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| Elliott Sadler |
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Like many drivers in NASCAR, Elliott Sadler began racing go-karts at a young age.
Sadler racked up more than 200 go-kart victories since he first took to a track at age 7. From karts he became a championship Late-Model driver, then moved to the Winston Racing Series at age 18, competing a full season in 1993.
By 1995 Sadler was making his Busch Series debut, finishing eighth at South Boston. Sadler ran a limited Busch schedule in '96, finishing fifth in the season finale.
Sadler started his first full Busch Series season in '97 by winning the pole in the season-opener at Daytona. It was the first of four poles that year, the third of which at Nazareth resulted in his first career victory. Twice that season Sadler started a race first and finished the same. In all, Sadler recorded three wins, six top-fives, 10 top-10s and finished fifth in the final point standings.
Sadler finished eighth in the Busch standings in 1998 and made his Cup debut that year as well.
In 1999 the Wood Brothers gave Sadler his first opportunity to race in the Cup Series full time. But he only had one top-10 that season and again the next year.
In March 2001 Sadler won his first Cup race, at Bristol, setting a track record by winning from the 38th starting position, the deepest any driver had ever started at the half-mile track and gone on to win.
Sadler's victory gave the legendary Wood Brothers, who throughout the years fielded cars driven by David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Dale Jarrett, a win for the fifth consecutive decade.
Still, it wasn't until 2004 that he had his breakout year. Driving for Robert Yates Racing and with championship crew chief Todd Parrott, Sadler set career highs with two wins, eight top-fives and 14 top-10s to make the inaugural Chase. He was one of only four drivers that season to stay in the top 10 in points the entire year and finished ninth in the final standings.
In 2005, Sadler left Robert Yates Racing during the season to drive the No. 19 for Evernham Motorsports.
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