RICHMOND, VA - SEPTEMBER 21: Elliott Sadler, driver of the #1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Xfinity Series GoBowling 250 at Richmond Raceway on September 21, 2018 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
Elliott Sadler and the president of Homestead-Miami Speedway got into a shouting match
Shane Walters
Elliott Sadler is set to run his final NASCAR race as a full-time driver; Yet, he couldn’t get by security at the gate of Homestead-Miami Speedway
Elliott Sadler:Â “Homestead, please get some folks in here who know what they’re doing. I don’t know who the president is of this track. But, he needs to wake up.”
Elliott Sadler is set to run his 395th NASCAR Xfinity Series race. That will add to his 438 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and another 20 in the NASCAR Truck Series.
After 853 races, the now JR Motorsports driver Sadler will retire from his full-time NASCAR career. This weekend, Homestead-Miami Speedway has a ‘Thanks Elliott’ sign at the track. Unfortunately, even a driver with sign had issues getting by security.
Sadler showed up to the security gate without his parking pass. The officials wanted him to leave his vehicle and ride the tram to the bus area, where his parking pass was. Security then wanted him to come back out, with the proper pass and take his vehicle into the area. Sadler did not want to do that.
Sadler offered the security team to ride with him to his bus where he could get his parking pass. He explained that he would then bring the security team back out.
Elliott Sadler on hard card issues
“This place has always been tough with their security. I remember Kasey Kahne’s incident here a couple years ago,” Elliott Sadler opened in the Homestead-Miami Speedway media center.
Been racing 23 years .. and for the first time ever .. this card does not get you in the gates at @HomesteadMiami … yal security is a joke .. pic.twitter.com/HibKDZ7CEr
“The people that run this track have no clue, even who they’re doing security for. So, I get here to the track this morning. I have my hard card. My dad has his hard card, my mom has hers. My kids don’t have a hard card because they’re 8 and 6.”
“I pull up to the back gate. They say, ‘Well, you can’t go in.’ So, I thought it was a joke, right? Like, ‘This is pretty cool. It’s a prank.’ So, I called Wayne Auton, ‘Look, this is funny. But, it’s not funny.’ ”
Wayne Auton is the NASCAR Xfinity Series director.
“I was not disrespectful, I didn’t cuss at anybody. But, they would not let me in for awhile. The reason was, I didn’t have the right parking credentials. I just landed in a plane, my parking credentials are at the bus.
Security responded, “Well, you’re going to have to take the trolly in.”
“I’m like, ‘I’m not riding a tweak-trolly — You know, that damn thing,” Sadler said with a laugh as he was worked up and stumbled over the word trolly.
“My dad can’t walk really far, he had a stroke. My kids allergic to peanuts. We’re not getting on a thing that we don’t know anything about. ‘Look, it says driver.’ ”
The security officer responded, “Oh yeah, I know who you are. But, you’re still not going in.”
“I’m like, ‘Does anybody have any common sense at this race track?’ And then, all I could think about was the Kasey Kahne thing.”
“Finally, I had to steal a parking pass from somebody else. Until I could get inside to get mine — to get to my bus. The guy tells me he knows who I am but, he’s still not going to let me in. That really took the cake.”
“Homestead, please get some folks in here who know what they’re doing. I don’t know who the president is of this track. But, he needs to wake up.”
“Man, I’ve been doing this for 23 years. That’s the first time, ever that me and the gate guard, that he and I couldn’t have a common sense discussion. But hey, it took my mind off racing for awhile, in the last race. I felt like I still had some spunk. I was mad.”
Elliott Sadler vs track president Matthew Becherer
At this point the moderator moved things along. He pointed to the next media member and gave him the green light noting it to go ahead, ‘with your non-hard card question.’
The press conference continued for another 20 minutes. On the conclusion, Elliott Sadler and the track president of Homestead-Miami Speedway got into a shouting match in the media center.