Elliott Sadler said he would like to go back to high school for four more years. Credit: Autostock

10 Questions: E. Sadler

Elliott Sadler, the man whom a couple dozen beagles, his family and thousands of race fans love, is in the midst of winding down probably his most difficult season yet in Cup racing.

Two-thirds of the way through the schedule, Sadler left Robert Yates Racing to begin driving Ray Evernham's No. 19 Dodge, which Sadler will pilot in 2007.

Despite currently being in a bad streak, Sadler scored two top-10s in his first five starts in Evernham's car and has a lot of optimism for next season.

Sadler took a break at the racetrack recently to answer 10 questions not necessarily connected to his racing career.

1. If you were not in racing, what would you be doing in 2006?

Elliott Sadler moved to the 19 car for the Michigan race in August. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Sadler's stats with Yates Race Start Finish Status Daytona 3 4 running Fontana 16 23 running Las Vegas 26 14 running Atlanta 28 29 running Bristol 13 13 running Martinsville 7 6 running Texas 25 33 engine Phoenix 20 37 running Talladega 1 16 running Richmond 37 13 running Darlington 6 29 running Charlotte 26 30 running Dover 8 40 crash Pocono 13 20 running Michigan 32 22 running Sonoma 24 8 running Daytona 13 6 running Chicago 32 29 running Loudon 18 25 running Pocono 25 32 running Indy 27 43 crash The Glen 12 7 running Sadler's stats with Evernham Race Start Finish Status Michigan 2 10 running Bristol 9 39 crash Fontana 18 13 running Richmond 14 16 running Loudon 14 6 running Dover 35 16 running Kansas 9 40 running Talladega 22 29 running Charlotte 4 35 crash Martinsville 34 38 engine Atlanta 34 21 running Making the moveElliott Sadler on his decision to move to Evernham Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Sadler: I tell everybody that I want to be a country music singer when I grow up -- but I can't sing. So honestly, I would be doing work back at the dealership for my dad.

I'm pretty sure I would be doing something in the family business, one way or the other. And I'd probably be married if I weren't racing.

Right now, I just work too hard or travel too much and my personal life takes a back seat. I've learned a very important lesson in racing.

I always thought that once I got my racing career straight, and got it on track, then I'd worry about my personal life. I've come to realize that racing is so hard that sometimes you don't ever think it's going to be on track -- so I've put my personal life on hold for right now.

2. What's your best dog story -- though we hate to pick one, considering you got more than 30 hunting dogs?

Sadler: Yeah, I hate to single 'em out because I'm like a proud dad and those are my kids.

But I love it when the dogs are running good and they're out front -- especially when they're mixed up with somebody else's dogs and they're always the first one to hit the road so I know they're leading the pack.

I've got a lot of great stories. But when they're running as good as they're supposed to and you've got some of the best dogs, that's as good as it gets. And I've got a lot of proud moments like that and it's hard to just single out one occasion.

The dog food situation is OK because Pedigree still takes care of me, as they always did when I was racing for them at Robert Yates Racing. So they still eat Pedigree dog food and they're happy, healthy dogs for life.

They've been real good to me and it's a good thing, because we're going through about 40 25-pound bags a week. Of course, that doubles during hunting season, because you've got to feed them so much more, because they exercise so much more.

I get a pallet a month from them, and I really appreciate it.

3. Which athlete outside of racing do you most admire?

Sadler: I'm a golf fan, so I think it would be Tiger Woods. I most admire him because I play the sport and I understand how hard golfing is.

And for somebody who can stay on top of his game for so long and change with the times, as the clubs change and as the balls change, he adapts his game to whatever course they play -- because it's something different each week.

In that respect it's kind of like racing, because we're at a different racetrack each week. He just never seems to falter. He's always going to be at the top of the [leader] board.

His work ethic is amazing. I think he's the first one in golf to really hit the gym and to get his muscles in shape and to really use them to capacity and I really admire him for that.

