For Sadler, Bud Pole provides welcome boost

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Friday's Bud Pole Qualifying session was nearing its midpoint and Elliott Sadler was exceptionally antsy, as if he'd eaten enough sugar to produce one of those commercial-size M&Ms.

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A 28.902-second lap had placed him atop the speed chart, and the fifth-year driver was eyeing the first pole of his Winston Cup Series career. But with each passing car he grew more impatient. In his mind, he screamed a silent plea at least 1000 times:

"End already!"

Unable to watch any longer, he exited his motor home in favor of a golf cart just outside the door. But after a few moments spent there chatting with crew chief Raymond Fox, the crowd noise grew unbearable. He just knew someone would supplant him.

He grabbed Fox by the shirt and tugged, signaling it was time to head to the transporter, where they could lock themselves in the front office and agonize together. After Ryan Newman fell short he knew he had a shot, but 17 cars had yet to qualify.

None got it done, handing Sadler a long-overdue achievement.

	A practice accident at Daytona put a damper on Sadler's Speedweeks. Credit: Autostock

"It bothered me a lot, not to have a pole and have 145 chances at it," said Sadler, now four races into his first year at Robert Yates Racing. "As far as the prestige, for our race team, this is huge.

"For a race team that is under the microscope we're under, I think the prestige is going to last a little while longer (than usual)."

Typically, the luster of a pole wears off in rapid fashion. But for Sadler, who feels he has faced detractors since the moment he signed on to drive for Yate, it is a landmark accomplishment.

"We've been reading all winter long, my team has, about me being an underachiever and likes to wreck a lot, and we're going to be 25th or 30th in points this year," Sadler said. "I'm not saying they don't like us, I'm saying they maybe don't want us to run good, as this team is capable of running.

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"I've read stories - we keep them in our race shops and say, 'Look, those people right here think we have no chance of winning a race this year. These people think we have no chance of starting on the pole. These people think we're going to take 20 provisionals this year.'

"We're keeping all of that. That's our motivation."

It's obviously working. At Daytona, Sadler was wrecked by Jack Sprague early in Speedweeks, but battled to a 23rd place finish in a backup car. At Rockingham, he came from a lap down twice to post a remarkable ninth-place finish.

After blowing an engine at Las Vegas and finishing 42nd, he rebounded to qualify third and finish sixth last week at Atlanta. So don't be surprised if he breaks through for a second-career victory this weekend. He did finish second here last year with the Wood Brothers, after all.

'The weight that's been taken off my shoulders'

"I got bit so bad by the bug at Texas last year where we sat on the pole almost the whole entire time and then Bill Elliott went out right at night time and beat us," Sadler said. "Man, it's like I never recovered from that one instance. I really wanted to get a pole for Eddie and Len (Wood) before I left.

"Eddie Wood was the first person to congratulate me a little while ago, so that's really special to me.

"These guys have been telling me they're going to get me a pole this year and to get it this early, and get it off our shoulders, you don't understand how big of a relief this is, and the weight that's been taken off my shoulders."

To the contrary, Sadler's relief was visually obvious. As those very words rolled off his tongue, he sat slouched in a plush leather chair, a long pair of legs stretch out in front of him.

Between sentences, he let forth a large sigh, and for the first time all day sat perfectly still.

Relaxing.