OH CANADA: Elliott Sadler will hit Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the first time in his career this weekend for the NAPA Auto Parts 200. The Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) driver will makes his debut at the Montreal, Canada road course in the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala as the NASCAR Nationwide Series hits the final road course on the 2011 schedule.
TURNING RIGHT AND LEFT: Sadler has 24 starts at road courses in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including 12 starts at both Watkins Glen International and Infineon Raceway with a total of six top-10 finishes. In the Nationwide Series, Sadler has made five starts at road courses, including three starts at Watkins Glen, one start at Road America and one start at Autodrome Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico.
ALWAYS COMPETING: Although not on the race track, Sadler will take to a different kind of competition this week: Fishing. The Emporia, Va., driver will hit the water this week as part of the Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament in the Outer Banks, N.C.
KHI IN MONTREAL: KHI has made a total of five starts at the Montreal, Canada track since the inaugural event in 2007 with three top-five finishes. Max Papis earned the highest-finishing spot for the organization in 2010 with a second-place finish.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 OneMain Financial team has prepared chassis No. 076 for the event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The 2.71-mile road course will be the debut of the chassis for the organization.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet team finished 10th at Watkins Glen International last Saturday afternoon. The KHI team qualified in the fourth position for the second road-course event of the season and remained near the front of the field until the team was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop near the halfway mark. The KHI crew removed grass from the grille, which had collected as cars in front of the No. 2 went off course, to prevent the car from over-heating. Sadler battled his way back and brought home the team’s 15th top-10 finish of the season.
TO THE POINT: Sadler remains in the third position in the Nationwide Series Driver’s Point Standings, 24 points behind leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and 14 points behind Reed Sorenson with 10 events remaining in the season.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler
How do you feel heading into this week’s race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
“I’m looking forward to heading up to Montreal. This will be my first time competing at the track, but I was able to go up there a few months ago and get a lay of the land. We were up for a media event and had the opportunity to drive a few people around in a van. I did get to see how narrow the track is, and there is no run off room. Saving your car and keeping your car in one piece until the very end is going to be very important. All I’ve heard is how amazing the fans are in Canada, how much they welcome the NASCAR teams and drivers and how excited they get during race weekend. I’m looking forward to my first trip to get to race in front of a lot of Canadian fans. It’s a road course, which I feel very confident about, and I think it’s going to be a great weekend.”
ARE YOU A CODE SPOTTER? This month kicks off the NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion VIP Experience segment of the Code Spotter sweepstakes. Fans can play the Nationwide Insurance Code Spotter Sweepstakes for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind VIP Experience with the Nationwide Series champion. To play, enter the code ELLIOTTSADLER once per day through midnight on September 5th at www.CodeSpotter.com.
MOST POPULAR DRIVER: Sadler is eligible for the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver award. Fans can vote for Sadler now through November 17 on www.NASCARNationwideSeries.com.