08/03/2015
Elliott Sadler Battles For An Eighth-Place Finish At Iowa Speedway
NEWTON, IA (Aug 1, 2015) – Roush Fenway Racing’s Elliott Sadler finished eighth during Saturday night’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Iowa Speedway. Sadler qualified 15th on Saturday afternoon for the 250 lap event in Newton, IA. Sadler battled tight, then extremely loose conditions for the majority of the race. Besides the handling, Sadler also had to battle a speeding penalty on pit road, which occurred on his first pit stop. Sadler was able to overcome the adversity and brought home another top-10 finish this season. Sadler crossed the finish line in the eighth position.
“Today was a frustrating, yet successful day at Iowa Speedway,” Sadler said after the race. “I was frustrated, because we didn’t qualify as well as we wanted to. Plus, with the pit road penalty and how my driving conditions drastically changed mid-race, things just weren’t in our favor tonight. But the crew never gave up and helped me get my car back to a competitive handling set-up. I’m glad we were able to leave the race track with an eighth-place finish.”
Sadler started from the 15th position for the 250 lap event on Saturday afternoon. Not long after the green flag dropped, Sadler radioed to the team, “the car is crazy tight”. Sadler battled the tight conditions for 75 laps, until the first caution of the day came out for debris on the track.
When pit road opened, Sadler brought his No. 1 OneMain Financial Ford in for adjustments. The crew added four fresh tires, fuel and made a track bar adjustment in the right rear. Unfortunately, NASCAR penalized Sadler for speeding on pit road. When the race went back to green, Sadler restarted in the 18th position.
At the halfway point in the race, Sadler worked his way up to the 14th position. However, compared to the start of the race, Sadler communicated his team that the car is now, “crazy loose.”
The yellow flag waved again on Lap 144. Sadler came down pit road again for four tires, fuel and the crew made a track bar and wedge adjustment. The fast stop helped Sadler gain four positions on pit road. Sadler restarted on Lap 150 from the 10th position.
Lap 203 brought out the caution flag again at Iowa Speedway. Sadler pitted with the field, for his last stop of the night. Sadler’s crew added four tires, a splash of fuel and the crew cranked on the track bar one last time. When the race went back to green, Sadler restarted 10th.
Following the caution on Lap 203, a total of five more yellow flags waved in following 47 laps of the race. Back-to-back cautions happened on Lap 206 and Lap 209. Plus, two cautions happened in the closing laps, forcing the finish to be two green, white, checkered attempts. Sadler was able to take advantage of the final restarts and gained major ground by picking off multiple cars when everyone was bunched up.
Sadler made a bunch of great moves in the final laps and crossed the finish line in the eighth position.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series and Sadler’s No. 1 OneMain Financial Ford Mustang will be back in action next week at Watkins Glen International.
NEXT UP:
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race
Watkins Glen International
Zippo 200
Newton, IA
Saturday, Aug 8th, 2015
3:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN
RACE SUMMARY
Elliott Sadler
Started: 15th
Finished: 8th
Complete Race Results:
POINTS SUMMARY
Elliott Sadler
2015 Season Total: Fifth with 630 points / -52 points back from the leader
2015 SEASON SUMMARY
Elliott Sadler
Starts – 19
Wins – 0
Poles – 0
Top-5s – 4
Top-10s – 10
