Elliott Sadler

Birthday: April 30, 1975
Hometown: Emporia, Va.

YEAR-BY-YEAR NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RECAP

2007 -- Finished 25th in series points. ... Finished with two top-10s. ... Had his worst series finish since placing 29th in 2000. ... Top-10s were a sixth in the Daytona 500 and an eighth at Kansas.

2006 -- Finished 22nd in series points. ... Finished with one top-five, seven top-10s and one pole. ... Moved from Robert Yates Racing to Evernham Motorsports prior to race No. 23, the Aug. 20 event at Michigan International Speedway. ... Season-high finish of fourth came in the season-opening Daytona 500.

2005 -- Finished 13th in series points. ... Captured the pole position four times: Bristol (spring), Indianapolis and in the fall at Talladega and Lowe's Motor Speedway. ... Best finish was a second at Bristol in the spring after starting on the pole. ... Had 12 top-10 finishes. ... Finished second in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge.

2004 -- Finished ninth in series points. ... Inaugural Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup participant. ... Posted career-best results in many categories, including wins (two), top-five finishes (eight), top-10 finishes (14). ... Began with second-fastest qualifying time for the Daytona 500, marking his third top-10 start in 11 races at Daytona. ... Won the second of two 125-lap qualifying races at Daytona. ... Posted two wins, at Texas in April and California in September ... Failed to finish only one race, the lowest DNF total of any driver who competed in all 36 races.

2003 -- Finished 22nd in series points. ... Won career-first pole at Darlington in his fifth race for new team Robert Yates Racing. ... Scored five top-10 finishes in first nine races and was 10th in series standings, but dropped to 20th after three consecutive finishes of 33rd or worse beginning at Richmond in May. ... Began season with crew chief Raymond Fox; Todd Parrott took over in August. ... Finished with a career-best nine top-10s, including two top-fives.

2002 -- Finished 23rd in series points. ... Last season with Wood Brothers operation. ... Started with a few strong runs, grabbing the runner-up spots in the season-opener Daytona 500 and the spring race at Darlington. ... Earned career-best starting spot when he started on the outside row at Texas. ... Also had the second-fastest qualifying time for the Coca-Cola 600. ... Announced in August he was leaving the team to drive for Robert Yates Racing in the No. 38 Ford.

2001 -- Finished 20th in series points. ... Took the Wood Brothers back to Victory Lane for the first time since 1993 with a victory at Bristol in March. Win came in 75th series start. ... Finished third behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip in Pepsi 400 at Daytona for his only other top-10 finish.

2000 -- Finished 29th in series points. ... Scored one top-10 finish. ... The low point came at Talladega in April when Sadler failed to qualify. ...Best finish was seventh in the night race at Bristol. ... Best start was sixth at Darlington in March.

1999 -- Finished 24th in series points. ... Finished runner-up to Tony Stewart in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. ... Had one top-10 finish, but finished all but two races.

1998 -- Made series debut in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. ... Drove two races for car owner Gary Bechtel and Diamond Ridge Motorsports. ... Also started fourth and finished 20th in the Motegi Coca-Cola 500 exhibition race in Japan for the Wood Brothers.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

Had five wins, five poles and 12 top-five finishes in 76 career NASCAR Nationwide Series starts before moving to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series full time in 1999. ... Won two NASCAR Nationwide races and finished eighth in 1998. ... In his rookie season in 1997, he won the pole for the season-opening event at Daytona. ... Won his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nazareth in his 13th start. ... Finished his rookie year with four poles, three wins and fifth place in the final standings. ... Ran limited NASCAR Nationwide Series schedules in 1996 and 1995. ... Crowned track champion at South Boston Speedway in 1995, winning 13 races, including six in a row. ... Moved to NASCAR weekly series competition at age 18. ... Ran first full season in 1993. ... Began racing at age 7 in go-karts and won more than 200 races. ... Won several karting titles, including the 1983-84 Virginia State Karting Championship.

NOTEWORTHY

Sadler is a hunting guide and raises Walker hunting dogs in the winter months. ... His father, Herman, raced Late Model stocks in Virginia. ... He's a big fan of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. ... Sadler made his Country Music Television debut in 2002 in the country music video for the song, Ol' Red, released by recording artist Blake Shelton. ... Received athletic scholarship (basketball) to James Madison University to play for Lefty Driessell; suffered a knee injury that "allowed him to pursue a sit-down job." ... Recipient of the 2003 Outstanding Young Virginian Award. ... Sadler raised $86,400 for the Autism Society of America and the Victory Junction Gang Camp in May 2004 with his Race for Hope event. ... Elliott and his brother, Hermie, have been recognized by the Autism Society of America for their dedication and hard work.