BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 19, 2011) — Elliott Sadler fought back to an eighth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway after the No. 2 OneMain Chevrolet Impala fell a lap down late in the race. The Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team pitted under green-flag conditions only to have the caution flag wave a few laps later, putting the team at the back of the pack for the restart. The team battled their way to the top-10 finish, the team’s 10th thus far this season.
The team unloaded at the Brooklyn, Mich., facility quickly on Friday morning and showed speed as Sadler topped the speed chart in the first practice after only one lap on the track. In the second practice, Sadler became comfortable with the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet and finished seventh quick. The wave of momentum continued as the driver picked up the sixth starting position during the qualifying session for the Saturday afternoon race with a lap time of 40.210 seconds (179.060 mph).
The green flag dropped on the Alliance Truck Parts 250, and Sadler wasted no time moving to the front of the field. By the fifth lap, the driver moved into the third position. Chasing KHI teammate Paul Menard and Carl Edwards for the lead, Sadler relayed to his OneMain Financial crew that the Chevrolet was good on entry of the corners, but needed a little more grip to help him get through the turns.
By lap 10, crew chief Ernie Cope encouraged Sadler that he was the fastest car on the track and consistently faster than the race leader. His quick lap times enabled the No. 2 to catch the second-place car of Menard and on lap 17 passed the No. 33 for the second position.
Still running in second on lap 25, Sadler informed the team that the KHI Chevrolet was beginning to feel loose. Cope assured his driver he had a plan for adjustments on the approaching round of green-flag pit stops.
Race leader Edwards came down pit road on lap 38, moving Sadler into the first position. After leading one lap, the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet came down pit road for the first green-flag pit stop of the day. The No. 2 crew put on four fresh tires, filled the car with Sunoco fuel and made a quick chassis adjustment to help resolve the handling issues Sadler had reported.
Back on track, Sadler resumed his charge to the front and was running in the third position when the field was slowed for a caution for the first time on lap 43. The Emporia, Va., native radioed to his crew that the handling of the OneMain Financial Chevrolet was much better than the previous run, and the adjustments the team had made on the green-flag stop were really good.
Happy with the car, the team stayed out on the track during the caution, and the No. 2 led the field back to green on lap 48. Back to full speed Sadler reported his car felt a little too free and was shuffled back to the fourth position. Opportunity for adjustments quickly came with the event’s second caution of the day on lap 56. The No. 2 KHI team put on four tires, added fuel and made additional chassis adjustments to help the handling of the car.
Sadler took the lap 60 restart from the 11th position and worked his way up to seventh by lap 62. With 55 laps to go, the driver came on the radio and described the OneMain Financial Chevrolet as the most loose that it had been all day. Sitting in the eighth position, Sadler continued to move through traffic and make lap times consistent with the leaders.
Green-flag pit stops began for the leaders on lap 87. On lap 88 Cope made the call for Sadler to come down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The stop under green-flag conditions placed Sadler back on track in the 20th position, one lap down to the leaders.
The field was slowed for a third time for a caution with 32 laps to go. The untimely caution came as the No. 2 was still one lap down, but the team was able to take the wave around as the leaders came down pit road. The team did not pit under caution, setting the No. 2 at the back of the field in the 14th position and back on the lead lap.
Green-flag racing resumed on lap 100 for a 25-lap shootout to the end, and the field went to three-and-four-wide racing. By lap 112, Sadler was the quickest car on the track.
With eight laps remaining in the event, the No. 2 sat in the eighth position. As the white flag waved, Sadler made a last-minute effort to pass the No. 20 of Joey Logano, but could not get past him for the seventh position.
Edwards took home the victory for the Alliance Truck Parts 250. Sadler crossed the finish line in the eighth position and remains second in the Driver’s Point standings, only two points out of the lead.
The battle for the championship will continue next week as the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to Elkhart Lake, Wis. for the first road course of season at Road America on Saturday. The green flag will drop at 5:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPN.
Comments from driver, Elliott Sadler.:
“I am really proud of our team today. We had a competitive car all weekend long, and it was fast. We had an unlucky break when it came to the timing of the caution after our pit stop, which put us at the back of the pack, but we fought back. We will come back next week at Road America hungry for a win for OneMain Financial, the No. 2 KHI team and all of our fans. And Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there.”
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