Elliott Sadler now has seven consecutive finishes outside the top 10. Credit: Autostock

Sadler takes major hit in the Race for the Chase

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- There might not be a driver in the Nextel Cup Series that accepts blame more quickly than Elliott Sadler.

Making excuses is not part of his makeup, and that is what makes Michigan so painful for him.

	Up next for Elliott Sadler is a trip to Bristol, where he hopes to get his run at the Chase back on track. Credit: Autostock
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Sadler wrecked on Lap 82 of the GFS Marketplace 400 and spent the rest of the day hoping other cars would drop out and help him gain a fraction of what was lost.

Not many did, and the price Sadler paid was heavy. He came into Michigan just three points out of a Chase spot, but after his 39th-place result, he ended up 66 points out of the coveted 10th spot.

What's worse, Sadler fell to 13th and will have to get around Dale Jarrett (11th) and Jeff Gordon (12th) for a spot in the Chase.

"Just messed up, driver mistake," Sadler said. "I can't believe that with all the problems I have had here the last few months, I feel like I have never been in a racecar before. I don't know what to do."

The finish was Sadler's seventh consecutive finish outside the top 10. He opened the season with nine top-10s in the first 16 races, but a series of troubles have cost Sadler a whopping 10 spots in the points in just seven events.

"It is, it by far, my worst nightmare, I never really saw it coming," said Sadler, who easily made the Chase in 2004. "It's kind of caught us off guard. It's nothing we're doing wrong, I am just not making good decisions on the racetrack or we're getting caught up in stuff."

One upside for Sadler is what occurs next week: Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bristol arguably is Sadler's favorite -- and -- best track. Some of his best moments were authored there, including a win in 2001 and the Bud Pole earlier this year.

"It's put us where we have got to win the next couple of races to make it into the Chase," Sadler said. "We're not going to give up, we're going to go to Bristol and try to sit on the pole again like we did in the spring.

"It's not over with until the fat lady sings."