New Elliott Sadler on NASCAR circuit this year
Elliott Sadler concedes that he can be a moody guy. But this year – as there was during the last part of last season – there is a new Elliott Sadler running the NASCAR circuit, a man much more confident in himself and what he has to work with. It’s no secret that Robert Yates, Sadler’s team owner the past few years, hit hard times, lost confidence in himself, and then lost his two stars, Sadler to Dodge and Dale Jarrett to Toyota. And Yates lost big bucks sponsor UPS, also.
Sadler’s last Nextel Cup victory was in the summer of 2004, at California Speedway. Two winless seasons have been telling on him.
But when he arrived, surprisingly, at Ray Evernham’s operation late last summer, his whole attitude changed.
“I wear my feelings right here on my sleeve, just like a lot of people do,” Sadler, who will soon turn 32, said. “I’m not ashamed to show you what my real attitude is sometimes. But I have a different way about me this year. I’m very happy. My personal life is the best it’s ever been. I’m very happy with my family and the stuff that’s going on around me back home.
“I’ve got a great support group around me, great teammates – and Ray just wants to win. He’s got the same attitude I have about it: Second is no good, losing is no good.”
Sadler said he’s not happy as a “field-filler.”
“I don’t want to ride around and finish 20th and go home,” he said. “I love having that attitude right across the desk from me. It’s made me happy, and I can’t wait to go to the track.
“You’ve got to feel you’re coming to a gunfight with a gun. That makes a big difference.”
Sadler acknowledged that it usually takes a while for a driver to realize success when he leaves one shop for another. That’s why, he said, the timing of his move in August from Yates to Evernham was important.
“I learned a lot about myself and a lot about the team,” he said. “We went out the first time at Michigan (in August) and qualified second and finished 10th. That eased the pain right there.”
“The learning period was not that long. And that meant a lot to all of us.”
Sadler said that, for the first time in his life, he’s seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. And there’s a reason other than his new NASCAR team.
“I’m a very pessimistic person,” he said. “A realist, I call it. But sometimes it’s pessimistic.
“This year I’ve just got one of those crazy feelings. I’m pretty close to becoming domesticated, and it’s something that hits you like a ton of bricks, and it’s definitely hit me. I’ve definitely found someone I want to settle down with and raise a family.
“I think that has a lot to do with the attitude I have right now. She’s shown me the brighter side of life and what life’s all about.
“It’s going to happen pretty quick. I’m definitely off the market.”