Dale Jarrett finished fifth and Elliott Sadler, sixth in the Dodge/Save Mart 350. Credit: Autostock

Yates teammates quietly notch top-10s at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. -- Elliott Sadler's road-racing skills probably won't ever be confused with Tony Stewart's, but sticking to a game plan can be just as valuable.

It's become almost a yearly ritual for crew chief Todd Parrott and Sadler when they get to Sonoma: Figure out a way to eke out a top-10.

The duo got it done on Sunday in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 by stretching their fuel for the final 45 laps, and Sadler finished sixth. It was his third top-10 finish in the last four races at Sonoma.

Unofficial Results Dodge/Save Mart 350 Pos. Driver Make 1. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 2. Ricky Rudd Ford 3. Kurt Busch Ford 4. Rusty Wallace Dodge 5. Dale Jarrett Ford Complete results, click here Driver standings, click here

"I saved from the time we made the [final] stop to the checkered flag, every single caution lap, every single green flag lap, to make sure we could make it to the end," Sadler said.

After the event, car chief Raymond Fox III had words for his driver.

"He just congratulated me on not hitting anything," Sadler said.

Sadler didn't try to go fast on Sunday at Sonoma. He didn't have to. Not with guys spinning all around him and breaking transmissions. And he certainly didn't try to overdrive the car after starting in the rear of the field.

"We had to use different pit strategy to get to the front," said Sadler, who remained third in the points. "We went on our gut feeling that we'd have a few more caution laps there at the end of the race."

Victory LaneStewart celebrates his Dodge/Save Mart 350 win at Infineon Top FinishersRusty Wallace and Greg Biffle talk about their day Final lapsTony Stewart and Ricky Rudd battle for the checkered flag Gears are gone?Jeff Gordon has transmission issues at Sonoma Junior wrecks earlyDale Jr. touches Mike Bliss and hits the wall hard Sign up for TrackPass now and earn Fan Miles BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Those caution laps proved to be the clincher. Sadler probably wouldn't have survived a green-white-checkered, but that hardly mattered. He also drew 77 points closer to the Nextel Cup points lead.

Sadler's teammate, Dale Jarrett, finished fifth -- only his fourth career top-10 at Sonoma -- by employing the same strategy. Neither Sadler nor Dale Jarrett even cracked the top 10 until the final third of the race, but once they got there, they didn't waver.

"You have to play some strategies with these road courses sometimes, especially when you don't have a fast enough car to win," said Jarrett, who started 30th.

Jarrett was an even bigger points winner than Sadler. He had struggled in June and had entered Sonoma 458 points out of the Nextel Cup lead. He knows sits 380 back heading into Daytona, where he won the pole in February.

"That is a nice deal; we have got to keep a little bit of momentum," said Jarrett. "Things didn't go exactly as planned [this month] so a good way to finish it off."

Things got a bit dicey later in the event, when Jarrett and Sadler traded paint near the start-finish line while battling for position.

"I was racing a little bit hard but we decided let each other go and make it to the end," Sadler said.

The Yates camp hasn't set a blistering pace this season -- they have yet to win -- but they have been the best team at finishing races.

Entering Sonoma, Sadler had failed to complete just 13 laps. Jarrett has completed all but 11 laps this year.

"We are not talking about clinching the Chase," said Sadler, who easily qualified for the Chase last year. "This was a big hurdle. This and Daytona, because so many things can happen at both these tracks."