Elliott Sadler Quotations

Until we can implement something on the cars with the bumpers or something to weaken the noses up a little bit, this is what we have to live with through Daytona.

Until somebody gets called in for a pass-through penalty or what have you, nobody really knows where the line is. I'm sure we're going to push the line and push the envelope a lot come Sunday.

We're still frustrated not being in the top 10. I think we're a good enough team to be in the Chase, but we're not going to hang our heads and cry about it. There's a lot of good race teams out there.

We're still frustrated not being in the top 10,

We're running sixth at Indy when I have a tire problem,

We're running good enough to make the Chase. If we get those situations back, we're well in the chase right now with a little bit of a cushion.

We're looking forward to going back to Talladega this weekend, ... I'm as confident about our chances at a restrictor plate race as I have been in a very long time. Whenever we go to a restrictor plate race, we know that the 24, 15 and the 8 are going to be strong. All the Chevrolets gang up together because they know they are going to be tough to beat.

We did everything in the world we could possibly do to help our program and it has showed. We have run very, very well on short tracks this year and it's helped our program.

We're just going too fast around here. The speeds are too much for this tire.

Right now, I could care less about New Hampshire. It's Bristol, California and Richmond -- that's it. We're going to bring the best stuff we've got these last three races starting with this weekend we're bringing back the car we won the pole and finished second with in the spring. It's hard to say whether you want to be going to Bristol with the situation we're in right now. It's a place where you're forced into a lot of situations that you don't necessarily want to be in. There's absolutely no give and take and anything can happen there so it's a well earned top-five if you can get one.

Nineteen laps to go, running for a million bucks, you're going to do every little trick in the trade and everything you know how to do to try and win the race, ... Mark outsmarted me a little bit on that one. That was a great job. He did a great job.

Only that car, ... My guys are doing such a great job and everything is just gelling together. We have been good all day long, but Ryan Newman doesn't stay out of the gas long so I went out there and knew what I had to do. It about scared me half to death.

I don't know why a different winner has won here every year. It's just whoever is hot at the right time.

Busch racing is so fun to me because there's no points involved and I can go race and try to win, take chances. We might make it on gas, we might not.

I have 32 dogs. I've been raising dogs for about 15 years. I'm not married. I don't have any kids. They're kind of like my kids when I go home.

I feel like going to Richmond there's only one thing we can do and that's go to try and win the race,

I feel like the pressure is not on us, ... I think the guys that are only one or 11 points behind or 10 points ahead of 10th place have more pressure.

From a mental standpoint, not from a nut-and-bolts thing with the race car, but from a mental standpoint I think this team is more focused and more ready to go. I feel like I'm the quarterback of this race team. It's time for me to act like it.

He doesn't mind telling you what's on his mind and kind of the plan that he wants to do. I'm the same way, so, we've kind of hit it off pretty good.

We're pretty optimistic. We think all we've got to do is go through the motions and get our cars comfortable and we're going to let the points take care of themselves.

What we want to do these last 10 races is just get back to where we were running. We know the world hasn't come to an end because we're not in the top 10. Our season is not over just because we're not in it. We've got to go out and win a couple of races for this team, our owners and our sponsors.

Guys are going to have to race their guts out to pass.

He's a great teacher. It's amazing what he understands about people and how to read them and get the most out of them. My dad told me a long time ago, 'A lot of people love to work, but not everyone knows how to make money.' I think Dale understands how to make money and make good decisions.

I actually am pretty pumped up for the next nine races.

Kevin's done a great job, ... He's been the man behind the scenes for the last two years. Everybody's been behind him the last two weeks and things are going really well.

It caught me off guard because no one called me and told me I was supposed to go. If they'd called, I would have gone. You have to take care of those who take care of the sport.

I think the guys that are only one of 11 points behind or 10 points ahead of 10th place have more pressure than we have,

I think the Ford Fusion is great. I like the way it drives. I've been very happy with the way my car feels in the racetrack. I like the new Fusion body. I can't wait to get it some drafting practice to see the full effects of it.

I think we just have a new attitude. We feel like we're all going into war together. I feel like I am the quarterback of this race team and it's time for me act like it.

I think when a team is found guilty of breaking the rules, the team should also lose points.

I think it's up to the drivers. We don't know where the line is until somebody crosses it. Until somebody gets called in for a pass-through penalty, nobody really knows where the line is. I'm sure we're going to push the envelope come (today).

I think this is going to help stop guys from driving like idiots out there.

I think Dale is just upset that we're all trying to race to get into the Chase and he's not going to take it anymore, and I'm not either, ... We've had a couple of guys run over us this year and we're going to stand our ground and we're not going to take it anymore.

Robert and Doug Yates put a lot of effort into coming down here to Talladega,

My spotter said there was debris everywhere, so I was just slowly picking my way through there, and the next thing I know everyone is wrecking.

