SADLER LIGHTS UP FONTANA ONCE SUN GOES DOWN, DRIVER LIFTS OFF 'LIKE A ROCKET' TO WIN POP SECRET 500.Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer FONTANA - Elliott Sadler Elliott Sadler (born April 30, 1975 in Emporia, Virginia) is a race car driver in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. He currently drives the #19 Dodge Avenger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports with teammates Scott Riggs and Kasey Kahne. did his part in the fight against the West Nile virus West Nile virus, microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition. The virus is a flavivirus and is related to a number of viruses that cause encephalitis. on Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. at California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. , sending up a great cloud of smoke by spinning his wheels at the finish line. Sadler was celebrating after winning the inaugural NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Nextel Cup The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (1950-1971), and the Winston Cup Series (1972-2003). Series Pop Secret 500, the third victory of his career. And just like in his second victory, achieved in April at Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a superspeedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas -- the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track layout is very similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor , rookie Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne (born April 10, 1980 in Enumclaw, Washington) is a race car driver in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series. He currently drives the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger/Dodge Avenger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports with teammates Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler. was second. An estimated crowd of 110,000 saw Sadler take the green flag at 4:30 p.m. and the checkered flag at 8:23. under the new $6 million lightning system. The nearly 4-hour race was the longest in Speedway history and also the slowest with an average speed of 128.324 mph. Sadler, driving a Ford for Robert Yates Robert Yates may refer to:
The driver from Emporia, Va., endured the last two of the record 11 caution periods, for a record 51 laps, to win a 10-lap shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. against Kahne, who finished second for a fifth time this year, and Mark Martin. ``We're California dreamin' tonight,'' Sadler said upon exiting his race car. ``This is an awesome, awesome win for this team tonight. They deserve it. We knew this car was good. This car deserves to be in victory lane. I drove my heart out. ``When the sun went down, man, we just took off like a rocket.'' Jamie McMurray Jamie McMurray (born June 3, 1976 in Joplin, Missouri) is a NASCAR race car driver. He currently drives the #26 Crown Royal / Irwin Industrial Tools Ford Fusion full-time in the NEXTEL Cup Series with crew chief Larry Carter for Roush Fenway Racing. and Ryan Newman completed top five, followed by rookies Carl Edwards and Scott Riggs. Dale Jarrett, Robby Gordon and Rusty Wallace, who announced Monday that he will retire after the 2005 season, rounded out the top 10. Sadler, who collected $279,398 for his victory, also jumped a spot in the points race to sixth. Jimmie Johnson parlayed his 14th-place finish to overtake teammate Jeff Gordon for the points lead. Gordon suffered an engine failure and was 37th, his worst finish in nine Cup races at Fontana. Together with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and defending Cup champion Matt Kenseth, Johnson and Gordon are locked in for the 10-race Chase for the Championship that begins after next week's race in Richmond, Va. Sadler all but clinched a spot, and Kurt Busch is six points from solidifying a berth. But there was a major shuffle among the eight drivers battling for the last three berths in the Chase, which will feature the top 10 drivers in points. Ryan Newman, Kahne and Martin each climbed two spots to get into the top 10. McMurray jumped to 11th from 15th, and Jarrett went to 13th. The night's biggest losers were Bobby Labonte, who dropped from eighth to 13th with a 20th-place finish, and Kevin Harvick. The driver from Bakersfield ended 28th, the last car on the lead lap, and plummeted from eighth to 15th, 56 points behind Martin. ``The car got loose at the end and I couldn't pick up any spots,'' Harvick said. ``Our motor just wasn't good.'' Sadler gave his team a scare on Saturday, spinning the car during the morning practice session. However, he stayed off the walls. And the Todd Parrott crew fixed the damage. ``That was a car we built for Indianapolis,'' Sadler said. ``We brought this car out here to test this type of track.'' On Sunday, Parrott made a decision late in the race against Sadler's wishes. ``I have the best crew chief in the business,'' Sadler said of Parrott. ``He made a great (tire pressure) adjustment at the end of the race. I didn't like it, but he got the car perfect for those 12 laps.'' In the last 12 laps, Sadler was able to pull away from Kahne and Martin. Parrott said: ``That cat got up on the wheel. I'm so proud of him the way he drove tonight.'' Sadler added: ``I learned a lot from Kasey Kahne tonight. He was going through (turns) one and two on the outside and I actually found it when I was messing around with Robby Gordon on that restart. I had been watching Kasey killing people all night in turn one and turn two all night.'' Louis Brewster, (909) 483-9363 l-brewster(at)dailybulletin.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1 -- 2 -- cover -- color) CHASE IS ON Elliott Sadler holds off Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin to win the Pop Secret 500 in Fontana and virtually clinch a spot in the 10-driver Chase for the Nextel Cup The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup,, originally called "The Chase for the Championship" [1] is the playoff system used in NASCAR's top division, the NEXTEL Cup Series. The Chase was initiated for the 2004 NASCAR Season, and announced on January 21, 2004. Mediha Fejzagic/Staff Photographer (3) Elliott Sadler, right, crosses the finish line just ahead of Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin to win at California Speedway. Will Lester/Staff Photographer Box: (1) CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP (2) POP SECRET 500 RESULTS (3) RACE STATISTICS |
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