CONCORD, N.C. – Elliott Sadler hasn’t won a race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series yet this season, but if you ask him about that statistic, he’ll clap you on the shoulder and tell you he’s not worried.
After all, he’s having some of the most fun he’s ever had in his career driving for JR Motorsports.
Sadler moved over from Roush Fenway Racing to drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller – two of his close friends in the garage – at the start of the 2016 season, setting his eyes on the series championship that had eluded him twice before.
While the pairing hasn’t yet accomplished that mission, finishing second in points each of the last two years, Sadler noted that they have checked the “enjoying ourselves” box many times over.
“When I moved over to JR Motorsports (in 2016), I saw it as an opportunity to have a lot of fun and win a lot of races with people that I’d known for a long time and was blessed to call my friends,” said Sadler. “This is the third year I’ve driven for Dale and Kelley and I can tell you that I wouldn’t want to be driving for anyone else.
“We’ve been friends a long time and I feel like we’ve had each others’ backs on and off the track a long time, as well,” Sadler added. “I think when you’re invested personally like we are, it makes you want to do a good job on so many different levels and perform like you’re supposed to … not only on the race track, but off the race track.”
Though he looked to be entering the twilight of his career a few years ago, signing with JR Motorsports provided a renaissance for Sadler that “brought the joy back.”
“I’m having the time of my life with these guys at JR Motorsports,” said Sadler. “Look at how we’re running. We’ve been strong each and every week. That makes it fun to be at the race track.”
In Sadler’s tenure at JR Motorsports, he’s scored three wins, 34 top-fives and 64 top-10s in 76 starts, with only three DNFs during that span.
His average finish this season is a staggering 4.6, with a worst finish of ninth at ISM Raceway in April. Sadler also sits atop the Xfinity Series point standings, something he’s done often since 2016.
“Eighty percent of the races I have started for JR Motorsports, we’ve been leading the points,” Sadler pointed out. “That says a lot about our team and how we prepare and come to the race track. We don’t come out to ride, we come out to perform and to win. I think you’ve seen that over the past few years.”
