Elliott Sadler's No. 38 Ford did stay on all four wheels Sunday at Talladega. Credit: Autostock

RYR mates disappointed despite top-10 runs

Mistakes cost Sadler, Jarrett higher finishes Sunday at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Robert Yates Racing was the lone multi-car team to make it through Talladega unscathed, but there were not a lot of high-fives in the RYR camp.

Elliott Sadler finished sixth and Dale Jarrett finished ninth, but both cars experienced setbacks, so the twin top-10s were hardly a cause for celebration.

	Dale Jarrett finished ninth on Sunday. Credit: Autostock
	Race Results Aaron's 499 Pos. Driver Make 1. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 2. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 3. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 4. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 5. Jamie McMurray Dodge Complete results, click here Standings, click here

After everything that has happened to him at Talladega, Elliott Sadler badly wanted to win the Aaron's 499. After struggling at Daytona in February, the team built him a brand-new car for this race, and it paid off.

But Sadler fell to sixth after restarting third on the green-white-checkered with two laps to go. His Ford was the lone Ford in a sea of Chevrolets, and they drove right past him in the closing minutes.

Jarrett finished ninth mainly through attrition after he overcame radio problems and two costly speeding penalties.

Even with the issues, Jarrett moved up six spots in the point standings to seventh. He hasn't been this high in the points this late in the year since 2001.

"It's unfortunate but we just had a lot of problems," Jarrett said. "I guess we can feel lucky to get ourselves in the top 10."

Jarrett spent much of the first half of the race in silence as he battled a balky radio.

Talladega is one of the worst tracks to be if you can't hear your spotter, and Jarrett made repeated trips down pit road to repair the problem, which put him in the back of the field.

Strangely, the problems probably helped Jarrett, who often lays back in the pack to avoid the inevitable crashes that occur at Talladega.

"These guys are going to wreck. You can bet your butt on that," Jarrett said. "You've just got to make sure that you're not around it when they do."

Sadler clearly had the best Ford all day and was one of the few cars with the horsepower to stay with Jeff Gordon.

Elliott Sadler was happy that he at least had the best Ford on Sunday. Credit: Autostock

Sadler has flipped twice at Talladega -- both times in the fall race -- and a win here would have been vindication, especially for a Ford camp that hasn't won in Alabama since 1998.

"We just wanted to finish a race," said Sadler, who led nine laps. "We were the best Ford. That is all that matters."

Even with the disappointing day for Ford, Sadler said RYR was making gains against the dominant restrictor-plate programs of Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"That's by far the fastest Ford I've ever had in a restrictor-plate race," he said.