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Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Race Review - Elliott Sadler
Elliott Sadler started the 200-lap event at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway from the 29th position Sadler was credited with a 34th-place finish after being involved in a late-race accident Sadler holds the 29th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings heading to Watkins Glen
Race Summary: Mother Nature attempted to halt the day but after only a slight delay Elliott Sadler rolled his No. 19 Air Force Ford Fusion off the starting grid in the 29th position for his 24th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon. At the drop of the green flag Sadler had the No. 19 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford on the move, and by the time the scheduled competition caution flag waved at Lap 15, he was running in the 23rd position.
Sadler had relayed that his RPM machine was a little free off of Turn 3. Crew chief Todd Parrott made the call for four tires, fuel and trackbar adjust-ments to help his driver with the loose condition. As the field went back to green, Sadler quickly returned back to work fighting for position.
Over the next 30 laps Sadler relayed to his crew that the rear grip of the car was off. As Parrott was working on a plan for the team’s next stop, Sadler got loose in Turn 3 and spun towards the entrance of pit road at Lap 51. Sadler was hit with a commitment cone violation and subsequently lost a lap to the leader.
The No. 19 Air Force crew forged ahead and Sadler fought to be the first in line to regain lead lap position. At Lap 165, Sadler was involved in an extremely hard accident that left the RPM Ford severely damaged. Thankfully the veteran driver was able to pull himself out of his car and walked away after a quick trip to the infield care center.
Sadler was credited with a 34-place finish at the conclusion of the 200-lap event.
Sadler on the Pocono Event: “I’m fine. I’m okay. I’m a little sore, I think, from where the belts grabbed me. It knocked the breath out of me pretty good, but it’s definitely the hardest hit I’ve ever had in a race car. These new cars are built to be safer and if I can get out of that and walk through that, I think it did its job. It’s not the day we wanted to have with the U.S. Air Force Ford. It’s just a tough day.”
