19 Days ‘til Daytona: Sadler not in Cup Series in ’11

Elliott Sadler won’t be driving the No. 19 car this season, a move that might shock some long-time NASCAR fans who have become accustomed to seeing the 35-year-old from Emporia, Va., competing against the best in the sport.

Instead, Sadler will drive full-time in the Nationwide Series for Kevin Harvick Inc. Sadler signed a two-year contract and has a legitimate shot at the Nationwide Series title this year due to the new NASCAR rule that makes drivers choose which title they will run for.

“I feel like I'm rebranding myself, because I feel like I've lost a little bit over the last couple of years of who Elliott Sadler really is—of the race car driver that he really is, the love of the sport that he really has,” Sadler said last Tuesday during NASCAR’s preseason media tour.

Sadler also said he wants to have fun driving the racecar. His average finish at RPM was 24.8, and Sadler hasn’t won a Cup race since 2004 at California.

“If you're not in the right equipment, if you're not with the right situation, it's not worth it,” Sadler said. “It’s not fun going out there and not feeling like you have a gun in a gunfight every week. So if you're not in the right situation, why go put yourself through that? I'm a racer at heart. I don't have an ego. Everybody knows I'm a laid-back guy. But first I'm a racer, period.

“I wanted to get myself in a situation where we talk about racing. I go to the shop, I talk to Kevin on the phone, we talk about racing. We don't talk about any of the other stuff that some people like to talk about. That's our focus this year, and I've had a lot more fun, I can promise you.”

Aric Almirola, who will compete against Sadler in the Nationwide Series this year has been down this road as well. In 2009 he took over the once- esteemed No. 8 car at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. After a few races his ride was shut down due to lack of sponsorship.

At Kentucky, while running the Truck race that July, Almirola told me about his roller coaster of a year. He was driving for Billy Ballew, and, as he said, “Just going one race at a time and kind of playing it by ear.”

Almirola knows what it’s like for Sadler, and he knows that it could come down to the two former Cup drivers duking it out for the Nationwide title. “He's got a lot of experience, and he's a really good race car river. Kevin Harvick Inc. did a really good job with their new car. They were really competitive right out of the box with it. ... I think it would be tough to bet against [Sadler].”

We’ll see how the battles shake out in the Nationwide Series as the year rolls on, and hopefully I can cover this story more in July at Kentucky.

There’s only 19 days until the Daytona 500. It’s now February, one of the most anticipated months of the year for me, and all of you loyal NASCAR fans that read this. Thanks and have a great day.