In the Field: Elliott Sadler

Virginians take care of their own, and after what happened at Virginia Tech last week, some of the Virginia natives in the Nextel Cup garage, including myself, Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin have put our heads together to do something for the school and the families that were affected.

For me, being from Virginia, a part of the Hokie Club for the last eight years, a supporter of the school, having kinfolk that go to the school, having family and friends that are part of the school and have graduated there and went there, it's just been a tough situation.

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For people who have been to Blacksburg, Va., you just don't realize how something like this can happen at a place like that. It's a great area, and it's not in the middle of any kind of a city or anything like that.

It's kind of out there, sitting on its own in the country, and it's just a beautiful, peaceful place.

I've been very proud of the students, the faculty and the Virginia Tech family who have shown their unity as far as fighting through this and getting through this because it's been a tough situation for a lot of people.

It's hit us all very hard and being from Virginia, it's been pretty hard for me, especially.

I drove the Virginia Tech car back in 2000 at Richmond and I feel like I'm a big part of the "Hokie Nation." So it hit us pretty hard. All last week, even though my Dodge Dealers/UAW Charger team was out in Phoenix at the Nextel Cup race, it was pretty tough.

If you had to picture the perfect, peaceful place where you would want to be, Blacksburg would be it -- and that's why what happened there, it just doesn't fit.

You could never imagine anything like that happening there. It's a place where everyone looks out for one another. It would seem like, if you were a mother or a dad going to visit, it would be a great, safe place to send your kid.

It definitely gives you that perception when you go there. It's just that kind of place, where everybody is so friendly and so down to earth.

Being as how it's that way, it's tough -- and being a Virginian it really hits close to home, when it involves people that you personally know and care about -- or are real close to your family members. It really makes it hard.

That's why Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin and myself have talked, and we're going to try to do something -- we don't know what yet; for the school and for the students that are involved, and their families.

I've had conversations with some of the people in the academic department up at Virginia Tech and we're going to try to figure out what would be a good thing that we could do -- because we want to do something. (Continued)