4. If you could go back in time, what period in history would you like to live in and why?

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Sadler: I would love to live my high school years again. I don't know much about the '70s or '80s, but I know the early '90s were just a lot of fun for me -- that period when I was 15, 16, 17 and 18 I was having so much fun.

I loved playing sports in high school and stuff like that so if I could relive part of my life I'd want to do that all over again.

5. What is one thing your fans don't know about you that you'd want to tell them?

Sadler: I don't know that there's anything, because I'm pretty open to my fans. It might be that I have a split personality. I think that when I'm away from the racetrack I'm all about having fun and telling jokes and seeing the lighter side of things.

But when I'm inside the racecar it's nothing but being serious, asking questions and trying to do the best job that I can. So that's it, I'm probably a different person at the racetrack, in the garage, than I am when I'm back home in Virginia.

6. What is must-see TV for you?

Sadler: It's Seinfeld -- period. I've got to watch that, at least two or three times a day. I try to work out my schedule so that I'm at home at six o'clock so that I can watch it at 6, 6:30 and 7.

So I can watch three episodes of it, and on Wednesday I get lucky because they throw an extra episode in there and you get four episodes at once. But I have to watch Seinfeld.

My favorite character is Kramer. I want to be Kramer. Who would not want to be Kramer, just living life, happy-go-lucky and if you didn't get up in the morning, who cares? I think that would be great.

7. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

Sadler: You know what? I've been a [North] Carolina basketball fan my whole life so I would love to be, like, coach Dean Smith or coach Roy Williams -- to be the head of a program that has been so great for so many years.

I would love to switch places with those guys, just to see one time what it would be to coach one of the best college basketball teams there is, in that type of atmosphere.

8. If you could, which star or celebrity would you like to hang out with?

Sadler: I've been very lucky and I've hung out with some cool people, but you know what? I'd really like to hang out with Michael Jordan.

He's a big golfer, and I'd like to play a round of golf with Michael Jordan. I think that would be cool. They say he's funny and everybody that's ever met him says he's a great guy -- and of course, he's a Tar Heel, too.

What he's meant to NBA basketball is amazing, so I think if I could pick somebody I'd like to hang out with, I would love to play 18 holes of golf with Michael Jordan.

Now yeah, I understand he's one to make wagers on the golf course, but I don't know if I'd do that. Maybe I'd go 10 cents on the dollar for him. But I can't see throwing out a thousand [dollars].

But maybe I'd wager with him a little bit, on my level.

9. What's your No. 1 guilty pleasure?

	Elliott Sadler won the 2004 race at Texas. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Sadler's stats at Texas Year Start Finish Status 1999 13 10 running 2000 35 39 running 2001 11 16 running 2002 2 17 running 2003 2 41 crash 2004 19 1 running 2005 8 28 engine   12 9 running 2006 25 33 engine

Sadler: Wow. I don't even know how to answer that correctly.

You know what? The reason I don't think I'm going to get married is because I like living by myself so much. I think going and doing as I please is a guilty pleasure.

I have no curfews, no time where I have to be anywhere, no honey-dos and no yard work. If I want to get up at 9 o'clock at night and take a four-hour ride somewhere, or if I want to do something different, I can do something different.

So that's probably my guilty pleasure -- that I can go and go as I please, whenever I want because that's just the life that I've chosen to live. And racing helps me do that.

10. What have you learned about yourself in the last year?

Sadler: Holy cow! I've learned how many lives you affect as a racecar driver, and how many people you represent -- not only from the mouths you have to feed on your race team and their families, but the sponsors, consumers and customers and things like that.

I've really learned that your life as a driver is more in the spotlight and more in view than you ever thought it would be.

So as a person I've learned that my life is in the spotlight all the time and that I have to be careful because I affect so many different people around me that you take for granted.

Coming from such a small town like Emporia, Va., and a small family and stuff, you don't realize how many people and how many lives you affect, and things like that.

That's something that's really snuck up on me, just in the past year.