Elliott Sadler is winless in the Nextel Cup Series since 2004. Credit: Autostock

Exit from RYR the right call for struggling Sadler

There is a great scene in Major League where Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, sick of getting pounded, finally snaps and beans an opposing hitter.

Harry Doyle, the broadcaster in the film played brilliantly by Bob Uecker, says, "About time. [It's] 8-0."

	RYAN SMITHSON •   E-mail Ryan •   Opinion archive

Last week, Elliott Sadler had finally had his fill of showing up every Sunday and seeing how long he could stay on the lead lap. His divorce from Robert Yates Racing is sad, expected and totally understandable.

He had to do something. He couldn't stay. He was getting creamed out there. He might get creamed at Evernham, too, but why not give it a shot?

Sadler wasn't one of those drivers who rarely saw his car owner. He is one of the more engaged and self-critical drivers in the garage area. When he won, he saw to it that the men on his team were rewarded.

The sad part is that he simply hasn't been winning. In my mind, Sadler has never recovered from the 2005 Brickyard 400, when he suffered one of the more bizarre meltdowns in recent memory.

Threatening to win the race, Sadler pitted for what he thought was a flat tire. As you probably know, the tire was fine, and he finished 32nd. Sadler went on to miss the Chase after running in the top 10 for virtually the entire year.

Sadler stayed in Chase contention for all of a week this season. He had one of the best cars during Speedweeks, but that was Daytona. The team came back down to earth the next week and has stayed there.

Not even crew chief Tommy Baldwin's famous intensity could fix things. The two never gelled. Baldwin is one of the best crew chiefs in the garage, but he needs a different driver, and Sadler knows he isn't it.

Sadler made the right move by going to Evernham Motorsports, because it has never been tougher for a two-car team to compete in Nextel Cup.

	Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Elliott Sadler's Cup performance since the 2005 Brickyard 400 Starts 35 Wins 0 Top-5s 1 Top-10s 7 Laps Led 200 Avg. Start 14.7 Avg. Finish 19.6

As recently as five years ago, a single-car team had a shot to win on Sunday. Those days are over, and realistically, the two-car team now also has a miniscule shot of victory.

There are plenty of bona-fide two car teams in the Nextel Cup Series. Robert Yates Racing had admittedly made a lot of mistakes over the years, but the biggest is failing to expand. The best engines in the world can't erase the deficit created by a lack of manpower.

By all accounts, Robert Yates Racing is one of the better teams to work for in NASCAR. The Yates' are good bosses who make sure their employees are well taken care of. When a driver leaves RYR, it is a big deal because it doesn't happen every often.

But this isn't 1997. The two-car team can't cut it. The stats show it.

The only two-car teams to win this year are Penske and DEI, and both of those teams only scaled back to two cars out of necessity. DEI may run as many as four cars next year.

Penske has six top-five finishes all year, the same as Carl Edwards. No wonder Sadler left for the three-car oasis of Evernham. Even with his third car struggling mightily this season, it is a better situation.

MB2 Motorsports, a two-car team that was always good for about one win a year, has just one top-10 all season. Petty Enterprises' two cars are 25th and 31st in the points.

Michael Waltrip knew a two-car team wouldn't work. His business plan called for three teams from the very beginning. With limited testing ruling today's NASCAR, bigger is better.

Eventually, I expect most of the current three-car teams to become four-car operations. Joe Gibbs Racing needs only a backer's signature (they are rumored to be talking to sponsors as we speak) to morph into a four-car team. Richard Childress Racing is well-known to covet a fourth car.

Robert Yates Racing is in no position to remove itself from its two-car status, and for that reason alone, it will continue to have an uphill climb against the mega-car teams.

Mega-car teams. That needs to be a new term, shouldn't it? "Multi-car team" just doesn't work anymore. That could insinuate anything from a two-car to a six-car team.

Which one would you bet on?

Elliott Sadler knows the answer.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.