An in-depth look at Elliott Sadler and how he might work on your fantasy NASCAR team for 2008.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ 2007 season definitely emphasized the sad in Sadler. After joining the season midway through the 2006 season, the team had high hopes entering 2007. Unfortunately things got off course during offseason testing and the team spent the entire season righting the ship. As a result Sadler spent the year fighting ill-handling cars and experiencing his worst points finish since his second season in 2000. His 59.8 driver rating was 25th best and sums up a season with only 2 top ten finishes.

No where to go but up?

Things will certainly improve for Sadler and the team in 2008, but the big question is how much improvement? Obviously this hinges on GEM’s progress with the CoT and if they have resolved their intermediate track issues. Sadler made the Chase in 2004 and was in a great position to match that feat in 2005 before the bottom fell out and he hasn’t threatened for a Chase spot since.

Evernham’s cars have traditionally excelled on the intermediate tracks, not to mention qualifying, and both should play to Sadler’s strengths as a driver. He qualified pretty well in 2007, but quickly fell back in the races. With improved cars this year Sadler could actually take advantage of his starting position (17.4 since 2006). Texas is one of the better speedway tracks for Sadler and could be a spot where Evernham makes strides in 2008. Sadler is also an excellent plate racer at both Talladega and Daytona. And don’t think his plate success was only with Yates power. He finished 6th at the Daytona 500 and led 25 laps at the fall Talladega race before a late crash. Evernham, and Dodge in general, have made significant gains on restrictor plate tracks.

Elliott Sadlers best tracks

Two of Sadler’s better tracks might surprise you. He’s an underrated road racer. Wins aren’t quite in his grasp at Sonoma or Watkins Glen, but he has proven top tens are realistic. In 18 career starts in serpentine tracks he has 5 top tens. Sonoma is actually his strongest track based on average finish (15.4). He also tends to run well at tricky places like Dover, Bristol and Darlington.

Elliott Sadler’s new crew chief

New crew chief/team director/guy with clipboard and headset on pit box Rodney Childers moves over from the #10 team. He replaces Josh Browne, who is probably best known for getting suspended for the Daytona 500 for rules infractions (he’s also a very reliable placekicker). Childers previously worked with Scott Riggs for the last three years and helped Riggs to a nice 2006 season.

Is 2008 Elliott Sadler’s season?

This is a big year for Sadler. 7 out of his 9 seasons have finished with a points standing in the 20’s, yet he’s not that far removed from his breakout 2004 season when he finished 9th and won two races. This is his tenth full time season and at age 33 he’s in his supposed prime. He is capable of good runs at almost any type of track, but the key will be knocking out consistent results. At this point in his career arc he might be in the Dale Jarrett late bloomer mold (compare Elliott Sadler with Dale Jarrett’s numbers through 9 seasons and there are similarities), or go the way of the dodo like a Jeremy Mayfield.

Improving 13 spots in the points is a lofty goal, especially coming off a down year for the team. Sadler is a good enough driver that if GEM hits the setup with the CoT, he could win a race this year. That would be a welcome sight. His last win came at the fall Fontana race in 2004. A reasonable expectation is an improvement over the last two years but not quite to his 2004 level. How about a points finish in the high teens with 2 top 5’s and 9 top tens.

See our complete Elliott Sadler NASCAR Statistics.