(born
April 30 ,
1975 in
Emporia, Virginia ) is a race car driver in the
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. He currently drives the #19 Dodge Avenger for
Gillett Evernham Motorsports with teammates
Scott Riggs and
Kasey Kahne . He has three career
Craftsman Truck Series starts, his best finish coming at Richmond in 2000. His older brother
Hermie Sadler races in the
NASCAR Busch Series and occasionally in the NEXTEL Cup series.
Sadler began racing in go-karts at the age of seven, and moved up to the Late Model
Stock Car division at the local race track. His accomplishments include over 200 total wins, the 1983-84
Virginia State Karting Championship, and the
North Carolina Gold Cup in 1991-92. He was runner-up in 1989 for the
World Karting Association national title.
When he turned 18, he moved to the
Winston Racing Series and ran full-time beginning in 1993. That same year, he achieved his first victory, and in 1995 was crowned track champion at
South Boston Speedway , where he achieved 13 wins that year, including a 6-race winning streak.
Sadler attended
James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, Virginia and was a walk-on on the basketball team until he injured his knee, effectively ending his basketball career.
Sadler made his
Busch Series debut in 1995 at South Boston. He qualified fifteenth in the #46
DeWalt Tools Chevy, and finished eighth. He ran another race that season at
Richmond International Raceway , but finished 24th. He began 1996 driving a part-time schedule for his family-owned team, before switching over to the #29
WCW Chevy owned by
Diamond Ridge Motorsports . He had three top-tens in the Diamond Ridge ride, his best finish coming at the
Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex , where he finished fifth. After making thirteen starts that year, he finished 35th in points.
Sadler and Diamond Ridge began 1997 unsponsored, but grabbed two poles, at
Daytona and
Darlington respectively. Midway through the season,
Phillips 66 came onboard as the team's sponsor and Sadler won his first career race at
Nazareth Speedway . He followed that up with back-to-back wins at
Myrtle Beach Speedway and
Gateway International Raceway . He won an additional four pole positions and finished a career-best fifth in points. He also attempted the
UAW-GM Quality 500 in the Cup Series for
Team SABCO , but failed to qualify.
In 1998, Sadler's team switched to the #66, and won early in the season at Bristol. He made his Cup debut at
Charlotte Motor Speedway in the #92 for Diamond Ridge, starting 31st but finishing 42nd after an engine failure. He ran another Cup race later at Bristol, finishing 24th. After another win at
North Carolina Speedway , Sadler announced he would leave Diamond Ridge at the end of the season.
Sadler moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 1999, driving the #21
Citgo Ford Taurus for
Wood Brothers Racing . His best finish that year was a tenth at
Texas Motor Speedway , and he finished 24th in points, runner-up to
Tony Stewart for
Rookie Of The Year honors. He also returned to the Busch Series on a part-time basis, filling in for the injured
Andy Santerre for
Innovative Motorsports , his best finish fifth at
California Speedway . He also drove a handful of races for
Lyndon Amick . Sadler's only top-ten finish in 2000 was a tenth at Bristol, after failing to qualify at
Talladega Superspeedway , and he dropped to twenty-ninth in points.
In 2001,
Motorcraft became Sadler's new sponsor, and he won his first career Cup race at Bristol. He had another top-ten and finished 20th in points. After seven top-tens and a drop to 23rd in points in 2002, Sadler left for Robert Yates Racing to drive the #38
M&M's Ford. In his first season of competition with Yates, Sadler won the pole at
Darlington Raceway and
Talladega Superspeedway , and finished 22nd in points. The following season, Sadler won at
Texas Motor Speedway and
California Speedway and finished a career high ninth in the championship standings.
Sadler failed to win again in 2005, but won four poles. He also drove sixteen races for RYR's Busch car, the #90
Citifinancial Taurus, and had three top-five finishes. In 2006, Sadler had a pole at Talladega and was nineteenth in points. He made seven Busch starts, his best finish was second at Richmond. After a lack of results, Sadler left RYR midway through 2006 for
Gillett Evernham Motorsports .
In the 2007 Daytona 500, Sadler among many other drivers were caught in a cheating scandal. Despite being docked 25 points, he still went on to finish 6th. Sadler then has had many ups and downs throughout the season.
- Sadler made his Nextel Cup debut at 21 years old, and his age matched his car number at the time 21, owned by the Wood Brothers.
- Sadler is a huge fan of the University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill athletics. Brother Hermie was a lacrosse team equipment manager, and a roommate of Benny Parsons' son Keith.
- He loves hunting, and during the off season, he serves as a hunting guide in Virginia . He is also an avid golfer, playing two times a week during the racing season.
- Sadler keeps 38 (a reference to his former car number) hunting dogs at his Virginia home, and he can identify each of them by the sound of their bark. That was also a reference his old sponsor Mars, Inc, through its Pedigree Food for Dogs.
- Elliott was involved in 6 sports in high school, excelling in baseball and basketball. He was recruited by no fewer than 18 colleges.
- Elliott was named after his uncle Bud Elliott, whom Sadler credits as starting the racing tradition.
- Elliott Sadler is on the cover of EA Sports NASCAR 07 video game box in the #38 M&Ms Ford but had switched to the #19 Dodge Dealers Dodge prior to the game coming out
