The last time JR Motorsports teammates Elliott Sadler and Tyler Reddick raced at Daytona International Speedway, Reddick won by the closest margin in NASCAR history.
In fact, the distance between the two Chevrolets at the finish line in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race was so small that the gap went beyond the one-thousandth-of-a-second limit in NASCAR timing and scoring. By measuring the minuscule difference, NASCAR determined that the actual margin was .0004 seconds, a record.
But Sadler isn’t looking for atonement in Friday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Winless in his last 54 Xfinity races, he’ll settle for a trip to Victory Lane, no matter the margin.
“It’s not really redemption for me—it’s more opportunity,” Sadler said of the return to the Birthplace of Speed. “We always run really well in our restrictor-plate race cars for JR Motorsports. We had a chance to win the race here in February.
“We definitely had the fastest car at Talladega and almost got wrecked on pit road by the 42 car (John Hunter Nemechek) and had to speed from getting wrecked, and that cost us a lap.
“Our cars are fast, and it’s an opportunity for me. We’re going to be in the middle of it one way or another. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to go for it at the end. That’s all you can hope for in the these restrictor-plate races.”
Sadler has an additional incentive to break his drought. His long-time sponsor, OneMain Financial, is pulling back from its support of Sadler’s team, and the driver’s future with JRM is uncertain.
“We’ll see where I fit in,” said Sadler, who has begun conversations with potential sponsors for his No. 1 Chevy. “I’m 43 years old. If I was 23, I’d be flipping out about it, because I’ve been through this before. It’s not my first rodeo. I understand that there are some things I can control and some things I can’t.
“But I’m going to focus on what I can control this year, and that’s on the track, that’s running good and trying to stay up front, trying to stay a part of the championship chase and see where that takes me.”
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
