Sadler: “I really want to get one of their trophies here at this place.”
Across all 3 series of the top step of the NASCAR ladder, Elliott Sadler has 5 runner up finishes at Daytona. On top of that, he has a few more 3rd place runs. After all that, he still strikes out in the win column at Daytona.
The most notable 2nd place run came in 2002. Sadler finished 2nd to Ward Burton in the Daytona 500.
The strangest loss is probably the truck series race in 2011. Michael Waltrip was glued to Sadler’s bumper off turn 4. He pulled out and drove clear on by. How? Half of Michael Waltrip’s rear spoiler broke off at the end of the race giving him a huge advantage on straight away speeds.
Now, Elliott Sadler has just lost the closest finish in NASCAR history. The official margin of victory was .000. On paper, it’s a literal tie. But, photographic evidence shows Tyler Reddick beat him to the line by a few inches.
“This one hurts the most now,” Elliott Sadler said from the NASCAR Media Center. “Because it just happened.”
“I’ve been close here a lot of times. This one hurt today because you didn’t know. Did we? Or did we not? I was looking at the scoreboard. I was like, ‘Well the #9’s up there. So, that’s not a good sign.’ ”
“This one hurts a lot. I don’t know how many more starts I’ll have at this race track. I feel like I’ve always been pretty decent at this track. I’ve been very fortunate to be in good equipment at this track. Which makes a big difference.”
“I really want to get one of their trophies here at this place. It’s a very prestigious win, at Daytona. This one hurts a lot because it was so close.”
Closest finish in NASCAR history
NASCAR Truck Series
2011 at Daytona
Michael Waltrip’s spoiler breaks off
NASCAR Truck Series
More
Related: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona – February 17, 2018 – Report/Results
Related: Top 15 Closest NASCAR Finishes
Links
Elliott Sadler | Daytona | NASCAR
