Richard Childress Racing

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February 26, 2012

Elliott Sadler Battles to Third-Place Finish at Daytona International Speedway

"Daytona is always a wild card, and you never know what's going to happen until you see that checkered flag. Tony Stewart and I came apart on the last restart a little bit, so I lost a little momentum. We had a ton of steam coming down the backstretch. We definitely were going to win that race, driving the high line. That's Daytona."

RCR/HHP RCR/HHP

Start – 3    
Finish – 3        
Laps Led – 8      
Points – 1

Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team earned their first top-five finish of the 2012 season after a wild last lap at the NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Sadler started the DRIVE4COPD 300 in the third position and worked with Trevor Bayne to charge to the front by lap three, with Sadler pacing the field for eight laps. The Richard Childress Racing driver soon found teammate Austin Dillon as they worked together to push to the front of the field. As Dillon and Sadler were separated in the field, Sadler then turned to his other RCR teammate Tony Stewart. The duo wasted little time working their way to the front of the pack by lap 83. As the white flag dropped, Stewart and Sadler raced around the final turns of the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway, looking for the win. A multi-car accident broke out in the final turn, but Sadler was able to avoid trouble as he dove low on the track, crossing the finish line in the third position.


ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTE:
“What a race. Daytona is always a wild card, and you never know what’s going to happen until you see that checkered flag. Tony Stewart and I came apart on the last restart a little bit, so I lost a little momentum. We had a ton of steam coming down the backstretch. We definitely were going to win that race, driving the high line. That’s Daytona. It was a great effort by the No.2 OneMain Financial team to put together a really great car for this weekend. Last year, I finished 38th and felt like we had to dig ourselves out of a hole for the first four or five races. Today, we felt like we had a chance to win the race. We are happy for that result, so kudos to my team.”
 

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