NASCAR BGN Series Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 Preview: #29, Elliott Sadler
14 October 1997
#29 Elliott Sadler, Phillips 66 Performance Chevrolet Monte Carlo
NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division
Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 Advance
California Speedway
ELLIOTT SADLER NOTES & QUOTES: KENWOOD HOME & CAR AUDIO 300
FONTANA, CA - Elliott Sadler is ready for his trip to the west coast to
compete in the inaugural NASCAR Busch Series race at the new California
Speedway. Sadler and the Sandy Jones-led crew are preparing for the event by
getting input from Winston Cup teams who raced there in June.
"We have talked to a lot of the Winston Cup guys about what they learned while
running at California Speedway," Jones said. "We have taken everything we got
from them, sorted through the information and decided what will best support
our efforts when we make our first trip to California. It will be a
challenging weekend for everyone, but we are really looking forward to it."
The No. 29 Phillips 66 Performance Team Chevrolet the team is running at
the California Speedway is the same car they ran at Charlotte Motor Speedway
two weeks ago. Sadler ran the car for the first time at Charlotte, where he
started 18th and finished 14th. The car was consistently quick in practice
all week on Charlotte's 1.5-mile oval, and ran good during the race until a
late race spin on lap 116. The spin didn't result in any sheet metal damage,
thus the team's ability to race the car at California.
"We had a really awesome car in Charlotte," Sadler said. "Our finishing
position didn't reflect how good the car ran in race conditions, but we were
able to bring the car home in one piece and now we're ready to put it on the
track at California to see what it can do. I have a lot of respect for the
speedways that are two miles or longer, and I can't wait to turn a few laps at
Penske's newest track. The Winston Cup guys came back with nothing but good
things to say about the track, so we're ready to unload the Phillips 66
Chevrolet go racing."
At the eight races so far this season on tracks 1.5 miles or longer, Sadler
has six top-10 starting spots including one pole position (Daytona) and three
outside poles (Atlanta, Las Vegas, Texas).
Sadler has fared well so far this season at the inaugural races. In the three
previous first-time events on the 1997 NASCAR Busch Series schedule, Sadler
has two outside pole positions and one win. Sadler's two outside pole came at
Texas Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both 1.5-mile tracks. His
win came at Gateway International Raceway, a 1.25-mile oval. The win, which
came in a backup car after Sadler crashed his primary car in practice, was his
third of the season.
In typical Elliott Sadler fashion, his off weekend from the race track
included several rounds of golf in Charlotte, N.C., and his hometown of
Emporia, Va. Sadler, who says being on the course allows him several
pleasures, plays to think about race strategies, to relax and to work out
occasional frustrations.
Elliott Sadler currently sits fifth in driver points. He trails fourth-place
Phil Parsons by one point heading into the Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300.
1997 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RESULTS
Date Location ST FIN LC/TL Earnings Status
2/15 Daytona Beach, FL 1 15 120/120 18,262 Running
2/22 Rockingham, NC 6 5 197/197 9,985 Running
3/1 Richmond, VA 20 26 246/250 5,901 Running
3/8 Atlanta, GA 2 9 196/197 11,355 Running
3/16 Las Vegas, NV 2 30 140/200 13,925 Accident
3/22 Darlington, SC 1 29 144/147 6,415 Running
3/29 Hickory, NC 11 8 300/300 5,795 Running
4/5 Ft. Worth, TX 2 20 200/200 13,725 Running
4/12 Bristol, TN 28 14 249/250 6,455 Running
4/19 Nashville, TN 12 30 286/320 3,970 Running
4/26 Talladega, AL 7 16 117/117 10,280 Running
5/10 Loudon, NH 11 34 140/200 4,885 Accident
5/18 Nazareth, PA 1 1 200/200 30,887 Running
5/24 Charlotte, NC 8 21 199/200 5,842 Running
5/31 Dover, DE 7 12 199/200 10,310 Running
6/13 South Boston, VA 24 22 238/300 6,790 Running
6/29 Watkins Glen, NY 8 11 82/82 8,812 Running
7/6 Milwaukee, WI 11 2 250/250 28,575 Running
7/12 Myrtle Beach, SC 1 1 250/250 30,750 Running
7/26 Madison, IL 12 1 240/240 48,925 Running
8/1 Indianapolis, IN 19 2 200/200 18,900 Running
8/16 Brooklyn, MI 39 18 99/100 9,395 Running
8/22 Bristol, TN 32 41 43/250 7,420 Accident
8/30 Darlington, SC 20 9 147/147 9,625 Running
9/5 Richmond, VA 19 21 248/250 9,075 Running
9/20 Dover, DE 8 6 200/200 10,990 Running
10/4 Charlotte, NC 18 14 200/200 12,098 Running
Outside
Starts Poles Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10 LC/TL Earnings
27 4 3 3 6 10 5129/5567 (92.1%) $361,347
CAREER NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RESULTS
Year Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10 Winnings Car Owner
1995 2 0 0 0 1 6,065 Marion Sadler
1996 13 0 0 1 3 64,370 Gary Bechtel
1997 27 4 3 6 10 361,347 Gary Bechtel
Totals 42 4 3 7 14 431,782
By Events & Outings, Inc.