Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 26, Elliott Sadler
By David Exum - SceneDaily Staff
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Richard Petty Motorsports' Elliott Sadler had an inconsistent season, finishing the year 26th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
Jim Fluharty
NASCAR Scene
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After starting the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season with a fifth-place finish in the rain-shortened Daytona 500 in February, Richard Petty Motorsports' Elliott Sadler failed to record another top-five NASCAR Sprint Cup finish for the rest of the season.
Although he never came close to falling out of the top 35 in the series standings, the 34-year-old driver was inconsistent throughout the season. He did record five top-10 finishes, but with an average finish of 23.9, he was never a threat to make the Chase For The Sprint Cup – in which he last competed in 2004.
The Emporia, Va., native finished 26th in the 2009 series standings and earned $3,819,103 in purses.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 35 in 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Sadler’s season unfolded:
By the numbers: In 36 starts, Sadler recorded one top-five and five top-10 finishes.
Season highlights: Sadler challenged for the win in the rain-shortened Daytona 500 in February. His fifth-place finish in that race was his best finish of the season.
Key setbacks: Sadler went 14 races without recording a top-10 finish during the early part of the season before finally breaking through with a 10th at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., in June.
Newsworthy moment: While the details have yet to be finalized, Sadler and his teammates at Richard Petty Motorsports are part of another planned merger, this time with Yates Racing. At the end of the 2008 season, Sadler's owners (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) merged with what was then known as Petty Enterprises, creating RPM. Sadler drove to a ninth-place finish in a Ford in the fall race at Talladega and will make the switch to that manufacturer in 2010 with the rest of his RPM teammates.
In his words: “I love to race as much as anyone, but I’m honestly really looking forward to the offseason to kind of reset mentally and physically. We have a lot of exciting and positive things going on here at Richard Petty Motorsports, and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. We are making a manufacturer switch, merging with another team and working to make our team as strong as possible heading into 2010."
Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 32, David Stremme
Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 33, Michael Waltrip
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