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April 10, 2012

Elliott Sadler Event Preview: O'Reilly Auto Parts 300

"I'm pumped to get back to Texas with my new RCR OneMain Financial team with a fast car to compete for that cowboy hat."

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Event Preview Fact Sheet

Elliott Sadler
No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet

Event/Date:
O'Reilly Auto Parts 300
April 13, 2012

Venue:
Texas Motor Speedway

This Week’s OneMain Financial Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway … Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team will unload Chassis No. 104 from Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Nationwide Series stable at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. The No. 2 team utilized this chassis in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where Sadler earned the team’s first pole award of the season and notched a third-place finish.

Racing in the Lone Star State … With eight starts at Texas Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series, Sadler has earned two pole awards, three top-five and five top-10 finishes with 35 laps led at the 1.5-mile track. Sadler also brings NASCAR Sprint Cup Series experience at the Fort Worth, Texas-based track with 18 starts, earning one win in 2004, one pole award in 2010, one top-five and three top-10 finishes. He also made one appearance at the speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010, where he started second and finished fifth.

Last Time By … Last season, Sadler competed at Texas Motor Speedway twice on the Nationwide Series circuit, scoring a solid fifth-place finish in the first event at the 1.5-mile facility.  When Sadler returned to the 1.5-mile track in the fall, he earned his fifth pole award of the season but a loose-handling condition relegated the driver to a ninth-place finish.

Just the Stats … Sadler is off to the best start in his NASCAR career, notching two wins (Phoenix International Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway), one pole award (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), four top-five and five top-10 finishes. He has led in each of the first five races, a first for Sadler, with 98 laps led. According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Season-to-Date statistics, Sadler leads the Nationwide Series in average start (4.3), average finish (3.4), laps in top 15 (935) and total laps completed (970).

Race Rewind: Auto Club  … Prior to back-to-backoff weekends, Sadler competed at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where the  No. 2 team fought tight-handling conditions to bring home a ninth-place finish.

To the Point … Sadler leads the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings after five races, sitting 18 points ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The No. 2 Chevrolet team also leads the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, leading the No. 6 team by 18 points.

Autism Awareness Month … April is National Autism Awareness Month, and Sadler will show his support for the cause throughout the month wearing a special helmet. The helmet design features puzzle pieces, the symbol of Autism Awareness, and he will wear the specially designed helmet at Texas Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. Sadler is a large supporter of the cause, and along with his family, created the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Foundation to help with education and research of the disease. For more information on the foundation, please visit SadlerFoundation.org.

Seeing Pink … For the remainder of the season, Sadler will have a little more color to his outfit on race days. The Emporia, Va., native will sport pink driving shoes, showing support for Breast Cancer Awareness. Sadler’s mother, Bell, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and is now a survivor.
    
Trackside … Sadler will serve as co-host on Friday for SPEED’s NASCAR Trackside from Texas Motor Speedway. The show will air on Friday at 11 p.m. ET and will re-air at 3 p.m. on Saturday on SPEED.

ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTES:
How do you feel going into this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway?
“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Texas Motor Speedway. Coming off two off weekends on the Nationwide Series schedule, we are going to be ready to get back to the track. I really feel like the track at Texas fits my driving style. Ever since I came to Texas for the first time in 1997, I feel like I have been successful there. We always seem to unload quick and find a lot of speed right off the bat. I had a great car when we came here last fall when we won the pole with Kevin Harvick Inc. I think that we’ve made improvements as a team, and I know I have made improvements as a driver since then, so it is going to be really fun to get back. It’s a great race track for not only the drivers, but the fans. The night race is something special. Eddie Gossage is one of the best track promoters in the industry, and he always puts on a show for the fans. I’m pumped to get back to Texas with my new RCR OneMain Financial team with a fast car to compete for that cowboy hat.”

 

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