In the Field: Elliott Sadler

When you talk about how interesting -- or crazy -- the life of a Nextel Cup driver can be, this is a great week to use as an example.

We rained-out Saturday night at Richmond and raced on Sunday, and then tested at Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday.

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After that I have a few obligations and then it's a few deep breaths before we go to Darlington; then we'll take another quick break to celebrate Mother's Day before we have another two-day test scheduled at Dover.

I'm glad at least three of those four on-track deals are in the Car of Tomorrow, because Josh Browne and my Evernham Motorsports guys are getting better at that each time out.

I'm not looking for sympathy laying out that schedule -- but I mention it because it makes something I did the week before Richmond mean all the more to me.

There were 12 of us, including my dad and my brother Hermie, and we flew over near Bristol, Va., to have a golf outing for a couple days, playing The Olde Farm, which I think is the No. 1 golf course in the United States.

This is something we try to do three or four times a year if we can. That golf course is just a great, hidden secret. It's been rated in the top 10 in the country for the last couple years, and it's just a cool place to play.

So I took my dad and a few of his friends; and a few of my friends and a few of Hermie's friends and right after my birthday we went out there to play golf for two days.

Man, we had a ball. It's such an amazing place and we had a lot of fun being there, just messing with each other. We have a lot of jokes that we carry on the golf course.

And I'll tell you -- just to have a chance to get away for a couple days means a lot, especially when racing's not going as well as you want it to. It isn't like you're completely forgetting about it, but it helps to be able to clear your head.

It's a real good thing just to get away from the fast-paced efforts that NASCAR racing makes you give -- to just get away and settle back down and play some golf and relax with my dad and my brother.

It was a real special trip to me.

We played us a little tournament in the space of two days, actually. We played 36 holes on Tuesday and then went back and played 36 more on Wednesday before we had to head back to Richmond. (Continued)