HEADING TO 'DEGA: Elliott Sadler heads to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with only two NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, but that doesn't mean he lacks experience at the track. The 16-year NASCAR veteran has 23 Cup Series starts at Talladega, and has completed a combined total of 4,242 laps (11,283 miles) around the Alabama circuit. In his 25 combined series starts, Sadler has led 125 laps, and has earned three Cup Series pole awards.
GOING TO THE FRONT: After six races in 2011, Sadler sits fourth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver's Point Standings. Since the season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Sadler has gained more positions in the point standings than any other driver. Following his involvement in "The Big One" at Daytona, Sadler was mired in 27th place with only six points. Over the course of the past five races, Sadler has improved 23 positions, and is now only 30 points outside of first place and six markers behind third place.
AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH: During the month of April, Sadler and the rest of the NASCAR community will celebrate Autism Awareness month. Sadler, whose niece was diagnosed with Autism a few years ago, started the Hermie and Elliott Sadler foundation which raises funds to help educate those who have children that are affected by the spectrum disease which reportedly affects 1 in every 110 children in the United States.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will be utilizing chassis No. 073 this weekend at Talladega. No. 073 is a new chassis built by the KHI team for competition this season.
You've got to be lucky, and you've got to have great teammates.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Elliott Sadler scored his third consecutive top-five finish of 2011 in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. After fighting with a very loose-handling racecar for more than half of the 300 mile race, Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team improved the handling of the car, rallying to finish fifth and move up to fourth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver's Point Standings.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler
How do you feel going into the race at Talladega Superspeedway?
"It's kind of a crapshoot race. You've got to be lucky, and you've got to have great teammates. We showed in Daytona that we had a really fast racecar. We were involved in a wreck and weren't able to run the entire race there, so going to Talladega our goal is to run the entire race, and stay close to our teammates. You're going to see the two car draft again just like we saw in Daytona, so our plan is to stay hooked up to a partner the entire race and hopefully stay out of trouble. It's the one wild card race of the year where a lot of times your fate is not in your hands. Hopefully we'll have some good luck and make it all the way to the end."
-source: khi
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