In the Field: E. Sadler (cont'd)

I'm kind of going to be the host of the deal. We're doing that one night, and then I'm taking them to two of my favorite restaurants as well -- so that will definitely be a lot of fun.

To me, the top two restaurants in Vegas, where we're definitely planning to go eat, are Stack, which is in The Mirage and FIX, at The Bellagio.

At those two restaurants, the menu, the food and the atmosphere -- as well as the people who are there to work with you -- are the greatest.

When I've been there previously I've seen a lot of celebrities and movie stars at each one, so it just seems like that's where everyone wants to eat when they go to Vegas.

I've seen everyone from superstar quarterbacks to professional poker players. That's when you know you're in a hot spot of town!

Everyone knows some buddies of mine and I were out to Vegas last year and they hit a pretty big jackpot. I'm not going to say it has any kind of spillover effect, but it's a fact 12 of my friends from my hometown: Emporia, Va., are going to be out there this race weekend.

And that's what I like to do. I love to take people out there that might not ordinarily get the chance to do that.

It was cool last year, in 2006, when we went out for the Super Bowl and four of my best friends that I went to high school with hit a $100,000 jackpot.

To take $50 apiece, and on the eighth pull to win $100,000 was something that was absolutely amazing. These were guys I grew up with and went to high school with, so to be able to see them share that moment and to have fun together was an unbelievable thing.

And that's just one of the things that has definitely stood still for me, and that has stayed in my mind. I guess that might be part of the reason we've got a pile of people going to the race this year.

Everybody wants to go, and it's just pretty cool because I've got so many good friends at The Mirage and they've hooked us all up with villas and nice rooms and suites and stuff.

Everybody tries to take their vacations and to get away from their jobs for this week and so that's neat for me -- because I'm in the middle of what I do, but to be able to do it with all of them is something that's really special about what I do in my profession.

They're going to get to enjoy a really beautiful city, with all it has to offer, but I also think there's going to be a great race, because I think the new track out there is going to have some great racing at it.

It showed a lot of different grooves during the test [in January] so it should be a lot of fun for the fans during the race -- and for us, too, for that matter.

Come Sunday, we'll buckle down and try to have a good, hard race.

Elliott Sadler, now in his ninth full season in the Cup Series, sharing weekly with NASCAR.COM readers life on the road through staff writer Dave Rodman.