Veteran excited for another crack at Cup competition

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MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Elliott Sadler will shed the "former" tag for the next four weeks.

Sadler, 38, will make his first start for Michael Waltrip Racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, stepping in to finish the season for Brian Vickers in the team’s No. 55 Toyota.

Vickers was forced to end his season earlier this month in order to begin treatments for a blood clot in his right leg.

Sadler, a three-time winner in NASCAR’s premier level, says the game plan for the final four races is simple.

"We’re here to win the damn race," he said Friday during media availability at Martinsville. "Whether it’s this weekend, next weekend, Phoenix or Homestead, it can happen. That’s the attitude we have.

"We’re going to look at it as we have nothing to lose. We’re not trying to battle for any points or anything like that so we can try different stuff, different pit strategy. To sit here and tell you that I just want to … be competitive and not do much is a lie. I want to come out here and qualify good each week, run good each week and put ourselves in position to be there at the end of the race.

"I’m a competitor, no matter what I play, no matter what I race, I want to be involved and be competitive."

Sadler competes full time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where he is fifth in points with three races remaining. He trails points leader Austin Dillon by 78 points.

He has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 24 career starts at Martinsville in Cup competition. It’s been three years since he last competed on the tight 0.526-mile track.

"It’s kind of a tough track … it involves a lot of rhythm, you’ve got to hit your marks and you can’t overdrive the corners," Sadler said. "You’ve really got to find that groove and keep it going. …

"I think it’s going to take a couple of laps to get the rhythm back down in a Cup car. I haven’t been in a Cup car on a short track in a long time."

Sadler said he "leaned on" MWR driver Clint Bowyer and JGR’s Denny Hamlin to get an idea of what to expect given his short-track absence in a Cup entry.

"Just about things to look for," he said. "How the car needs to be maybe on Saturday to be good on Sunday, because this is a different … tire than I raced the last time I was here. Yes, I want it to be a good track for me, but I do understand … I’ve got to find my rhythm early here."

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Keystone Light Pole Award winner Denny Hamlin gets first choice

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After winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole, Denny Hamlin claimed the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole and the first pit stall on pit road, near Turn 2 on the half-mile Martinsville Speedway in his home state of Virginia.

Johnny Sauter, the spring winner at the paper clip-shaped track, was second-fastest in qualifying and chose the 16th pit stall, five boxes away from the start/finish line and toward Hamlin’s stall.

The third-fastest qualifier, Darrell Wallace Jr., chose the fifth stall, four behind his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Hamlin. Fourth-fastest Ron Hornaday Jr. and his No. 9 team selected the 33rd stall with an opening behind him. Ty Dillon, who qualified fifth, chose the 22nd stall with an opening in front of his box, right at the start/finish line.

The Kroger 200 rolls off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

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iRacing Awards $30,000+ to World Championship Sim-Racers

Bedford MA (October 23, 2013) – Tyler Hudson captured the 2013 NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series last night in dramatic fashion, taking a third place finish in the online racing season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to dethrone two-time champion Ray Alfalla in the closest point race in series history.  Hudson will receive a check from iRacing.com for $10,000 for his efforts, along with a trip to the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finale and a NASCAR championship ring, which will be awarded in ceremonies honoring NASCAR’s 2013 champions at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on December 11.

“Hats off to Ray . . . you’ll always be a champion,” said Hudson, of Brandon, MS.  “Thank you, iRacing!  This is a great opportunity for all of us who compete here and it wouldn’t be possible without this service.  This means the world to me. I’ve always been a hard core sim-racer and I’ve always wanted to win this series.  I never thought it was realistic, but we did it!! Thank you, thank you thank you.”

Alfalla hardly went away empty handed.  The series runner-up collected $3,000, bringing his NiSWC winnings to $23,000 over the past three years.  Nick Ottinger, who led all NiSWC competitors with six wins this season, finished third in the standings and will pocket $1500 while fourth and fifth place finishers Michael Conti and Brian Schoenburg will receive $1000 and $500, respectively.   

The $16,000 in NiSWC cash awards, coupled with a similar prize structure in the sister series for virtual Formula One cars  — the iRacing.com Grand Prix World Championship Series – brings the total cash payout in iRacing’s two world championships to $32,000 this year.  Last month, Greger Huttu of Finland earned $10,000 by claiming his third iWCGPS title ahead of The Netherlands’ Atze Kerkhof and 2011 champion Hugo Luis of Brazil, who collected $3000 and $1500 respectively.   Jake Stergios earned $1000 for finishing fourth in the iWGPS standings and Martin Krönke received $500 for his fifth place finish.     

