Richard Petty Motorsports' Elliott Sadler enjoying recent rally
2.jpg "Richard Petty Motorsports' Elliott Sadler has three top-12 finishes in the last four NASCAR Sprint Cup races. (Lee Holmes / NASCAR Scene)")
Richard Petty Motorsports' Elliott Sadler has three top-12 finishes in the last four NASCAR Sprint Cup races. // Lee Holmes, NASCAR Scene
Elliott Sadler and his Richard Petty Motorsports team have been enjoying a recent surge.
Sadler has three finishes of 12th or better in the last four races, a streak that has helped him gain four spots to 23rd in the point standings. He finished 10th at both Infineon Raceway and Daytona International Speedway and was 12th at Michigan International Speedway. Sadler finished 26th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his lone non-top-15 in the four-race run.
“The last month has been a good stretch for all the guys on the No. 19 team," Sadler said. "We’ve put together some good race cars and turned in some solid finishes. We could have actually been a little better had some things gone our way, but to have two top-10s and three top-12s in the four races is nice.
"I know everyone has been putting in a lot of blood, sweat and tears working on these cars, and we are starting to see the rewards for all their efforts. We’re gaining ground in the standings as well, which is great.”
Crew chief Kevin Buskirk hopes that success continues in this weekend's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Teammate Kasey Kahne participated in a tire test at the 1.5-mile track, so the team is hoping that information will be helpful Saturday night.
"The new tire we’re bringing is faster with more grip than the old tire, but should fall off faster as the race goes on," Buskirk said. "It’ll make for better racing then we’ve seen in the last couple trips to Chicago. We only visit Chicago once a year, so it’s always interesting to see what everyone has learned since last time. We’re bringing the car Elliott finished 12th with at Michigan. We’re looking forward to a good competitive race.”
