STATESVILLE, N.C. – After a recent spate of good runs ruined by late race problems, Elliott Sadler’s luck finally took a turn for the better last Sunday when rain ended the race early at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and propelled the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge to a season-best, fifth-place finish.

But only those watching the scoring monitor closely knew how fast Sadler’s No. 19 Dodge was in the final half of the race so that he could capitalize on the early ending. Sadler’s lap times were as quick as the leaders after the midway point.

This week at Daytona, Sadler hopes luck is on his side this week and that his Dodge is just as fast as it was in the late stages of the Daytona 500 where he finished sixth. He owns three top-five finishes at the 2.5-mile restrictor plate track including top-six finishes in four of the last five races.

Sadler is 25th in driver points.

ELLIOT SADLER QUTOES

About racing at Daytona: “Daytona has always been one of my favorite tracks. I don’t know why but there are certain places you feel comfortable at and Daytona is one of those tracks for me. In the Daytona 500 we kind of bided our time and there at the end we came on pretty strong. Who knows what to expect this weekend. Daytona is like a different track in July compared to February. Usually it is a lot slicker and handling becomes even more important.”

Momentum after New Hampshire: “That was a great race for us but I’m not just talking about the finish. It was a great team building day. We were really struggling in the early part of the race and we were off the pace. But we talked out what we could do for the car and got it fixed about halfway through the race. It was night and day difference. That’s the kind of thing that gives you confidence. We never gave up. If we run into something like that again we will know that if we keep at it we can solve just about any problem.”

Best Buy Reward Zone and its Racing Club: Sadler isn’t the only one who will celebrate the best finish in the history of Best Buy Racing this week. Best Buy Reward Zone Members who are members of the racing club will enjoy triple reward zone points for each dollar spent this week because of Sadler’s top-five finish. For more information go to www.myrewardzone.com then join the racing club so you too can earn the bonuses every time a Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver posts a good run at the track.

Sadler at Daytona: In 19 starts he has recorded seven top-10 finishes while racing 3272 of 3357 laps for a 97.5 percent completion rate. He’s led four of those races for 14 laps.

Best Start: Second (Feb. 2004)
Best Finish: Second (Feb. 2001)

This race last year: Started 22nd and finished 33rd

Sadler 2008 Season: In 17 starts, has four top-10 finishes and seven top-10 starts; including outside pole at Phoenix.

Career stats: Has won three Sprint Cup races while earning 17 top-fives, 59 top-10s and seven pole awards in 338 career starts

Get Sirius with Sadler: Sirius NASCAR Radio Ch. 128 listeners can hear Sadler talk with “Sirius Speedway” host Dave Moody every Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. about whatever comes to their collective minds.

Sadler on Trackside Live: Each Friday for the rest of the season, Sadler resumes his panelist duties with the popular Speed TV at every track. Check local listings for exact time it will air each Friday from the track.