Elliott Sadler finds himself just three points out of 10th place. Credit: Autostock

Sadler soars as Yates drivers tie in standings

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Elliott Sadler leapt into a tie with Robert Yates Racing teammate Dale Jarrett in the Nextel Cup standings Sunday after a wild Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen.

Dale Jarrett's day didn't finish as well as Sadler's. Credit: Autostock

Unofficial Results Sirius at the Glen Pos. Driver Make 1. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 2. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 3. Boris Said Chevrolet 4. Scott Pruett Dodge 5. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Complete results, click here Unofficial standings, click here Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates a dominant day at the Glen Final LapsStewart survives a green-white-checker finish to win DeflatedGordon's Chase hopes take a hit with a flat tire at the Glen Heavy contactJeff Burton and P.J. Jones take hard hits at the Glen Early troubleSaid, Jarrett and Newman have problems early Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Sadler, whose No. 38 Ford started at the back of the field due to an engine change Friday, executed what the Virginian called his best race ever at Watkins Glen International to finish 12th.

"I think we had a good strategy and we stuck to it, but I'll tell you what -- I think this was the fastest I've ever run on a road course," Sadler said. "I passed more cars than I think I have in my life, put together, at Watkins Glen."

The result enabled him to jump from 12th to 11th in the standings, but more importantly only three points out of the critical top-10, which ensures qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Sadler entered the day 24 points out of 10th. There are four races remaining until the cutoff for the Chase, after the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Jarrett's No. 88 UPS Ford team, on the other hand, suffered a horrendous day on the way to a 22nd place finish that kicked him out of ninth in the points.

Jarrett dropped two spots in the standings and into a tie with Sadler, who earlier this season ran as high as third for five consecutive weeks.

"No matter what, this is a great finish for us," Sadler said. "I'm not the best at Watkins Glen -- my record speaks for itself -- so with everything I messed up Friday, I was so down in the dumps Friday night that I couldn't even sleep.

"To come back today and finish 12th here is a great accomplishment for me as a driver and for us as a team. We had a fourth or a fifth place car, but we could only run as fast as the guys in front of us could run, so all in all it was a great day."

Sadler was thankful for his Yates team, which had to work hard Friday after the team broke an engine. In the last five races the team had spiraled from third to 12th in the standings.

"I've just got to give all my thanks to this race team," Sadler said. "We've been struggling so much the last month or so and I've just been beat down so bad as a driver but my guys have been behind me 100 percent, so to come here and finish 12th is a great finish for us.

"With me going to the rear of the field for blowing a motor and coming back through -- I'll take it."

Jarrett's rough day was punctuated by an accident caused when Dale Earnhardt Jr. apparently ran into the back of Jarrett's car at the far end of the track.

Crew chief Bill Wilburn found little solace in Jarrett soldiering on and minimizing the damage.

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"We didn't have a very good day," Wilburn said. "We didn't really do it from the drop of the green flag. We were tight in all the right-handers and we got messed up when the 8 car (Earnhardt) spun us out early."

Jarrett backed the right rear of his car hard into a barrier in that incident.

"We got damage and the front end was never right," Wilburn said. "We never had a chance to fix it because of the way they do the cautions here, with the time we needed, so we were behind the 8-ball from the beginning.

"None of the pit strategy we had would work at that point, because we were slow and every time we pitted we had to repair damage, so we come out OK (under the circumstances)."

Jarrett was initially listed 23rd in the rundown, but Wilburn made a couple trips to the NASCAR office trailer attempting to revise the finishing order.

"NASCAR's looking into the scoring decision," Wilburn said before the revision was announced. "We're fighting for every point we can get.

"The fortunate thing is (Jamie) McMurray and (Carl) Edwards -- they didn't have a stellar day either, but we can't depend on that, we've got to run better."

McMurray moved up two spots in the standings, to ninth while Edwards remained in 10th after they finished 13th and 19th, respectively.

Wilburn's teammate, Parrott was as enthused as Wilburn was subdued.

"We did today what we had to do," Parrott said. "We come out of here with a good, solid run with no mistakes. The guys in the engine shop did a great job working on fuel mileage and Elliott did a good job because he had a tough weekend.

"We couldn't fall any further behind (in the points). We learned a lot and hopefully we'll go to Michigan and get another good finish."

The result was a turnaround for Sadler, whose season has only one top-five but nine top-10s and three other finishes between 11th and 13th.

"I was waiting for the bottom to fall out or for something to happen with 10 laps to go," Sadler said. "I just kept waiting for something bad to happen and it never did so 12th is a good finish for us.

"It didn't put us in the top 10 but I think it gets us close."