My whole body is shaking. This is such a fast track and that's not out of the gas much,

My whole body is shaking right now. This is such a fast track. It was very nerve-racking, but very fun.

I tell you what, we had some great pit calls today. I'm very proud of Kevin and the job he did today. All of the guys rallied behind him this week. It's been a long week, but it's well worth it to get a sixth-place finish and get ourselves back in the running for 11th place.

That was a pretty good run for us, ... To get a top-10 qualifying effort was a good feeling. We've got a lot to prove to a lot of people in the last 10 races and we can start that (today).

I wasn't really too hot about it in the beginning, but it's grown on me. It's like if there's a football game and the score is 49--3 in the fourth quarter, well, you aren't going to watch it. But if it's 10--10 in the fourth quarter, you're going to pay attention.

We had a lot of contact tonight, but you know what? I'm not going to hang my head. These guys worked their butts off all year long but we didn't make the Chase. The world's not over with. The main thing is that we need to go and win a race. I think that would be good for all the guys.

We've kind of swept that under the rug a little bit, but it's still in the back of my head a little bit. If that happened again, especially here at Richmond, I think I might act a little differently. That's definitely behind us but I will react a little differently if that happens again this year.

We have all sat down and thought of a couple of names and we will see what happens. We think a crew chief would love to work in this situation.

Yeah, that's what the 12 bunch has done so good. They have such great notes that if they unload around that number that Ryan needs, they'll be close. Every driver has a different number, and they know Ryan's magic number.

Those guys showed that you don't give up until the very last lap and we're not either, ... Nobody knows what's gonna happen. That's why we race 400 laps.

We don't know where the line is until somebody crosses it.

The crews and their families need this time off more than the drivers do. They are the ones that work the long, long hours.

We can't really worry about whom we're racing and who we're not racing. We just need to go up there and run the best way we can, whether it's taking chances like two tires or four tires or whatever. I feel like the pressure is not on us. I think the guys that are only one or 11 points behind or 10 points ahead of 10th place have more pressure than we have. I think that we have to go up with the mindset that we've just got to race as hard as we can and not really worry about the points.

We can't really worry about the points. We can't really worry about who we're racing and who we're not racing. We just need to go up there and run the best way we can, whether it's taking chances like two tires or four tires or whatever.

When Newman ran that lap, I know Ryan Newman, he's not out of that gas long. It's pretty neat for him to go out and lay down a fast lap and then me kind of go after it, because I know what kind of competitor he is and how hard he had to drive.

We're not out of the gas hardly at all, which makes it hard to pass. You can't really gain speed on people if they're wide open and you are too.

This track really isn't about the driver, ... This is all about the fab shop and the guys in the engine shop. I can't say enough about how hard my guys work. They gave me a great car.

The philosophy has changed in how you race for a championship. The whole thrust is on getting into that top 10 to give yourself a chance. Once you get there, luck comes into play, and anything can happen.

We've got three pedals in these cars and the middle one is the brake. As many times as he's been drafting here, he knows that you always stack up at the end of every straightaway. It's the way the draft works.

We've got three pedals in these cars and the middle one is the brake, ... As many times as he's been drafting here, he knows that you always stack up at the end of every straightaway. It's the way the draft works.

(Finishing 11th) is very important to us, but our No. 1 goal, and it's going to start Sunday, is to get some wins,

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To a race at a place that we had never run that well at before or never had good luck at before was a great, great feeling for my team,

We got all of it, I think. We're just having a question about the brakes. I think my brakes were dragging the whole time, but as far as the car, the car drove great and the engine felt good.

We just need to go up there and run the best way we can. I feel like the pressure is not on us. I think the guys that are only one or 11 points behind or 10 points ahead of 10th place have more pressure than we have.

We're going there (California) to win because we had so much fun there last year in Victory Lane. We think we're taking a car that can win, or at least get in the top five.

We did a few changes to the car, but we didn't go far enough, ... We know what we've got to do tomorrow night. We just have to go ahead and try to do it.

We could use a lot of information on Saturdays that we can use toward Sunday. We always have that thought in the back of our mind that if we can just help our Cup car one little bit, it will make us better on Sunday.

Every sponsor wants to be a part of it, every driver, every team, but there are only so many pieces of the pie. If I don't make the chase, will I feel like I failed my sponsor? Yes, I will, because I've been in the top 10 all year long until the last month. We were almost counting our chickens before they were hatched around June, July, so it's going to be hard for me to look my sponsors in the face if we don't make it.

Everything went smoothly. I just mashed the pedal and took off for a very fast ride. It's nice to be on top of the speed charts, but I'd rather be at the top in another month.

The world's not over with, ... I've got some great sponsors on this race car that believe in us whether we made it or not. I got a great car owner in Robert Yates. We've just got to try and maybe get that 11th spot.