The green flags wave on the 2014 NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship and iRacing.com World Championship Grand Prix Series next February.  In the meantime, visit the www.iracing.com to learn more about the world’s most popular online motorsports simulation service and enjoy the following:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LppUNwdCiug&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL55FD8A5F9F5FB3E2

COME MEET ALEX

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Denny Hamlin will qualify Friday Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 2

# Trk Driver Team
1 10 * Jennifer Jo Cobb @NetworkWV RAM
2 07 Jimmy Weller BYF.org Toyota
3 57 Norm Benning Watt’s Truck Center Chevrolet
4 84 Brad Riethmeyer Stacker2 Chevrolet
5 99 Bryan Silas Bell Trucks America Ford
6 21 * Spencer Gallagher Allegiant Travel Chevrolet
7 68 * Clay Greenfield ClutchDefense.com RAM
8 93 * Chris Jones RSS Racing Chevrolet
9 33 * Brandon Jones Exide Chevrolet
10 24 Brennan Newberry # Qore-24 Chevrolet
11 60 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Chevrolet
12 14 * Kevin Harvick(i) Anderson`s Maple Syrup / Kroger Chevrolet
13 75 * Caleb Holman Food Country USA / Anderson`s Maple Syrup Chevrolet
14 81 Timmy Hill(i) PocketFinder.com Chevrolet
15 22 * John H. Nemechek SWM / PelletGrillusa.com / D.A.B. Constructors Toyota
16 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet
17 30 * Ben Kennedy Chevrolet
18 92 * Scott Riggs(i) Carquest WorldPac / Goodyear Fleet HQ / QMI Chevrolet
19 3 Ty Dillon Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
20 31 James Buescher Rheem Chevrolet
21 7 John Wes Townley Zaxby`s Toyota
22 8 Max Gresham AmWINS Chevrolet
23 32 Miguel Paludo AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet
24 17 Timothy Peters Parts Plus Toyota
25 29 Ryan Blaney # Cooper Standard Ford
26 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
27 9 Ron Hornaday Jr. Smokey Mountain Chevrolet
28 88 Matt Crafton Menards / Ideal Door Toyota
29 18 Joey Coulter Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota
30 94 * Chase Elliott Aaron`s Dream Machine / Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet
31 77 German Quiroga # OtterBox / NET10 Wireless Toyota
32 27 * Jeff Agnew West Virginia Coal Association Chevrolet
33 98 Johnny Sauter Carolina Nut / Curb Records Toyota
34 4 Jeb Burton # Arrowhead/KangarooExpress Chevrolet
35 6 * Daniel Hemric Jack Link`s / Express Oil Change & Service Chevrolet
36 19 Ross Chastain Carbon Forged Reese Towpower Ford
37 54 Darrell Wallace Jr. # ToyotaCare Toyota
38 51 Denny Hamlin(i) Jordan Brand Toyota
* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

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Kyle Busch will be the final qualifier on Friday, Oct. 25, 3:40 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

# Car Driver Team
1 55 Elliott Sadler(i) RK Motors Collector Car Auctions Toyota
2 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford
3 38 David Gilliland Long John Silver`s Ford
4 27 Paul Menard Menards / Turtle Wax Chevrolet
5 41 Aric Almirola Maurice Petty Hall of Fame Inductee Ford
6 40 Landon Cassill(i) Moonshine Attitude Attire Chevrolet
7 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
8 31 Jeff Burton Sleep Innovations / Dow Chevrolet
9 83 David Reutimann Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota
10 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
11 95 Reed Sorenson(i) Ford
12 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald`s Chevrolet
13 39 Ryan Newman State Water Heaters Chevrolet
14 32 Ken Schrader U.S. Chrome Ford
15 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
16 14 Mark Martin Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet
17 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford
18 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
19 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Driven for a Cause Ford
20 99 Carl Edwards Geek Squad Ford
21 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx One Rate Toyota
22 10 Danica Patrick # GoDaddy Breast Cancer Awareness Chevrolet
23 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
24 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
25 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe`s Chevrolet
26 13 Casey Mears GEICO Ford
27 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
28 29 Kevin Harvick Rheem Chevrolet
29 34 David Ragan Taco Bell Ford
30 47 Bobby Labonte Clorox Toyota
31 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row / Denver Mattress Chevrolet
32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet
33 30 Cole Whitt(i) Widow Wax / Lean1 Toyota
34 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
35 36 JJ Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
36 35 Josh Wise(i) MDS Transport Ford
37 87 Joe Nemechek(i) NEMCO – JRR Toyota
38 33 Tony Raines(i) Little Joe’s Autos Chevrolet
39 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota
40 93 Travis Kvapil Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota
41 51 Kyle Larson(i) Target Chevrolet
42 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
43 18 Kyle Busch M&M`s Halloween Toyota
* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

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Live: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, 5 p.m. ET

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Martinsville

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Watch: Camping World Truck Series GarageCam 10 a.m. ET

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

View all articles
View all videos
View all photos

MORE:

READ: Johnson’s best track
is Kenseth’s biggest test

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown:
Martinsville

READ: Logano learning
from first time in Chase

WATCH: Almirola unveils
No. 41 for Maurice Petty