CUP: Sadler Not Back At RPM In 2011

Sprint Cup

CUP: Sadler Not Back At RPM In 2011

Elliott Sadler said Friday he does not expect to drive for Richard Petty Motorsports in 2011.

Kenny Bruce | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted July 09, 2010 Joliet, IL

Elliott Sadler is one of three drivers pulling triple duty at Bristol. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Elliott Sadler, a three-time winner in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, said Friday that he expects to part ways with Richard Petty Motorsports at season’s end.

“At this moment, I do not expect to be back with this organization,” Sadler, 35, said prior to qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway. “And you know what? I’m OK with that, because I’m a huge fan of [team co-owner] Richard Petty. He deserves to be a part of this sport for a long time. He brings a lot to this sport as far as the fans are concerned. If I’m not a part of their plans, that’s OK. As long as they can get something figured out, stay healthy, stay a part of this sport because this sport needs people like Richard Petty. It needs sponsors like Stanley and Best Buy. … That’s cool and good luck to them on the direction that they’re taking.”

Richard Petty Motorsports currently field four Cup teams, for Sadler, Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmendinger and Paul Menard. Sadler is currently 28th in points, with no top-10s and a best finish this year of just 18th (at Texas). He has just one top-five finish since the start of the 2009 season.

Still, he says he has no ill feelings toward the organization, and is looking forward to a fresh start.

“I feel really good about the area that my career is going in next year,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good talks with a couple of different car owners here in the last month-and-a-half, two months. We’ll see where it takes us. I should know something here in the next month, month-and-a-half on what my future will be for next year.”

His team’s struggles are no different than others have gone through, or are currently going through this season, he said. They’ve worked through past issues, he said, and now he says he hopes they can focus on a strong finish before parting ways.

“I think every driver, every crew chief, every team is looking for that good combination where the team loves you and you love them back and you’re all on the same page,” he said. “I would love to find that. Me and the 19 car have had our differences in the past and we’ve definitely worked through that. Foster [Gillett, managing partner] has been very open-minded and very honest the last couple of months and trying to make our team better and end the season strong, but I don’t fit into their future plans. We haven’t talked about anything [concerning] 2011 at all as far as what we’re doing and what they’re doing. So we’re definitely going on our separate ways.

“But we need to end up this season as strong as we can. I think it will help me trying to find something and land something [for] next year and I think it will help them land a driver that I think fits into what they’re trying to do in the future.”

Sadler said he spoke with close friends in the garage when looking at what lies ahead, and admits that in some ways he will have to prove himself all over again.

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Owners and drivers alike, he said, have told him “we know you can drive a race car,” he said.

“But you’ve got to have everybody on the same page. Everybody’s got to be pulling in the same direction.

“I went to Jeff Burton and was like, ‘Hey, I’m a big fan of yours, always have been. What was going on in your mind, what was happening the last couple of years with the 99 car [at Roush Racing] when you went to the 31 [of Richard Childress Racing]?’

“He said, ‘Elliott, I went to Richard Childress Racing to start my career again. I didn’t go there to end it. You’ve got to have that same mentality and that same attitude.’”

Jamie McMurray, who reunited with co-owner Chip Ganassi at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing after a stint at Roush Racing provided him with similar advice, he said.

“[McMurray] said, ‘Elliott, they believe in me. I feel like I am a part of the team as compared to how I felt in the past. That’s the biggest difference in the world. There’s no magic wand, no anything, we really believe in each other’ and I think that goes a long way in the sport right now.’

“So do I need to re-prove myself? To some people, yeah. But I think to a lot of people, they know who I am, what I stand for on and off the race track.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kenny Bruce

SceneDaily.com

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