The Roush guys have everybody beat right now on bodies and things like that. They tested very well at Vegas, and until somebody knocks them off the perch that's the operation to beat - here, at Vegas, Atlanta, Texas, all the fast 11/2-mile and two-mile tracks.

run over you each and every week and then just get on TV with a little smile and say they're sorry and act like everything is OK.

Safety is the No. 1 issue for us. That's something that's come to the forefront, something that the drivers really want to work on. We want to make this sport as safe as we can, and NASCAR is working hand-in-hand with us to make sure we have that.

Santa has got my wish list. I have one of the best teams in racing,

Now I know why they don't put speedometers in our race cars. It is very fast.

Definitely when you think tires will be an issue, but even otherwise. It's good just to have the track time, but the crew also gets to see some things that might translate to Sunday.

That tells you how much grip they've put in this thing by grinding it,

almost counting our chickens before they were hatched around June, July.

You can't let all these guys run over you, ... They're going to take advantage of you, think they can do it every time. Dale just decided he had enough was getting tired of getting run over by these young guys. He just wanted to set an example that he's not going to take it any more. I think that's what you got to do. You got to defend yourself. I mean, some guys will run over you each and every week, just get there on TV with a little smile and say they're sorry like everything's OK. You know, that doesn't stand any more. I think you got to stand your ground.

You can't let all these guys run over you,

This is tough. Mentally and physically, you're trying to get ready for the race and get prepared, but you don't know whether it's going to happen. The weather for tomorrow doesn't look that good, either. It's tough on everybody.

It's just real tough. You can't see anything going into (turn) three, and then you can't see anything in your rearview mirror on the front straight.

It was a wild night, ... This was by far the best car I've had in seven years of racing in the Nextel Cup series.

It's a great feeling, my guys have worked so hard this off-season. We've had the best pit crew in the garage the last couple of years and they showed it again today.

It's tough on everybody, not only us but the crews and the guys who are going through trying to get the cars inspected in the rain and the fans. It's just a tough day.

It's going to take a lot to beat him. I think Jimmie is the best race car driver at this race track. He's got a beautiful line. He knows what his car needs. ... Before it's all said and done, we're going to have to outrun them.

It's fun, isn't it? ... There's not enough pieces of pie. I love racing against Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. We've got a lot of great names that are on the outside looking in, and a lot of great drivers that are on the inside that are really becoming the hunted, so it's gonna be fun.

It's hard to put into words right now the feelings I've got. I feel like I've got to come in and carry my load this week and do my job to get the car as close as I can.

It's ungodly . . . the pressure that we get as drivers,

It's ungodly, I think, the pressure we get as drivers, not only from our sponsors but our car owners. I think the Chase last year, people recognized how much recognition the top 10 guys got by being a part of the Chase. Every sponsor wants to be a part of it, every driver, every team, but there are only so many pieces of the pie.

Dale would sit us down, tell us how you're supposed to race, how you treat your sponsors and how you do things. We don't have that stature figure anymore for young kids to look up to. It'd be neat to have another Dale Earnhardt step up and be the voice of all the drivers in the garage, but right now we don't have that.

That is a very tough call where they're sitting way above the track, and we're in the cars running 190. We don't know where the line is until somebody crosses it. I'm sure we're going to push that line and push that envelope come Sunday.

Everybody knows the story. I came here to watch races as a kid. I just want to go to victory lane here one time.

The ball's in our court, ... All we have to do is go and try to win each race and not worry about the points, forget them, and just let them fall where they may-- We're coming to two racetracks that the 38 car usually runs good at. We're pretty optimistic. All we got to do is just go through the motions, get our cars comfortable, and we're going to let the points take care of themselves.

The ball is in our court. We've been saving it ever since Indy to take it to California.

It's by far the hardest thing I've ever been a part of, ... ... I think it adds a lot of spunk to the sport and I think it's neat.

I told Doug Yates we are going to get another pole here this weekend, ... It's a lot of fun to drive; everybody is really happy right now. It's really cool to run this well every week we just need a little bit of luck right now. I am going to sleep on a different side of the bed tonight and get up on a different side of the bed and see if that will bring us some luck tomorrow.

I've got a great race team and we're all pulling together, ... This is what we work hard for -- we're all going to fail together or we're going to succeed together, and that's the way this 38 team is.

I've got a great comfort level working with Kevin -- I've worked with him now for two years and he's just been behind the scenes more than anything,

It's no big secret how important these last three races are for our team in regards to making the Chase,

Any time you come to Charlotte, you've got to beat (Johnson). We've got one up on 'em right now.

I'm going to take a picture for a class.

I'm proud of my guys in the shop and I can't wait to get the race started on Sunday.

I'm sure we're going to push the line and push the envelope a lot come Sunday.