Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
When Elliott Sadler announced that he’d be joining JR Motorsports for the upcoming XFINITY Series season, a lot of eyes focused on him wondering if the veteran could be successful in his new ride. Thus far, he is off to a strong start as he finished fourth in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Sadler ran up front throughout the entire 300 mile event, working with his JR Motorsports teammates to keep track position. Following the last round of pit stops, he found himself in the runner-up spot behind teammate Chase Elliott. The plan was coming together in his mind in how to win the race, as he was set to make a move in turn four. The option was there to pull out sooner, but Sadler didn’t see that working in his favor as “one of his best friends in the whole garage is Bubba Wallace, running third”.
“If I pull out, I have a feeling Bubba is going to stay with Chase. I have to try to figure out what to do,” Sadler added. “My plan was to do the exact same thing Joey did, was to push Chase all the way to turn four, then try to make a move one way or the other to win the race.”
Unfortunately, for Sadler, the plan was spoiled virtue of Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne getting a big run on the outside. Sadler thought that he’d be able to stall them out, but it didn’t work out as Logano was able to get the edge on Sadler, with Chase Elliott moving up from the bottom to block.
“Joey and Kasey did a great job getting up beside us and having momentum,” Sadler said. “Then when Chase pulled up to block them and kind of stalled outside line, we actually pulled back in the front halfway down the straightaway. But the 6 (Darrell Wallace Jr.) car was not able to push us as fast as what the 22 and the 88 could do. We had to settle for fourth.”
For Sadler, the positive run gives him momentum moving forward to Atlanta and beyond in hopes of having a strong season with JR Motorsports. The belief and confidence is strong for the Virginia native based on seeing how much Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt had invested in the organization, as well as how closely they work with Hendrick Motorsports.
“I didn’t realize it was that much support when I first started kind of going over there at the end of last season,” he said. “They made some really good hires this winter, brought in some talented people, beefed up the body shop a little bit, done some really great things. I’ve been very impressed on the family atmosphere. There’s a lot of racers over there that do it for the fun of it, do it for the love of the sport. That seems to have impressed me the most so far.”
Sadler added that the level of preparation has also been impressive, in seeing how they’re prepared for not only the upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but the events beyond that.
All eyes are on Sadler to see if it can happen, considering that over the past four years, he has spent at least one season with a big organization, going from Richard Childress Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing to Roush Fenway Racing. The last couple of years and the challenges that Sadler has faced, including not winning a race since May 2014, are recognized by his new boss Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“The last couple years have been a little challenging for him,” Earnhardt stated. “I’m hoping that we give him a great foundation and a lot of support to be able to be competitive this year, get back to Victory Lane. We got a great crew chief working with him, as well. Our crew chief lineup is very strong. That’s going to carry our team, our whole company this year.”
While there may be lots of pressure forming from those on the outside, that isn’t Sadler’s focus, but rather proving himself that he can get the job done.
“Nobody has more fire out there looking at me than I have with myself,” he said .”I have a little chip on my shoulder, I think every driver does, you want to go out there, you want to run up front, you want to do good, you want to get the finishes that you feel like you earned. That’s kind of where I’m at as a person right now.”
If everything comes together, it’d be almost be fitting, considering the relationship that he has with his new bosses.
“I’m in a great situation,” Sadler stated. “A lot of people don’t know the history of Dale Jr. and Kelley and myself. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers. For our relationship to come full circle and be at this race team, to see how much effort they have put into the program this winter. Showed today, three of the top four were JR Motorsports cars.”
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