TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Elliott Sadler — Notes & Quotes
Martinsville Speedway – October 25, 2013
ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 55 RK Motors Collector Car Auction Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Are you looking forward to the opportunity in the No. 55 Camry for the final four NSCS races of the season?
“It’s definitely a great opportunity for us to be able to run the last four Cup races of the season for Michael Waltrip Racing. It’s even extra special to be able to be here at Martinsville — one of my home tracks. I came here as a kid in the stands for a lot of races to watch Cup racing here, then as a crew member for my brother’s car and now here to be able to kind of come back and kind of kick start these last four races at Martinsville means a lot to me this close to home. I can’t thank Michael Waltrip Racing and Michael (Waltrip, co-owner) and Rob Kauffman (co-owner) and Brian Vickers for giving me this opportunity. Trusting in me to drive their car and represent those guys on and off the track. So, definitely a special opportunity for me and we’ll go out here and make the most of it.”
Is this a good track for you to return to the Sprint Cup Series?
“Well, I tell you it’s kind of a tough track because it’s a track that involves a lot of rhythm and you’ve got to hit your marks and you can’t overdrive the corners and you really gotta find that groove and keep it going. It’s really easy to overdrive your car here and things like that. I think it’s going to take a couple laps to get the rhythm back down in a Cup car. I haven’t been in a Cup car on a short track in a long time, so we were able to go to Texas this week and test because I haven’t been in a Cup car in a while so that really helped a lot. I leaned on Clint Bowyer a lot this week and also leaned on Denny Hamlin a lot this week. Been in his ear just about things to look for, things to expect, how the car needs to be maybe on Saturday to be good on Sunday because this is a different Goodyear tire than I raced the last time I was here. Yes, I want it to be a good track for me, but I do understand it is a very rhythm track and I’ve got to find my rhythm early here to help my team out to get ourselves a good qualifying run this afternoon.”
Do you feel like this situation has come full circle?
“It definitely has come full circle. I was telling somebody the other night, it’s a very unique situation because Brian (Vickers) and I have become so close this year as teammates at (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) and for he to give me the blessing and wants me to get in his race car and do a good job for him and his team here the last four races make me feel really good. It’s neat that it’s a full circle. It’s neat that I’m doing it for Michael (Waltrip). I’ve known him for a long time and had a great conversation with he and Rob (Kauffman, co-owner) to come in and represent those guys the best way that we can. But, the conversation I’ve had with Brian Vickers the last couple of days has been very special. I want to get in here and do a good job for him in his race car while he gets back 100 percent and it’s neat sometimes to have opportunities come and go and this is a great opportunity for me. So, it’s cool to be with this race team a year and a half later and we want to go and make the most of it. It’s actually a pretty unique situation where you’re actually really helping out some friends. To be so close to Brian and so close to Michael and to be able to get into this situation and try to help their team out, Aaron’s as a sponsor, of course Rob Kauffman is a — I’m actually pretty blessed, man. I’m looking forward to doing it.”
What are your realistic expectations for these four races?
“Yeah, we talked about that as a team and we’re going to look at it as we have nothing to lose. We’re not trying to battle any points or anything like that, so we can really try different setups, we can try different pit strategy. To sit here and tell you that I just want to go be competitive and not do much is a lie. I want to come out here and try to qualify good each week and run good each week and put ourselves in position to be there at the end of the race. I’m a competitor no matter what I play and no matter what I race. I want to be involved and competitive in a good way. So, my expectations — I don’t know what you guys think is realistic or not, but we’re here to win a damn race. This is what we come for whether it’s this weekend, next weekend or Phoenix or Homestead, it can happen. That’s the attitude we have. My guys are working their butts off to get the cars good for these last four races and I’m going to do everything I can to give them the information to make the car as good as we can and get me as good as we can and we’re going to go after it.”
Is Phoenix a good race track for you?
“Well, Phoenix I won the spring Nationwide race there last year so that was pretty good to be able to do that. I think I finished fifth there this year in the spring and I wrecked there last fall. So, let’s hope let’s have more of a spring result than a fall result for me. I haven’t been in a Cup car in Phoenix in a long time — not since the repave — so I know it’s going to drive a little bit different. I feel like the MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) program is pretty good. I know the 55 sat on the pole there last year, so they definitely have a good short track program. So, we’ll go there and see where it takes us, but I can’t really give you an honest answer because I haven’t been there on the new pavement in a Cup car. Two of the last three races that we have been there in the Nationwide car is a win and a top-five so I feel pretty good about that.”
