Sadler is optimistic in wake of changes, return to Ford

It's common at the start of every season for drivers to paint the prettiest possible picture in hopes that high expectations will somehow yield better results on the race track.

More often than not, things don't work out quite that way.

2010 Cup Schedule

Track	Time (ET)	TV
Daytona	1 p.m.	FOX
Fontana	3 p.m.	FOX
Las Vegas	3 p.m.	FOX
Atlanta	1 p.m.	FOX
Bristol	1 p.m.	FOX
Martinsville	1 p.m.	FOX
Phoenix	7:30 p.m.	FOX
Texas	1 p.m.	FOX
Talladega	1 p.m.	FOX
Richmond	7:30 p.m.	FOX
Darlington	7:30 p.m.	FOX
Dover	1 p.m.	FOX
Charlotte	5:45 p.m.	FOX
Pocono	1 p.m.	TNT
Michigan	1 p.m.	TNT
Sonoma	3 p.m.	TNT
Loudon	1 p.m.	TNT
Daytona	7:30 p.m.	TNT
Chicago	7:30 p.m.	TNT
Indianapolis	1 p.m.	ESPN
Pocono	1 p.m.	ESPN
Watkins Glen	1 p.m.	ESPN
Michigan	1 p.m.	ESPN
Bristol	7:30 p.m.	ABC
Atlanta	7:30 p.m.	ESPN
Richmond	7:30 p.m.	ABC
Loudon	1 p.m.	ESPN
Dover	1 p.m.	ESPN
Kansas	1 p.m.	ESPN
Fontana	3 p.m.	ESPN
Charlotte	7:30 p.m.	ABC
Martinsville	1 p.m.	ESPN
Talladega	1 p.m.	ESPN
Texas	1 p.m.	ESPN
Phoenix	3 p.m.	ESPN
Homestead	1 p.m.	ESPN

But when Elliott Sadler boldly declared his optimism for 2010 on the recent Media Tour, it was pretty hard not to pay attention.

Is this the same Sadler who has finished no better than 22nd in points the past four Cup Series seasons, goes through crew chiefs faster than race tires and hasn't tasted victory since George W. Bush's first term in office?

Indeed.

You just wouldn't know it by his noticeably upbeat tone, which he said can be attributed to his return to Ford after three-plus seasons with Dodge, and reuniting with former team co-owner Doug Yates, whose Roush Yates Racing Engines will provide power for Sadler and his three Richard Petty Motorsports teammates.

RPM merged with Yates Racing in the offseason as the company switched manufacturers and added Yates driver Paul Menard to the lineup. Sadler, who claimed two of his three career victories with Ford and Robert Yates Racing in 2004, is optimistic that some old scenery can help produce some new speed.

"I'm going to put this as straight as I can put it: All my success in this sport has come with a Ford, whether it's been wins and poles and things like this," Sadler said. "I know you've heard it 100 times about people being excited about starting up the new season, but getting back with Doug Yates and his engine program, I'm so glad I have been able to keep that relationship the last four years.

"They have really rolled out the red carpet for me this offseason -- Ford has, Doug Yates has -- to get back in this blue oval and they want to prove to everybody, just like I want to prove to everybody, that I'm still a good race car driver, still belong in this sport and still can lead laps and win races and do things like that."

Sadler was last a consistent contender in 2005, when he scored 12 top-10 finishes on the way to a 13th-place points finish in a Yates Ford. The 2004 season with Yates, Sadler's best to date, produced 14 top-10s, a berth in the inaugural Chase and a ninth-place points finish.

Sadler earned the first of this three wins at Bristol in March 2001 -- driving a Ford for Wood Brothers Racing.

Now 34 and mired in the biggest slump of his career, Sadler may need to recapture some of the magic of yesteryear if he hopes to retain his ride for the foreseeable future. Is 2010 a do or die proposition for the affable Emporia, Va., native?

"It's a performing business and our sport is no different than football. The drivers are like quarterbacks is the way I like describe it and usually the great ones are getting the results at the end of the day," said Robbie Loomis, RPM's director of competition. "I don't think he's on the hot seat any more than I'm on the hot seat. I think that it's up to us as an organization to put the pieces in place around him to be able to go out there and do the job."

Returning as Sadler's crew chief is Wally Rogers, who replaced Kevin Buskirk in August. Sadler is eager to get business under way at Daytona, where he led the 2009 Daytona 500 before being overhauled by Matt Kenseth and four others moments before the final caution flag waved because of rain.

The race did not resume and was declared official 48 laps shy of the advertised distance with Sadler, who had led 24 consecutive laps before plummeting to fifth.

"The Daytona 500 last year still haunts me to this day," said Sadler, whose best finish in the Great American Race was second with the Wood Brothers in 2002. "To miss winning the biggest race of the year and probably a life-changing experience and only miss it by 15 seconds was very hard to swallow. It's still hard to swallow now. I'm sure when we go back to Daytona getting ready for Speedweeks, it'll be kind of that same feeling again.

"Doug Yates and I have come very close to winning the 500 a couple times. We've won a couple [qualifying] races together, so we're looking forward to getting back down there and getting our feet wet and hopefully starting the season off on a good note."

He'll certainly arrive with a positive outlook.

"I feel better about this season than I have about racing in a long time," Sadler said.