Sadler Posts Back To Back Top Ten’s

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

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[thumb:383:r:s=1:l=x]Elliot Sadler backed up the hoopla from his front row qualifying effort with a 10th place finish at Michigan on Sunday. It was Sadler’s second consecutive top 10, and the first time he’s posted consecutive top 10’s since he was 8th at Sonoma and 6th in the Pepsi 400.

What makes this special to Sadler is that this pair of top 10’s came not only for different owners, but for a different manufacturer as well. Sure it was a nice start to a new future at Evernham Motorsports, but will the almost fairytale beginning where the #19 team posted its first top 10 of the season continue?

Elliot said that initially they would pretty much mirror what his teammates were running in terms of set-up, and then tweak them from there. Something his predecessor just couldn’t get the feel for. It seems though that from initial testing at Kentucky, as well as the information gathered in competition at Michigan, that Sadler can handle the set-up’s just fine. While the team has a long road ahead, and a lot of work left to do, it seems that initially it’s going to be a little less stressful than perhaps it was previously thought.

On the bright side, they can at least catch their breath a second as Elliot’s run put them back into the top 35 in Owner’s points (34th, +42) and they are guaranteed to be in the show at Bristol. It’s also a track where Sadler has visited Victory Lane. While this doesn’t guarantee anything it should at least give the team hope in that they know their driver has the patience and skill to ride the wave as the bowl flushes out many a competitor.

Sadler’s true test will come at California. Michigan was nice, but then that team had one there the year before. Although fuel mileage played a part. Plus Kahne was quite good there in June, and could very well have won even if it hadn’t been shortened due to rain. With Kahne though, rain or not, it was still a check in the win column. Kasey finished 4th this time around.

For Sadler and the #19 the goals for ending 2006 are simple. Be in the top 35 in Owner’s points when the checkers fly at Homestead. Anything else is gravy.

Filed Under: Nascar, Nextel Cup





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3 Responses to “Sadler Posts Back To Back Top Ten’s”

1. Color me surprised by his finish. I felt sure his qual setup would quickly send the #19 towards the tail of the field.

   Oh well a “pundit” can’t always be correct.

   There is something I had forgotten about, and was critical of at the time, was Evernham’s insistence on Mayfield and Newman running the Intrepid early in the season. That put both teams far behind the #9 team on figuring out the Charger.

   Just a thought.

   Marc said this on August 21st, 2006 at 8:44 pm

2. I’ll add this that just popped into my mailbox via the Stock Car Gazette:
   

   Jeremy Mayfield has signed a 3-year contract with options with Bill Davis Racing. BDR will make the formal announcement during a press conference Friday [at Bristol] when the organization will map out it’s plans for 2007 and beyond. Team General Manager Mike Brown says Mayfield “Is everything we’ve been looking for. He’s the kind of driver that was available that was marketable. Obviously he’s had success the last couple of years winning races and being in the chase. It’s exactly what we needed to facilitate a multi-year deal with a new and exciting sponsor.” Brown likes the Mayfield-Tommy Baldwin driver/crew chief combo saying “Tommy’s spent a couple of years with him at Evernham so he knows what he likes in cars. From that standpoint we’ve got a bonus there.” Mayfield may not race competitively the rest of this season however he is expected to test beginning next week at Kentucky and Nashville.(PRN’s Garage Pass Radio Show)(8-20-2006)

   And the silliest of seasons continues.

   Marc said this on August 21st, 2006 at 8:50 pm

3. Well, BDR did say they would announce it this week at Bristol.

   That being the case, maybe this whole EMS drama was a stage to get Jeremy ready for the operating methods at BDR? Ok, maybe not. Well, not staged. However… bah, I won’t get into it. But we all know how dirty he treated Ward.

   As for the whole Charger/Intrepid thing, I’d almost forgotten about their continued use by these teams. However, their teammates were still gathering the info needed.

   But, that does put Ray’s comments about Jeremy just never getting comfy with the set-up’s into perspective. He said that as the #9 and #10 were just fine, Mayfield kept wanting that feel from the intrepid last season and couldn’t handle the feel of the set-up’s being used by Kahne and Riggs.

   Maybe the Camry will be better.

   The one good note out of all of this for BDR… they will finally run a season with manufacturer support, since Dodge pulled it out from under them prior to the Toyota debut in the Truck Series.

   What that translates to is anybody’s guess, as they weren’t that hot even with manufacturer support. But at least then they were good for a win a season or so.

   Luke said this on August 21st, 2006 at 9:00 pm

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