Elliott Sadler Finishes 15th at Daytona

Elliott Sadler qualified the No.11 OneMain Financial Toyota Camry in the sixth spot for Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Sadler worked with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brian Vickers as tandem drafting partners early in the race, and the duo shot the lead by lap 12. The pair was able to make a successful swap, and Sadler pushed Vickers to the lead until lap 28.

The caution flag came out on lap 32, and crew chief Chris Gayle called Sadler down pit road for four tires, fuel and slight adjustments. As the field went back to green-flag racing, Sadler relayed to the OneMain Financial team that the No. 11 Toyota was over-heating, and he could not get it cooled down.

The Emporia VA, driver was able to continue racing, but refrained from pushing in a tandem draft to prevent any further over-heating as he maintained a top-10 position. A caution on lap 64 provided the OneMain Financial team the opportunity to come down pit road to cool down the No. 11 Toyota. The JGR crew worked quickly to pop the hood, cycle the water in the radiator with a cool-down unit, change four tires and fill the tank full of Sunoco fuel.

Back on track in the 13th position, Sadler reported that the OneMain Financial Toyota was still running hot, and Gayle encouraged the driver to continue to take care of the water temperature. 

Concerned about the rising water temperature, Sadler fell back to the 23rd spot in an effort to cool down the Toyota. The yellow flag was back out on lap 99, and the JGR crew utilized the time to add four fresh tires, fuel and slight adjustments. Sadler capitalized on the restart and shot from the 24th position to seventh in one lap, moving back to the lead on lap 110.

Working with the No. 43 car as a tandem partner, the duo was shuffled back into the field, and a wreck began beside Sadler. The OneMain Financial Toyota received right-front damage, and NASCAR officials brought out the red flag. When pit road opened, Sadler came down for the final time for the JGR crew to fix the damage and add right-side tires.

The race resumed for a green-white-checkered finish with Sadler in the 17th position. Coming to the checkered flag, the field began wrecking in front of the OneMain Financial Toyota, and Sadler was unable to avoid the pileup. He would skid across the finishline in the 15th position, with Tony Stewart earning the victory. 

After the first of 33 events this season, Sadler is 12th in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings and earned the highest driver rating of 112.0.

"First and foremost, I want to send all of my thoughts and prayers to the fans and their families who were injured in the stands. The fans are what make this sport great, and my heart goes out to everyone involved,” Sadler stated after the race.

“We had a really great OneMain Financial Toyota today. (Crew chief) Chris Gayle and the No. 11 team put together a good set-up for the race, and pit crew was spot-on throughout the day. We ran pretty hot throughout the entire event and had to come in for a longer pit stop than we wanted to in order to cool it down, but we continued to fight. You never know what is going to happen at Daytona, and we just got caught up in that last-lap melee," he added.

Elliott Sadler Box Score Info:
NASCAR Nationwide Series
DRIVE4COPD 300
Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of 33
Start: 6th
Finish: 15th
Laps Led: 13
Points Position:12th