Driver: Elliott Sadler
Team: No. 19 Gillette-Evernham Dodge
'08 Final Standing: 24th (-3324)
Best Race: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (4th-place)
Worst Race: Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta (43rd-place)
Season in a box: Sadler's 2008 campaign started with a bang thanks to a 6th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500. From there, however, things didn't pan out as Sadler would have expected.
It wasn't until the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May -- a span of nearly three and a half months -- until Sadler found the Top-10 again. The very next week, though, his luck reverted back after getting spun in this huge crash at Dover, forcing the No. 19 to a 42nd-place finish.
Sadler -- who possesses three career wins in the Sprint Cup Series -- managed just eight total Top-10s in 2008 to, unfortunately, match the number of finishes 35th or worse. For a stretch in the season, it seemed that nearly every week featured a wreck involving the No. 19 and that on-track activity left Sadler with an average 2008 finish of 24th -- a number that nearly mirrors his average career finish.
Through the crystal windshield: I can't really say I'll be expecting much of Sadler or the Gillette-Evernham operation in 2009. The team is rumored to be looking at a merger with one car from Petty Enterprises in the offseason, though the GEM case is different than the Chip Ganassi Racing/Dale Earnhardt Inc. merger in that team majority owner George Gillette has a solid portfolio and the team has secured most of its 2009 sponsorship.
Sadler will easily pull off a Top-5 finish here and there, but I don't see the lovable Virginian taking middle-tier equipment and winning races or making the Chase for the Sprint Cup like his teammate Kasey Kahne could.
Next up: Travis Kvapil
