DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet will head south to Fort Worth, Texas for the second NASCAR Nationwide Series event of the season at Texas Motor Speedway. The Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team found success at the track in the first appearance of the season with a solid fifth-place finish, and the OneMain Financial team hopes to keep the momentum up on a streak of nine top-10 finishes in the last 10 races.
LONE STAR RACING: Sadler has competed at the 1.5-mile track seven times in the Nationwide Series, and has brought home three top-five and four top-10 finishes. He won the pole in 1998 and has a best finish of second the same year. Sadler has made 18 starts at Texas in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including a pole in 2010 and a win in 2004. Sadler also has one start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the track where he earned a fifth-place finish.
KHI AT TEXAS: KHI has made a total of 18 starts at Texas, including five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Team co-owner Kevin Harvick earned the organization’s sole pole at the track in 2008, and Tony Stewart holds the best KHI finish at Texas with a second-place finish he earned in 2009.
BACK-TO-BACK WITH ONEMAIN FINANCIAL: OneMain Financial will be pulling double-duty at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition to the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet with Sadler in the Nationwide Series, OneMain Financial will be on board with four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday in the Friday night Truck Series event. The duo will sport the OneMain Financial paint scheme as both contend for their respective series’ championship.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will unload chassis No. 082 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The chassis is new to the KHI stable and will hit the track for the first time this weekend.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Sadler and the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet team earned a fourth-place finish under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Battling near the front for most of the event, Sadler was able to snag his 12th top-five finish of the season. The finish also earned the KHI team $100,000 as part of the final segment of the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash promotion.
TO THE POINT: The solid performance at Charlotte helped the team earn five points in the championship battle. With three events remaining on the schedule, Sadler remains in second place, 15 points behind the leader the Nationwide Series Driver’s Point standings.
MEET ELLIOTT SADLER: Fans will have the opportunity to meet Sadler at the OneMain Financial Branch at 2430 South Interstate 35 East, Suite 182 in Denton, Texas. Beginning at 4 p.m. CT, the drivers will meet fans and sign autographs.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler
How do you feel heading into this week’s race at Texas?
“I’m pumped to go back to Texas. We had a great race there back in the spring with a top-five finish. With only three races left to go for the Nationwide Series championship, it’s now or never for us. We feel good about our team, about our car and about our plan to battle for this championship. Texas is a track that I’ve had success at in the past, including a win in the Cup Series back in 2004. I have a lot of confidence coming back here, especially after doing so well here in the past. Our team has done their part, so we just have to go out there and put all the pieces of the puzzle together. I’m looking forward to a great race as we try to get our best finish and gain the most points that we can.”
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.