Sadler still upset about Sprint Showdown crash
CONCORD, N.C. - Gillett Evernham Motorsports' Elliott Sadler remains upset with AJ Allmendinger for the on-track incident during Saturday night's Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Sadler was tagged by Allmendinger as Allmendinger tried to move up the track early in the race, causing him to crash out of the all-star race qualifying event after running just six laps. Allmendinger went on to win the event.
Sadler not only crashed the car he had tested at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but he also lost valuable track time under race conditions - two things that could hamper his efforts in this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup points race, which is also at Lowe's.
"I'm very upset about that still," Sadler said Wednesday night.
"There's a big difference between 43 race car drivers, about spinning out under somebody and taking them out, which is always an accident, and just absolutely running in the back of somebody. There's a big difference in doing that. It's the difference between an accident and doing something intentionally.
"So I'm still pretty upset about it. I'm upset that my guys put so much effort into that car and [have] nothing to show for it. But you know what, it's behind us."
Now, he's focusing on Sunday night's event, the longest race on the Cup schedule.
As he prepares for that race, Sadler expects teams to alter their strategies a bit after his teammate Kasey Kahne won the all-star race, doing so with a fuel-only pit stop.
Sadler says that he was surprised that worked for the team and that he expects it to change the way some crew chiefs manage Sunday night's event.
"You're going to see some guys take a lot of chances at the end of the race," he said. "... Once [Kahne] got out to the front, he was going to be hard to pass. Threw up a wrench for this weekend, I think ... It's not the normal four tires or stuff you see the crew chiefs do. So not only now do crew chiefs have to worry about working on a car for 600 miles, now you've got to make the right pit calls and pit strategy for the end of the race."
After Sadler won the pole position for his race, then Kahne won the 100-lap, segmented all-star race, Sadler says that the momentum for the entire Gillett Evernham team is obvious.
He hopes the group can carry that through this weekend.
"It means a lot to me that we showed up and sat in the pole ... and then my teammate goes on and wins the race from the back of the field," Sadler said. "That shows a lot of promise for our race team and our organization. We've been showing a little speed here lately, the last month and a half. We've got to put it all together now for 600 miles. This is a great race for us."
