Elliott Sadler somewhat satisfied with 10th-place Daytona finish
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Richard Petty Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler was near tears the last time he left Daytona International Speedway, finishing fifth in the Daytona 500 moments after giving up the lead before rain ended the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
In Saturday’s Coke Zero 400, Sadler was pleased with a hard-fought 10th-place finish. His No. 19 Dodge team had a number of obstacles to overcome, and Sadler posted his second top-10 in the last three races.
“Man, what can I say, this team tonight had to overcome so much,” Sadler said. “We had radio problems at the beginning of the race, lost some spots on pit road under weird circumstances and just got stuck in the outside lane on the final restart.”
Sadler was sixth on that restart with four laps remaining, but the outside line led by Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson didn’t go, and Busch and Johnson ducked to the inside.
The drivers left in the high line scrambled over the last four laps, and Sadler avoided the last-lap crash triggered when leaders Busch and Tony Stewart tangled off Turn 4.
“Honestly, some things just didn't go our way, but our pit stops were awesome to help us regain some spots and we still got a top-10,” Sadler said. “We were hoping for better, and if it'd had stayed green, we would have almost had a top-five. This team deserved better tonight for all their hard work, but we'll take a top-10."
