No time left for Sadler to sulk
It's already been a busy week for Elliott Sadler, and he won't turn his first practice lap at Richmond International Raceway until this morning.
Sadler celebrated his 32nd birthday Monday in his native Emporia, leading the cheering section at his niece's baseball game before going out for pizza with his family.
Sadler also launched an online auction for a specially painted race helmet he wore during April's Cup events, with the proceeds to benefit the Autism Society of America.
And before his schedule got too jam-packed with personal appearances leading up to tomorrow night's Jim Stewart 400, Sadler joined brother Hermie for a relaxing round of golf at The Olde Farm Golf Club in Bristol, Va.
Clearly, this is not a man who's sitting around sulking about the fact that he's 15th in the Nextel Cup points standings.
"I'm having a great time," Sadler said. "I've had a ball this year. We've had some good weekends and we've had some bad weekends, but I love my team. We've got a lot of great guys there that believe in me.
"I could be sitting here today and panicking because we don't know what to do. It's a difference between struggling and not knowing how to fix it and struggling and having an idea on which direction you need to go to fix it. We've just got to get in the right areas and find what we're missing and work on it."
Sadler has reason for optimism--if only because when he looks at the mess his teammates find themselves in, he realizes how bad it can get.
All three of Evernham Motorsports' teams were flagged during Daytona Speedweeks for illegal modifications to their cars. Kasey Kahne was docked 50 championship points and lost team director Kenny Francis for the first four races, while both Sadler and Scott Riggs were penalized 25 points and lost their team directors for two races.
Interestingly, Sadler has been the only member of the Evernham trio to bounce back. While Kasey Kahne is 31st in Nextel Cup points and Riggs 36th heading into tomorrow's race, Sadler finds himself just 64 points behind Carl Edwards for the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Cup.
Less than a year after he left Robert Yates Racing to drive the No. 19 Dodge, Sadler has become exactly what team owner Ray Evernham envisioned: a solid teammate on and off the track, and a stabilizing force in the face of adversity.
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