KANSAS CITY (Oct. 9, 2011) - Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet battled to a third-place finish in the Saturday afternoon event at Kansas Speedway. In the 29th event on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team rebounded from a tough race at Dover International Speedway to earn the team’s 11th top-five finish of the season.
The green flag waved on the autumn afternoon with Sadler in the 12th position, but was quickly slowed on the fifth lap for an accident in turns one and two. Crew chief Ernie Cope instructed the driver to not pit, and the field resumed racing on lap eight.
By lap 21, Sadler pushed his way forward into the top 10 and began to show speed as he posted lap times faster than the leader. The OneMain Financial machine passed the No. 6 car to move into the eighth position as the yellow flag waved for debris on lap 40.
Sadler told the crew that the No. 2 was loose and needed a bit more right-rear grip as Cope called the Chevrolet down pit road for the first stop of the afternoon. The KHI crew serviced the car with four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help tighten the car.
Sadler restarted on lap 45 in the eighth position and moved his way to the seventh spot by the time the third caution fell on lap 62 for debris. Sadler communicated that the adjustments from the previous stop made the car a bit too tight as he steered the No. 2 down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.
Coming to the restart on lap 66 in the 12th position, Sadler wasted little time moving forward through the field as he wheeled the No. 2 into the fourth position by lap 71. He quickly slid past the Nos. 60 and 20 for the second position, as he focused on cutting down the distance to the No. 22 for the lead.
Cope communicated with Sadler that he was consistently the fastest car on the track as the day’s third caution flag waved on lap 88 for oil on the track. Sadler told the KHI crew that the car was the best it had been all afternoon as he brought the No. 2 down pit road for right-side tires and fuel on lap 90.
The No. 2 restarted in the second position on lap 97, but was shuffled to the fifth position. As the laps ticked down on the green-flag run, the No. 2 continued to gain speed and run lap times faster than the leader as he held steady in the fifth spot.
Another caution came out on lap 142 for fluid on the track, and Cope told the KHI driver and crew that this stop was right at the fuel window. The No. 2 OneMain Financial crew bolted on four tires and added fuel, and Cope encouraged Sadler to conserve fuel when possible.
The field went back to green-flag conditions on lap 149 with the No. 2 in the sixth position, but quickly on the restart, Sadler gunned past several cars to move into fourth. Bearing down on the No. 18 car, Sadler wheeled the No. 2 into the third position on lap 163.
The field was slowed for the final time on lap 174 for a spin in turn two involving the No. 23 car. During the caution the OneMain Financial team took the opportunity to visit pit road taking four tires and fuel for the final stop of the day. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 179 with Sadler in the seventh spot. With a good restart, Sadler maneuvered past four cars to move into the third position by lap 182.
KHI teammate Paul Menard and Sadler battled for the third position for several laps, but Sadler was able to hold him off and sailed across the finish line third. The finish marks the team’s 11th top-five and 21st top-10 of the season as Sadler maintains the second position in the Nationwide Series Driver’s Point standings, 20 points out of the lead.
The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the second event of the season for a night under the lights on Friday. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and 7:00 p.m. on PRN
Comments from driver Elliott Sadler:
“We had a good car out there today. I think that last caution hurt us because our car was so good on long runs, but we can be pleased with the way we raced. I’m so proud of our team, especially as they rebounded from a hard race at Dover last weekend. Although we didn’t make up many points today, we know every point counts. We continue to work toward our goal of the championship and with four races to go, we are more ready than ever.”