Post by dalejrfan on Jun 6, 2005 11:05:45 GMT -5
DOVER, Del. -- For much of Sunday's MBNA RacePoints 400, it appeared as though Elliott Sadler was going to get his first Nextel Cup Series win of 2005.
Then things -- specifically one thing -- went wrong.
Final lapsGreg Biffle takes the checkers and then hits the fence
Yellow flag fliesKasey Kahne hits the wall on Lap 285
MBNA 400Catch all the highlights from The Monster Mile at Dover"We had no power steering for the last 30 or 40 laps," said a visibly spent Sadler. "Dover's a tough place anyway, and you lose power steering, it was a tough day."
Quite an understatement when you consider the air temperature was in the high 80s for most of Sunday's event.
"That just wore me out."
In the closing laps, smoke began to billow for Sadler's No. 38 Ford. It appeared to be a tire problem or even the beginning of an engine problem. However, Sadler said it was nothing of the sort.
"The power steering fluid was leaking all over the place," he said. "That finally leaked all the way out and made it tough to drive."
Sadler also took part of the blame for the fact he didn't garner a higher finish.
"I had no idea that the track would get that tight in that last 150 laps and I didn't give them the right feedback," Sadler said. "But they gave me a great car.
"The driver's just got to get a little bit better at some of these places about where the track's going, and I kept up with it for 250 laps but I lost it there that last run, and of course that was the longest run of the day."
Even though Sadler didn't win the race, it was a moral victory of sorts. He led 128 laps, nearly three times as many laps as he had led the entire season. It was also the first time in his Nextel Cup career that he's led more than 100 laps in an event.
"We got a top 10," Sadler said. "It could have been a lot worse. I wanted a top-five bad or just run for the win, but it's a great finish for the problems we had at the end of the race."
The solid run also helped reverse a bit of bad Dover history for Sadler. In 12 previous starts at the Monster Mile, Sadler's average finish was just 19.8. His only other top-10 came in this race three years ago when he finished -- you guessed it -- 10th.
"We made a statement, I think, on these intermediate tracks," Sadler said. "We struggled at Atlanta, we struggled at Texas, we went to Charlotte [for the] all-star race and run really good, we had an awesome car in the 600 and then came here and run good, a place we don't have a good history."
Perhaps most importantly, Sadler held his third-place spot in the Nextel Cup standings. He's now 231 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, who finished fourth Sunday.
"This team is doing a great, great job," Sadler said.
Then things -- specifically one thing -- went wrong.
Final lapsGreg Biffle takes the checkers and then hits the fence
Yellow flag fliesKasey Kahne hits the wall on Lap 285
MBNA 400Catch all the highlights from The Monster Mile at Dover"We had no power steering for the last 30 or 40 laps," said a visibly spent Sadler. "Dover's a tough place anyway, and you lose power steering, it was a tough day."
Quite an understatement when you consider the air temperature was in the high 80s for most of Sunday's event.
"That just wore me out."
In the closing laps, smoke began to billow for Sadler's No. 38 Ford. It appeared to be a tire problem or even the beginning of an engine problem. However, Sadler said it was nothing of the sort.
"The power steering fluid was leaking all over the place," he said. "That finally leaked all the way out and made it tough to drive."
Sadler also took part of the blame for the fact he didn't garner a higher finish.
"I had no idea that the track would get that tight in that last 150 laps and I didn't give them the right feedback," Sadler said. "But they gave me a great car.
"The driver's just got to get a little bit better at some of these places about where the track's going, and I kept up with it for 250 laps but I lost it there that last run, and of course that was the longest run of the day."
Even though Sadler didn't win the race, it was a moral victory of sorts. He led 128 laps, nearly three times as many laps as he had led the entire season. It was also the first time in his Nextel Cup career that he's led more than 100 laps in an event.
"We got a top 10," Sadler said. "It could have been a lot worse. I wanted a top-five bad or just run for the win, but it's a great finish for the problems we had at the end of the race."
The solid run also helped reverse a bit of bad Dover history for Sadler. In 12 previous starts at the Monster Mile, Sadler's average finish was just 19.8. His only other top-10 came in this race three years ago when he finished -- you guessed it -- 10th.
"We made a statement, I think, on these intermediate tracks," Sadler said. "We struggled at Atlanta, we struggled at Texas, we went to Charlotte [for the] all-star race and run really good, we had an awesome car in the 600 and then came here and run good, a place we don't have a good history."
Perhaps most importantly, Sadler held his third-place spot in the Nextel Cup standings. He's now 231 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, who finished fourth Sunday.
"This team is doing a great, great job," Sadler said.