INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 25, 2015) – Roush Fenway Racing’s Elliott Sadler finished fifth during Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sadler qualified sixth on Saturday morning for the 100 lap, 250 mile event at the historical race track. Not long after the green flag dropped, Sadler radioed to the team the car is extremely tight. Cautions on Lap 12 and on Lap 22 allowed for the No. 1 OneMain Financial crew to make critical adjustments on Sadler’s car. Running well, Sadler pitted under green on Lap 67, which turned out to be his last pit stop of the day. Sadler managed his fuel in the final 30 laps and the pit strategy worked out perfectly. Sadler crossed the line fifth and the No. 1 OneMain Financial team was able to bring home a great top-5 finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“My guys have put in so much work over the last month and a half on this Indy car,” Sadler said after the race. “They’ve built some new cars in the shop and when we bring these new cars to the track, we get top-fives. You’ve got to run in the top five to give yourself an opportunity to win. The guys are doing a great job right now and I’m so proud of them. It’s great to rebound from New Hampshire like this. We were a fifth to seventh-place car all day and we did a great job with our pit strategy. We had a plan and stuck to it and I’m proud of a top-five finish.”
Sadler started from the sixth position for the 250 mile event on Saturday afternoon. Within the first 10 laps of the race, Sadler radioed in many times of how tight the car was. At one point Sadler said, “I am a 10 out of 10 tight.”
The first caution came out on Lap 12 and Sadler came down pit road for adjustments. The No. 1 OneMain Financial pit crew added two outside tires, fuel and cranked down on the track bar. Sadler entered pit road sixth and exited seventh.
Lap 22 brought out the second yellow flag of the race and Sadler wanted to come down pit road again to work on the handling. The crew added two left side tires, fuel and cranked more on the track bar. Sadler entered pit road 10th and restarted 14th.
After the adjustments on both pit stops, Sadler was able to work his way back up through the field. On Lap 63, Sadler pitted under green for four fresh tires, fuel and one more turn on the track bar. This stop ended up being Sadler’s final stop of the day.
Lap 70 brought out the third caution of the race. Sadler stayed out on the track and conserved as much fuel as possible. The race went back to green on Lap 75 and Sadler restarted fourth.
In the closing 25 laps, Sadler managed to run competitive lap times, but also managed to conserve fuel at the same time. Sadler drifted back one spot in the final 10 laps, but was still able to drive under the checkered flag with a strong fifth-place finish.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series and Sadler’s No. 1 OneMain Financial Ford Mustang will be back in action next week at Iowa Speedway.
NEXT UP:
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race
US Cellular 250
Newton, IA
Saturday, Aug 1st, 2015
8:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN
RACE SUMMARY
Elliott Sadler
Started: 6th
Finished: 5th
Complete Race Results:
POINTS SUMMARY
Elliott Sadler
2015 Season Total: Fifth with 594 points / -57 points back from the leader
2015 SEASON SUMMARY
Elliott Sadler
Starts – 18
Wins – 0
Poles – 0
Top-5s – 4
Top-10s – 8
