HEADING HOME: This Friday, Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial team head to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, the stop on the circuit that Sadler considers his “home track.” Located only 45 minutes from his home in Emporia, Virginia, Sadler has more NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Richmond than any other track on the NNS circuit. In his 15 races at RIR, Sadler has earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes. Sadler has also led 58 laps at the 0.75-mile d-shaped oval and has completed 97.0% of laps attempted at the track.
HERE ‘TIL THE END: This weekend, the No. 2 Chevrolet Impala will sport the familiar OneMain Financial paint scheme, which has already adorned the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) machine three times this season. Richmond will kick off the organization’s 26-race streak as primary sponsor of the No. 2 until the end of the 2011 season.
DID YOU SPOT IT? April 27th kicks off the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) segment of the Nationwide Insurance Code Spotter Sweepstakes. Play the Nationwide Insurance Code Spotter Sweepstakes for your chance to win a one-of-a-kind Race Weekend Road Trip VIP Experience. Find out what it takes to be part of a NASCAR Nationwide Series race team with a visit to the KHI race shop. Watch Sadler’s racecar as it’s packed into the hauler and then road trip all the way to the infield at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and much more! Enter now at CodeSpotter.com.
AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH: During the month of April, Sadler and the rest of the NASCAR community will celebrate Autism Awareness month. Sadler, whose niece was diagnosed with Autism a few years ago, started the Hermie and Elliott Sadler foundation which raises funds to help educate those who have children that are affected by the spectrum disease which reportedly affects 1 in every 110 children in the United States.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will utilize chassis No. 068 this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. This is the same chassis that Sadler raced to a 12th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in February.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Elliott Sadler fought the handling of his racecar for the duration of the Nashville 300 at Nashville Superspeedway, wheeling the No. 2 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet to a hard-fought 13th-place finish. In the 16-year veteran’s debut at the 1.333-mile track, Sadler’s Chevrolet Impala transitioned from very tight to very loose, preventing the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship contender from earning his fifth consecutive top-five finish. Despite dropping three positions in the point standings, Sadler remains only five points outside of the points lead.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler
How do you feel going to your home track of Richmond International Raceway?
“It’s always great going back home to Richmond. My dad and I have been going there for years and years, not only when I was racing, but watching my uncle race and watching my brother race. I was there the day that it went from a half-mile racetrack to a three quarter-mile racetrack. It’s only 45 minutes from my house in Emporia, so it’s very special place for me being that it’s home.”
What would it mean to take the checkered flag at Richmond?
“It’s a place where I reached out to my crew chief Ernie Cope and said ‘Man, it’s really important to go there and run good and be competitive.’ To get a trophy at Richmond to me is just as important as winning a race at Daytona or Indy or Charlotte. It’s definitely one track on the list that I’d like to conquer before my career is over.”
Media Access: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jessica Trippy at KHI at jtrippy@kevinharvickinc.com.
CitiFinancial
CitiFinancial, soon to be OneMain Financial, is the premier community lender in North America. With more than 1,300 locations across the United States. CitiFinancial has been serving communities since 1912. Additional information may be found at www.citifinancial.com.
Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
