With his sixth place finish in Saturday’s Xfinity series race at Mid-Ohio, Elliott Sadler was able to keep himself in contention for a season title — something he’s been very used to during his eight years as a full-time Xfinity driver.
While Sadler is still looking for his first season title, he’s been close to the top of the mountain, finishing in the top six in each of the past seven years with four runner-up positions to his name.
“That’s what it’s all about — keeping in the championship picture,” he said. “I’ve finished second in four of the last six years. I’ve got a good team. I wish I could take all the credit, but that’s not right. I think we have a lot of depth on our team and we make the most of every weekend.”
Currently, Sadler stands at second in the Xfinity season points standings after his sixth place finish Saturday. Since the series came to the Morrow County race track, he’s finished sixth three times in four years. That consistency isn’t just on display at Mid-Ohio, as his season to date has been littered with top 10 finishes (17 in 21 races). When talking to Sadler before this year’s race, he noted that with a bit of luck, he could have finished better than sixth last year.
“Last year, we were leading and got wrecked and had to work up and get sixth,” he said. “Our car felt really good last year, so we’re coming back with the same package. We hope to make the gains we need to finish a couple spots higher.”
While he did finish sixth again, it was on a track that the veteran driver who had competed at every level of NASCAR (main series, Xfinity and the truck series) over the past 23 years enjoys competing at.
“I love Mid-Ohio,” he said. “It’s a very technical track that’s very narrow, especially on the back side. It’s a neat racetrack and probably my favorite road course.”
Sadler isn’t just involved in racing, as he’s involved with the Seconds Count initiative and partnered with AUVI-Q as a result of his son, Wyatt, being diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy before his second birthday.
“That was extremely scary for me,” he said. “I gave him half a peanut since I was eating one and his face changed colors. We really had to make ourselves aware as caretakers. It was the scariest moment of my life.”
With AUVI-Q, Wyatt has an easily-carried source of medicine he can keep in his pocket in case of an incident. Sadler also noted that his son, currently eight, also has taken it upon himself to be aware of what he’s eating.
“He does a great job as an eight-year old of being aware of his surroundings and the ingredients of his food,” he said. “I want to use my platform to let people know its okay. We travel somewhere each and every day. It puts a lot of things in perspective. We do everything we can to create a safe environment. We’re very fortunate to have AUVI-Q. If an emergency happens, it’ll walk you through the steps.”
