Inc, through its Pedigree Food for Dogs.
  • Elliott was involved in 6 sports in high school, excelling in baseball and basketball. He was recruited by no fewer than 18 colleges.
  • Elliott was named after his uncle Bud Elliott, whom Sadler credits as starting the racing tradition.
  • Elliott Sadler is on the cover of EA Sports NASCAR 07 video game box.

References