How will the cold temperatures this morning affect the tires?
“It’s going to be slick for the first couple laps. I mean, this concrete when it’s cold whether you’re here in a Late Model like I was here years ago or here with a Cup car it’s just going to be slick and cold for the first couple of laps until the temperatures come up and then it should be pretty normal until this tire rubbers in. It will be slick, it will be fun for a few laps.”
What will it be like for Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish Jr. in the final three Nationwide Series races?
“I think what they’re going to do is just race each other now that it’s kind of a two-man race. We all kind of know that and I think they’re going to play off each other on pit strategy, especially the 3 car (Austin Dillon) with the lead. He’s probably going to pit every time the 12 (Sam Hornish Jr.) pits. If the 12 gets two tires, he’s going to get two tires. He’s just going to manage to stay around him as much as he can so pit strategy and all is the same. That’s my opinion on how they’re going to play that game. They have a lot of experience. (Richard) Childress (Racing) of course are running for championships so I think that’s the kind of strategy both teams will use. They’re going to take care of each other on the race track. Stress level is going to be high, but that’s what it’s supposed to be. You’re running for a championship. It’s supposed to be a little bit stressful, a little bit fun, animosity and everything else that goes along with it. Look, it’s fun too. It’s fun when you’re on — yes, it’s more stressful, but I promise you it’s more fun racing for the championship. Ask the guys that are in the Chase racing here on Sunday — the three or four guys that are ahead of everybody else. Ask them how much more fun they’re having in the middle of everything compared to the guys that are probably 10th, 11th and 12th in points — and 13th.”
How special is it for you to get back in a Cup car in Virginia?
“Well, it means a lot man. When I was first contacted about driving and Martinsville was the first race it means a lot. A lot of my family and friends were already coming up here to this race anyway, so now they can kind of pull for the hometown guy and that’s pretty cool. So, we want to go out here and I want to run good. I want to run good anywhere, but you always want to run good near home especially when you’ve got people that you know in the stands. Definitely very special to come here to Martinsville. Like I said, I’ve been coming here a long time so it’s neat to kind of get this opportunity started here of all places.”
How much has it helped you to have an off-weekend in the Nationwide Series and a test at Texas to get up to speed?
“It’s hard to put in words how much it helped me to go to Texas and test with this team instead of being thrown right into the fire today for the first practice not really knowing Billy Scott (race engineer) and not really knowing a lot of the guys on the team. I have worked with Scott Miller (crew chief) before back at Diamond Ridge Motorsports, but not at this capacity. So, we got to go to the test at Texas and work through a lot of different things for two days, and when they told me that over the phone I was like, ‘Man, this is great.’ Because they called me and was like, ‘We need a seat like really fast.’ So, I had to call my guys to get a seat over there and we were trying to get it done so we could get the trucks to Texas — and I get to go to Homestead next week and test. So, a lot of track time in the Cup car here in a 10-day period I think is definitely good for me. Look, track time, you can’t buy that. I think now that Nationwide is off and I could really focus on what we were doing this week at Texas, really focus on what I’m doing here this weekend at Martinsville is definitely a good kick start for a good outcome this weekend.”
How is Brian Vickers doing?
“I’ll tell you what Marty, we had a long discussion the other night and I think I felt worse than he did. His attitude through this has absolutely been amazing, and I told him, I was like, “Man, I think you’re a bigger man than I am the way you’re handling this and as professional as you’re being.’ The support he’s given me is unreal to get in his car and do a good job for him the last four races. But, he said he’s doing good. He’s going to be back 100 percent ready to go by the time testing and all of that comes around in January and February, but his friendship and his mental outlook on this whole deal has been exceptional. He’s a good guy, a great man, he’s been a great teammate. He’s worked his butt off to get back to where he’s at right now. He’s done a heck of a job in this 55 car and he’ll be back strong in February, but the way he’s handling this has been wow, has been very exceptional. I don’t know how many people in our sport can really handle it as professionally as he has.”
