Having announced that 2018 will be his final full-time NASCAR season, Elliott Sadler would certainly like to wrap up his successful career with another run at the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
Monday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 (10 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could be a pivotal race in Sadler earning a second consecutive regular-season crown along the way.
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Sadler’s JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier – a four-time race winner this season – leads the standings by only 16 points over Sadler with two races remaining to set the playoff field. But when it comes to the historic and intimidating Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sadler has shown himself to be most proficient on the championship team.
He won the pole position last year in his No. 1 Chevrolet and has two top-five and five top-10 finishes in six races at the Brickyard. He is looking to hoist his first race trophy since 2016.
Allgaier is on a competitive roll with 12 consecutive top-10 finishes, including three wins and an average showing of 4.3 during that span. He’ll need to tap into that vibe this weekend, however, as he has only a 21.2 average finish on Indy’s big track.
The seven-race NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Sept. 21 at Richmond Raceway with the regular-season champ receiving a 15-point playoff bonus as a sendoff.