Back injury might keep Sadler out at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Dodge for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, fought through severe pain Friday to qualify for Sunday's Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

But Sadler's status for Sunday's race remains in question, with the current best-case scenario apparently being having Sadler begin the race in the car and then be relieved as quickly as possible by Truck Series driver Dennis Setzer. Sadler then would receive credit for whatever points are earned by the No. 19 in the race -- while keeping the possibility of more damage to his injured back to a minimum.

Elliott Sadler

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"Late [Thursday] afternoon was really when it became obvious that the problem wasn't going to go away quickly," said Mark McArdle, vice president of competition for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

The team placed Setzer in the seat of the No. 19 car for the beginning of Sprint Cup practice at noon Friday. Sadler turned a couple of laps at the end of practice, then jumped in and turned a top qualifying lap in 20.009 seconds for a speed of 94.637 miles per hour at the .526-mile track.

It was good enough to place him in the 25th position on the qualifying grid -- as long as he is able to start the race Sunday. If Setzer has to replace him at the start, the No. 19 will have to go to the rear of the field.

"I was in a lot of pain out there," Sadler said as he very gingerly stepped his way through the infield afterward.

Sadler said that Setzer probably would be behind the wheel for at least the first of two scheduled practices on Saturday, after which he hoped to be able to use the final practice to get ready for Sunday's race himself. Setzer, a veteran of the Craftsman Truck Series who has had considerable success at Martinsville in that series, will be standing by if relief help is needed -- or if Sadler is unable to start the race at all.

"It will be Elliott's call," McArdle said. "Working with me, I think we'll try to make the best decision that we can. ... I don't think anything is assured at this point."

After his brief practice time Friday, Sadler did not sound optimistic about lasting long on Sunday -- if he can even begin the race.

"I was in a lot of pain right there," Sadler said. "I know Dennis is going to practice the car for us tomorrow one practice, and I might do the second practice. But right now we're looking at me probably starting the race and then putting Dennis in it right away.

"At least we can start where we qualified if I'm able to go on Sunday. If not, I guess we'll go to the back."

Sadler said he is perplexed about what brought on the intense back pain.

Dennis Setzer

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"I don't know. I wish I knew," he said. "I don't really know what happened. Just Wednesday afternoon it just started hurting, ailing me pretty bad. They say I've got a couple disks out; [the] S-1 joint is out. I've just got a few things wrong right now. I've got my doctor and my chiropractor, I went to see them [Thursday] -- and they're actually coming up here [Friday] night to check on me. They're doing everything they can to get me right for Sunday."

McArdle added: "We really don't know too much detail about the nature of the injury other than that it's lower back and it seems to be involving a lot of nerve damage."

McArdle added that he doesn't yet know if it will be necessary for Sadler to have a magnetic resonance imaging test or further examination to determine the full extent of his injury.

"Actually, I don't have any idea," McArdle said. "That's really completely up to the medical people, and I'd hesitate to even stick my foot into those waters. He has been utilizing his own private physician, and we're perfectly happy to have him take that as his direction.

"I really can't tell you what medical recommendations are going to be. He's been on-site here for the last 18 hours or so, and following medical directives."

Sadler currently is 20th in points in the 2008 driver standings, 274 points behind leader Kyle Busch. He has one top-10 finish, which came when he finished sixth in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Setzer, a Truck Series regular, has only eight career Cup starts, all in 1998. Driving Bill Elliott's No. 13 Ford, Setzer's best finish was 19th at Talladega. He finished 38th at Martinsville. Setzer does have a top-10 finish at Martinsville in the Nationwide Series.

Setzer is a 17-race winner in the Truck Series with seven finishes in the top 10 in points. He has made 16 Truck Series starts at Martinsville with two wins, six top-fives and nine top-10s. He has one top-10 in three starts this year and is currently ninth in points.

Sadler, an avid basketball fan whose own scholarship basketball career at James Madison was cut short by a knee injury, has planned to attend the University of North Carolina's Elite Eight game in the NCAA Tournament Saturday at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C. McArdle was jokingly asked if the injury was serious enough to keep Sadler away from that big game.

"If I had to answer that right now, I would have to say that I don't think he would be able to do it if he had to sit. But he might be able to stand and cheer," McArdle replied with a smile.

Only time will tell if Sadler can sit and drive -- and for how long -- on Sunday.