Sadler's Prepares For Last Race of 2008; Big Off Season Plans
STATESVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 11, 2008) - Elliott Sadler is finishing his 11th season as a Sprint Cup Series driver, and his 10th as a full-time driver, but he has never had an off-season like the one that is ahead of him this year.
Sadler is getting married to his fiancée, Amanda, on Jan. 17 in his hometown of Emporia, Va. When he returns to Daytona International Speedway in February to start the 2009 Sprint Cup season he will do so as a married man for the first time in his career.
"I'm really excited to start this chapter of my life," said Sadler. "Racing and family have always been the most important things in my life. Now, I'm going to be taking the first step towards starting a family of my own with my best friend in the world.
"It's going to be a great off-season, but I have some unfinished business to take care of at Homestead-Miami this weekend. We want to win a race and this is our last chance to do that this season. All of the guys on the No. 19 team have worked hard all season and a win this weekend at Homestead would be the best way to say thank you for all their hard work."
The No. 19 Dodge is racing with Hellmann's as the primary sponsor for the weekend.
Elliott Sadler Quote
On The 2008 Season:
"We set out a lot of goals at the beginning of this season. While we may not have accomplished all of our goals this season, we made significant gains that are going to help us reach some of those goals next year. As a race team, our goal every year is to make the Chase and win a Sprint Cup Championship. (Crew Chief) Rodney (Childers) and I now have a year under our belts working together and things have worked out pretty well. We hope to take what we learned this season and take another step forward in 2009."
On Off-Season Plans:
"This is going to be the best off-season of my career. I'm getting married in January to the women of my dreams, spending a lot of time with family and friends, and spend a lot of time in the woods hunting. It's going to be busy, but a good kind of busy. My goal is to come back in 2009 with a renewed energy and focus to help us make a competitive run at the Chase for the Championship."
Chassis Info: The No. 19 Hellmann's Dodge is racing chassis No. 256; previously raced at Indianapolis, Michigan (August), California (August) and Kansas. Chassis No. 240 will serve as the backup. Sadler won the pole position for the Sprint All-Star Race in No. 240 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Sadler at Homestead: In nine previous starts, Sadler has recorded one top-10 finish. He has led a lap in two of his nine career starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway for a total of 18 laps.
Sadler's Season: In 35 starts, has two top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has 11 top-10 starts. Sadler started from the outside pole at Phoenix in the spring. Sadler has led five races for a total of 21 laps and is currently 23rd in driver points, trailing 22nd by four points. For more of Sadler's '08 season statistics click here.
Career stats: Has won three Sprint Cup races while earning 18 top-fives, 63 top-10s and seven pole awards in 356 career starts. For more of Sadler's career statistics click here.
Sadler on Sirius and Trackside: Sirius NASCAR Ch. 128 listeners can catch Sadler on Sirius Speedway every Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. (ET). And, SPEED TV viewers can see Sadler every Friday night on "Trackside Live" for the rest of the season.
Race Broadcast Schedule: ESPN 2 and MRN Radio will carry the qualifying broadcast on Friday at 3:00 p.m. (ET). The race broadcast beings Sunday starting at 3:00 p.m. (ET) on ABC and MRN Radio.
