CORNELIUS, N.C. — Elliott Sadler makes his debut in the No. 55 this weekend driving the RK Motors Collector Car Auctions Toyota in his home state of Virginia where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tackles the flat, half-mile of Martinsville Speedway.
The Emporia, Va. native replaces driver Brian Vickers in the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota for the final four races of the 2013 season. Vickers informed MWR on Oct. 14 he could not drive the remainder of the season due to anti-coagulation medications he’ll take to treat a small blood clot in his right leg. Sadler and Vickers also drive Toyotas in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.
SADLER ON JGR & MWR: “The relationship between MWR and Joe Gibbs Racing was already really close. Earlier in the year Mark (Martin) filled in for Denny (Hamlin) and of course Brian has been my Nationwide teammate at Gibbs and driving the No. 55 on a limited Sprint Cup schedule this year with MWR. Toyota as a whole always works really close together. When I called (JGR President) J.D. (Gibbs) and asked about it he said ‘Man, that’s great for you, a wonderful opportunity, we’ll do all we can to help MWR.’ It’s pretty neat how close these guys all try to work together and help each other out. It wasn’t a really big hard decision to make. The guys worked it out pretty well.”
SADLER ON VICKERS: “How Brian is handling all of this, I’ll be honest with you, I’m not sure I could do this. The way he handled it last time and fought back, working his way back through the ranks and getting himself a fulltime ride with Michael Waltrip Racing was amazing. For him to have this setback again is really hard to watch. It is tough to see a friend go through what he is going through. I’m just there to fill in these last four races and get these guys to the end of the year. I appreciate them giving me this opportunity. Brian will be good. He’ll be back 100 percent healthy and ready to go. The way he is handling it, I don’t know how he does it. That’s the worst news you can have when you are a driver. To not be able to get back into the car is tough. We look forward to having him back next year. Me and him being teammates means we have a lot of notes of comparison on how we like our cars. This switch should be seamless.”
NOTES:
· MEDIA: Sadler will visit the Martinsville media center at 10:45 a.m. Friday.
· CHASSIS: Primary 785 has not raced in 2013.
· TEXAS TEST: Sadler and the No. 55 team tested at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday.
· AUCTION: RK Motors Collector Car Auction will be Oct. 31- Nov. 3 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Over 200 of the finest classic and collector cars will be on display and up for auction. Including race cars driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr., AJ Foyt and James Hunt. The event will be open to the public and general admission tickets start at only $7.50. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rkmcca.com.
· CREW:
Ex. VP Comp. – Scott Miller
Car Chief/7thman – Steve Channing
Front Changer – Ryan Langley
Rear Changer – Shannon Myers
Front Carrier – Chris Hall
Rear Carrier – Mark Kennerly
Jackman – Tony Cardamone
Gas man – Brian Dheel
2nd Gas Man – Kelly Johnson
Spotter – Curtis Markham
Engineer – Billy Scott
2nd Engineer – Scott McDougall
Tires – Kevin White
Eng.Tuner – Denny Chandler (TRD)
Shocks – Mike (Nook) McCarville
Front Mechanic – Jacen Johns
Interior Mech. – David Cropps
Truck Driver – Glenn Shano
2nd Truck Driver – John Murphy
Pit Coach – Greg Miller
Dir. Race Eng. – Chad Walter
Ex. VP Engineering – Tom German
· SOCIAL STOP: Make MWR’s “Social Stop” your second screen to follow all the racing and social media action when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this weekend. MWR’s “Social Stop” goes live race morning allowing fans to view information from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube all on one page. Twitter feeds from MWR drivers, media members and NASCAR fans will populate the page. Visitors can also interact with fellow race fans and answer poll questions on the page. Visit www.facebook.com/michaelwaltripracing or www.MichaelWaltripRacing.com/social.
INSIDER PROGRAM: MWR launched its Insider Program in 2013 that offers all race fans sponsor discounts, specials on merchandise, exclusive pictures and video content plus fan giveaways throughout the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Fans can access the MWR Insider Program through the CardStar application available on most smartphones. MWR will work on behalf of the fans to expand the offerings beyond just its current sponsor line-up, aggregating industry-wide deals and discounts. Fans can text MWR to 42828 to get the card for free. Offers include free headset with rental of a FanVision unit ($19.99 value) and 25% off Toyota Racing merchandise at Toyota Racing.com
