Tag: Elliott Sadler

Are they really that much better?

And if so, do they have to still prove it?

The ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway was a good race for the Cup drivers that ran it. Make no mistake. They ran it. Start to finish the front of the field was Sprint Cup.

Well, Elliott Sadler did get up and towed the field for a time and he is full time Nationwide but he also has a winning past with the Cup series. Sadler, however, is at least running the NW series full time so points matter for the #11.

The rest of the NW field was chasing for the 5th spot most of the time as Sam Hornish, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Sadler  traded off the tow for the run of the ToyotaCare 250. (more…)

Phoenix fans got a deal on their tickets.

One ticket gave access to a NASCAR race and a WWE event combined with championship drama and flying language suitable for an “R” rating if it were on the big screen at the cinema.

It was a mash-up of the bloopers from “Days of Thunder”, “Ricky Bobby” and “Last American Hero”…

Throw in the Nationwide Series race the day before and you have championship hopes dashed away by two.

Elliott Sadler in the Nationwide Series and Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup had practically the same scenario. Sadler had his hopes dashed away with a wall hit that took the #2 OneMain Financial Chevy out of the Great Clips 200 and left him 20 points out with only Homestead to go.

Jimmie Johnson also had a run with the retaining wall that took the #48 Lowe’s Chevy to the garage long enough to loose several laps and 20 points. Johnson also faces the prospect of one race remaining with the only hope of gaining resting on the potential bad luck of another.

On any race weekend fans would consider themselves lucky to have a seat while a game-changing scenario plays out on the track in front of them. (more…)

Richmond. Nationwide Series. Elliott Sadler comes in with a slight points lead over Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. By the end of the night, following a battle putting both side by side over several laps for the race lead, Sadler spun and was off the lead lap.

One point. That is all that separates them after Richmond.

Race winner, Kevin Harvick, was there to race. That is all. Get a win if possible, like any other driver…

He is down in Nationwide points by over 900. He doesn’t even earn Nationwide points. His appearance at the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 was essentially a blender thrown into the pudding. Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin were often trying for the front leaving the points runners to run defense as well as try for championship points. (more…)

We were at Richmond International Raceway for a weekend in April for some pit cruising and fast left turns. While there, we made a discovery. We sat on it for a few days to make sure we weren’t being tracked by a geek squad in black and white checkered helicopters…

We wandered about the garage and saw any number of things we likely shouldn’t have. We took notice of Team Mechanics holding up clipboards while looking over them at what the team in the next stall was doing. We saw the “cheat sheets” drivers use to remember what town they are in, who their sponsors are and which hat to wear. We found the plastic storage bin where NASCAR keeps the yellow Krylon for the lug nuts.

However, it was during qualifying we made our “discovery”. It brought to mind the adage “hide in plain sight” as it was obvious yet so inconspicuous. Everyone is so focused on times and speed and there is so much color on the cars and uniforms that the scene blurs together.

But we saw it. Or should we say… We saw her. (more…)

Elliott Sadler. Pleasant fellow. Easy personality. NASCAR driver.

Everybody knows who he is. He has won in Sprint Cup. He has driven for a number of teams. His introductions at the track generally draw applause and welcome cheers.

His record in Cup races highlights a few wins plus top 5 and top 10 finishes placing him generally in the upper tier of drivers. This, however, has not necessarily brought him into the limelight of NASCAR stardom.

Until now…

Sadler has created momentum in the early season of the Nationwide Series. Backed by Richard Childress Racing from the shops previously run by Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler has taken the #2 OneMain Financial Chevy to Victory Lane twice in the first four races of the 2012 season. He won at Phoenix and just registered the second win at the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Bristol. (more…)

The only thing missing from the Monday night Daytona 500 was James Taylor and Tom Cruise. We already have the Three Stooges as Grand Marshals..

However, as a movie drama the editing was botched. The lap 2 crash should have been put off till much later. Why would you cast a record champion, a rookie winner and an antagonist woman and have them out in just the second lap…? That doesn’t make hay for a good story.

But wait…! We get a fire explosion in the last quarter of the film! On top of that we get the most popular star into an “almost win” scenario at the finish!

What…!?

“And then… we flash forward from Victory Lane to the end of the season and the Earth implodes in December as the fire damaged pavement cracks open causing a world-wide chain reaction with John Cusack in a small plane…”

“Can we get George Clooney…?”

The Daytona 500 was hardly the start of the Sprint Cup season that NASCAR wanted. There was just too much drama leading up to the actual race and too much “weird” in the race itself. Rain stayed over Daytona setting the scene for a first ever prime time night event. It was a poorly written script as a movie which makes it comical as reality. We should have guessed when we saw Darrell Waltrip talking with the Three Stooges… (more…)