AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 13, 2011) - Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet finished 27th at Phoenix International Raceway after a late-race incident took the team out of the race with 25 laps remaining.
The OneMain Financial team qualified ninth for the main event Saturday afternoon and took the green flag looking for a solid finish in the next-to-last race of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.
Before the field could make a complete lap, the first caution of the day fell for a multi-car incident. Sadler, sitting in the seventh position, was encouraged to save fuel. The driver restarted in seventh on lap 10 and relayed to the crew that the OneMain Financial Chevrolet was loose on entry and exit, but it became tighter as the run continued.
The second caution of the day came out on lap 36 when the No. 82 hit the wall. Crew chief Ernie Cope called Sadler down pit road for left-side tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The quick stop put Sadler in the fifth position for the restart.
The field went back to green on lap 44, but Sadler was shuffled back on the restart to the seventh position. The driver communicated that the car was too tight middle off as the yellow flag dropped on lap 84 for the No. 80 car hitting the wall in turn one. Sadler brought the No. 2 down pit road for four tires, a chassis adjustment and fuel.
The No. 2 restarted in the 11th position on lap 90, but Sadler soon told the crew that the right-rear tire was really chattering as he fell back to the 14th position. Sadler moved up to 13th as the yellow waved again for an accident on the frontstretch. Cope called Sadler down pit road for left-side tires, fuel and chassis and air-pressure adjustments. The quick stop put the No. 2 OneMain Financial to restart in the fifth position.
The green flag waved on lap 139, and Sadler entered a three-wide battle as he was shuffled back to seventh. It was not long before another caution waved on lap 143 for an incident involving in the Nos. 30 and 66.
As the field went back to green-flag racing, Sadler said that the chattering in the right-rear tire was still bad, and he fell to the 12th position as another caution came out on lap 161. Sadler steered the No. 2 down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help with the chattering tire.
The green flag dropped with Sadler in the 15th position, and it didn’t take him long to start picking cars off. As Sadler dropped to the bottom of the track, the No. 38 and No. 88 cars went three wide with the No. 2. Sadler moved past the two cars on the apron and back up the race track, and as he moved forward, the No. 38 made contact, pushing all three cars into the wall. The damage sustained in the hard accident was not repairable for the No. 2 and left the team with an early end to their day.
Sadler was scored with a 27th-place finish, and he remains in the second position in the Nationwide Series Driver Point standings, 41 points behind the leader heading into the final race of the season.
The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will head to Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend for the season finale on Saturday, November 19. ESPN2 will broadcast the race beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET as well as MRN at 4 p.m. ET.
Comments from driver Elliott Sadler:
“This was a frustrating day. It’s definitely a disappointing point for our entire team to be in as we head into the last race of the season. I’m proud of everything that the No. 2 OneMain Financial guys, our sponsors, Kevin and DeLana Harvick and everyone involved on this team has put into this season.”