Racing is a family sport and a family tradition that was started in the Sadler family nearly 45 years ago. Bud Elliott and Herman Sadler, along with their brothers, raced on the short tracks of Virginia long before Elliott Sadler was born. Growing up as a Sadler, young Elliott made his way from track to track with his Dad and uncles to watch them compete in the weekly racing series. Sometimes Elliott would watch and help out. Other times he would just race his matchbox cars in the sandboxes, waiting for the checkered flags to drop. It seemed only natural that Elliott would carry on the racing tradition that started half a decade ago and put his own name in the history books as one of the greatest race car drivers in history.
Starting his career in the weekly racing series, Sadler's obvious talent allowed him to easily make the transition from Late Models to stock cars. Sadler celebrated more than 200 go-kart wins during the early years of his career, and his success on the short tracks served as a stepping-stone to the NASCAR Busch Series. Sadler's short track talent caught the eye of team owner Gary Bechtel, who signed the youngster to race full time in 1997.
Sadler wasted no time in proving his new team owner right as the rookie driver captured the pole for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. His first Busch Series win came 13 starts later as he wheeled his team to victory at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway. Sadler rounded out his rookie year with three more poles and two more victories at Myrtle Beach Speedway and Gateway International Raceway. He finished the year an impressive fifth in the Busch Series championship standings, and was the recipient of the Busch Pole Award for the most poles won in a single season. Sadler scored two more Busch Series wins in 1998 (Bristol Motor Speedway and North Carolina Speedway), in what would be his final season as a full-time Busch Series driver.
Sadler's driving ability caught the eye of the legendary Wood Brothers NASCAR Cup team in 1998, who signed the Virginian to a full-time ride in 1999. The first strike at victory came in 2001 when in his 75th career start he took the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Bristol win was monumental for a couple reasons. Sadler picked up the win after starting the race from 38th place on the starting grid – the deepest in the field from which a driver ever won at the half-mile track. More importantly, it was the first win for the Wood Brothers since 1993.
After four seasons racing for the Wood Brothers, it was time for a change. Sadler and the Wood Brothers parted ways and the Virginia-native landed the opportunity of a lifetime – driving for Robert Yates Racing. Sadler and RYR aligned themselves with sponsor M&M'S® for 2003 and although they experienced some ups and down in their first season together, there were some definite bright spots.
The high point of the 2003 season came when Sadler won two pole positions at Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The team completed the year with two top-fives, nine top-10s and a 22nd-place finish in the point standings. Energy was infused into the No. 38 M&M'S Team during the latter part of 2003 when championship-winning crew chief Todd Parrott joined Sadler to make the calls and lead the team.
The 2004 season proved the No. 38 team was the most underrated in the garage. Sadler burst out of the gates at Daytona International Speedway winning the outside pole for the prestigious Daytona 500. Later that week, Sadler took the checkered flag for a win in the Gatorade Duels marking M&M'S first ever trip to Victory Lane for the colorful sponsor.
Success was sweet and continued throughout the season as Sadler and the M&M'S team saw more of the same with an emotional win at Texas Motor Speedway. Later in the season, Sadler scored his third career victory at California Speedway, clinching a position in the inaugural NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship. Sadler was one of four drivers to stay in the top-10 in the point standings the entire season and rounded out the year with two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, finishing a respectable ninth in the championship standings.
After four seasons with RYR, Sadler decided to leave and join Evernham Motorsports in August 2006 to drive the No. 19 Dodge.
His best season with the Evernham (now Gillett-Petty) team came in 2008 when he scored eight top 10s and two top fives and finished 24th in the standings.
Shortly after Gillett Motorsports and Petty Enterprises announced a deal in principal to merge the two operations in early 2009, word came down that Sadler would return to the No. 19 Dodge. Sadler was rumored to be replaced by AJ Allmendinger.
When he isn't racing, Sadler enjoys hunting, golfing, playing video games, hanging out with friends and follows a variety of sports.
