Elliott Sadler will be driving Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 ‘Free Agent’ RAM 1500 entry during next month’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, on August 14.
The former NASCAR veteran from Emporia, Virginia, last competed in two O’Reilly Auto Parts Series events with Kaulig in 2019, with his latest start coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in mid-September, where he finished 10th. Previously, he competed full-time in the O’Reilly Series with JR Motorsports, an organization he drove for from 2016 to 2018 before retiring from full-time NASCAR competition.
Sadler made his first start across NASCAR’s top three national touring series at South Boston Speedway in mid-July 1995 for Sadler Racing. Over the next quarter century, he established a lasting impact through a versatile career that made him a popular figure both on and off the track. His top achievements while competing in NASCAR include winning the inaugural O’Reilly Series regular-season championship in 2017, notching a combined 17 victories through 855 starts across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Craftsman Truck, O’Reilly & Cup), and being named Most Popular Driver in the O’Reilly Series for four seasons (2011, 2016-18).
Overall, Sadler accumulated a trio of victories, eight poles, 19 top-five results, 68 top-10 results, and 1,251 laps led through 438 Cup Series starts, with his best points result being ninth in 2004 after he made the inaugural Chase for the Cup. He achieved these feats while competing for organizations including Wood Brothers Racing, Robert Yates Racing, and Richard Petty Motorsports. His latest Cup start was at Daytona International Speedway in early July while driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing.
Sadler also recorded 13 victories, 18 poles, 106 top-five results, 227 top-10 results and 2,056 laps led through 397 starts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The Virginian finished in the top 10 in the final standings 10 times, made the series’ Chase for three consecutive seasons (2016-18) and notched four runner-up results in the final standings (2011-12, 2016-17). He achieved these feats while competing for organizations including Diamond Ridge Motorsports, Kevin Harvick Inc., Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway Racing, and JR Motorsports.
To date, Sadler has made a total of 20 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series through five part-time seasons (2000-01, 2003, 2010-11). During his starts, he achieved his first career victory during the series’ inaugural event at Pocono Raceway in mid-July 2010 while driving for Kevin Harvick Inc. He also recorded a pair of poles, four top-five results, 10 top-10 results and 289 laps led, with his latest start occurring at Homestead-Miami Speedway in mid-November 2011 while driving for Joe Denette Motorsports.
Sadler, whose hometown of South Boston is a little above two hours away from Richmond Raceway, expressed his excitement about the opportunity to come out of retirement and compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned event for the first time in nearly seven years and in front of his home crowd at Richmond.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel at Richmond Raceway in front of the great Virginia fans,” Sadler said. “It’ll be fun getting back into a truck — I just hope I still remember how to drive it. Richmond has always been special to me, and I’m thankful to Ram and Kaulig Racing for giving me this opportunity to compete again. I really cherished my career in NASCAR and how special the fans have been to me.”
“We are so excited to have Elliott drive for us at Kaulig Racing,” Chris Rice, CEO of Kaulig Racing and a South Boston, Virginia, native, added. “Elliott and I grew up racing together at South Boston Speedway, so to have him race for us in Richmond, in front of our home state fans, is special,” Rice said. “We won tons of races together, and thanks to Ram, [team owner] Matt Kaulig and everyone at Kaulig Racing, we have the opportunity to go out and try to win one more.”
Kaulig Racing launched its free-agent driver program ahead of its inaugural Craftsman Truck Series campaign in November 2025. The program features various competitors from multiple racing divisions and disciplines. Each will compete in at least one Truck event in one of Kaulig’s RAM 1500 entries numbered 25. The competitors who compete in the entry would not compete for the 2026 Truck Series driver’s championship. They will, however, be evaluated by their on-track performance for a season-ending program prize.
Currently, Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 entry, which is led by crew chief Dan Stillman, is ranked in 24th place in the 2026 owner’s standings after 14 of the 25-race schedule. The entry is one of five that is fielded by Kaulig. It competes alongside the No. 10 entry piloted by Corey LaJoie, the No. 12 entry piloted by rookie Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, the No. 14 entry piloted by newcomer Timothy “Mini” Tyrrell and the No. 16 entry piloted by Justin Haley.
Tony Stewart, Ty Dillon, Colin Braun, Corey LaJoie, Carson Ferguson, Parker Kligerman, AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Travis Pastrana and Jamie McMurray have piloted the entry at least once. Braun, Dillon, Ferguson and Kligerman have each piloted the No. 25 entry twice, with Braun being the latest competitor to drive the entry as he is coming off a 10th-place result at Lime Rock Park. Allmendinger has recorded the entry’s highest-finishing result of sixth place at Watkins Glen International in early May.
Ryan Newman will pilot the No. 25 RAM entry today, July 18, at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Conor Daly will then drive the entry next Saturday, July 25, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). Kaulig’s selection and reveal of drivers for the remainder of this season remains to be determined.
Elliott Sadler’s return as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor at Richmond Raceway is scheduled to occur on August 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
