CONCORD, N.C. (May 22, 2010) — Elliott Sadler experienced a consistent top-five weekend in his first career Truck Series start at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. After running third fastest in both practices and earning a fourth-place starting position, the No. 2 Best Buy/Insignia team rallied back from a potentially devastating pit stop miscue to finish fifth in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200.
After taking the rain-delayed green flag, Sadler immediately demonstrated how strong the No. 2 Best Buy/Insignia machine was by easily working his way up to second by the time the first caution flag of the night waved for a wreck on lap 11. Losing a position after the restart on lap 15, Sadler maintained the third position until the yellow flag waved again on lap 26.
Crew chief Butch Hylton called Sadler to pit road while under caution, and because Sadler was so pleased with the balanced handling of his truck, the team made a strategic decision not to take new tires and make a fuel-only pit stop instead. As it is standard procedure for the driver to exit the pit stall upon the drop of the jack when making a stop which requires a tire change, Hylton instructed Sadler to instead hit the gas after his cue that the tank was full of fuel.
While the KHI fuel man serviced the No. 2 Silverado, Hylton keyed his radio to inform his driver that the truck was rolling forward during the stop. Hearing Hylton’s voice on the radio, Sadler hit the gas pedal, yanking the gas can out of the fueler’s hands and pulling away before the tank was completely full. The crew member made a great save by recovering the gas can and Sadler returned to the track in first place, but without the fuel he would need if the field experienced a long green-flag run. Hylton apologized immediately for speaking before the truck was full and informed the team that they had enough fuel to run 40 more laps.
When the field went green on lap 30, Sadler made it clear that the miscue couldn’t hinder the speed of the No. 2 truck, and he promptly pulled away from the pack. As the fastest truck on the racetrack, Sadler would sacrifice the lead for only six of the next 37 laps, opening a .753-second lead over the second-place car. Unfortunately, the long green-flag run meant that the No. 2 would have to pit early, and Sadler was forced to make a green-flag pit stop for fuel and tires on lap 67. The team hoped that the green flag run would continue and the field would cycle through pit stops, but the caution would wave on lap 80 when a truck caught fire on the frontstretch. Mired in the 16th position and one lap down, Sadler stayed out during the yellow, benefitting from NASCAR’s wave around rule and earning his lap back.
Because he had pitted almost 20 laps earlier than the rest of the field, Sadler would be unable to make it to the end of the race on fuel like the rest of the leaders. The team’s only chance to recover would be a quick caution to allow Sadler to get back on sequence with the rest of the field. As luck would have it, the yellow flag would wave only two laps after the restart on lap 90, and Sadler entered the pits for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment.
Given the chance to completely recover from the earlier miscue, Sadler picked off his competitors and broke back into the top 10 before the next caution on lap 111. Wanting to improve the handling of the truck one last time, the team sacrificed track position by pitting again, adjusting the truck to make it as competitive as possible. Restarting 14th on lap 118, the adjustments were just what Sadler needed to work his way through the pack. Sadler was able to fly through the field and navigate through three and four-wide traffic, earning the fifth position before the crossing the finish line.
“This team has reminded me just how much fun it is to race,” said Sadler after the race. “We had the truck to beat tonight, and we battled back from our mistake to have a great finish. I am so proud of what we did tonight, and the performance I’ve had at KHI has been exactly what my confidence needed. I really want to give these guys a win, and I know that I’ll have the chance to do that this season. I can’t wait to get back in the truck at Michigan.”
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at the conclusion of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, followed by Todd Bodine, KHI teammate Ron Hornaday, and James Buescher. The No. 2 team dropped one position in the Owner’s Point standings, now sitting fourth, 60 points out of first place.
The Truck Series hits the track again on Friday, June 4 for the North WinStar World Casino 400K at Texas Motor Speedway. The race can be seen live on SPEED at 8:30 p.m. EST.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
May 21, 2010
Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
Race: 7 of 25
Driver: Elliott Sadler
Started: 4th
Finished: 5th
Owner Point Standings: 4th (-60)
Race length: 134 Laps/200 Miles
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-Oval
Next on the Truck Series Schedule:
Date: June 4, 2010
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Event Name: WinStar World Casino 400K
Broadcast Time: SPEED 8:30 p.m. ET