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NASCAR WCUP: Elliott Sadler is High on the Learning Curve

1 April 1999

FT WORTH - Dallas, -- The CITGO Ford team got the opportunity to show they will be a force to be contended with as the combination of hard work and extremely effective communications between the driver and crew chief netted the team a top-10 finish.

Sadler qualified the CITGO Ford in Friday's first round session with a 13th place starting position in the PRIMESTAR 500. After the run Sadler said, "This CITGO Ford team is awesome. Qualifying seems to be our bright spot right now. If we keep qualifying good, our racing deal will come around." Little would Sadler know how prophetic his words would be come race day.

The CITGO Ford started the race with minor handling problems on Sunday. The caution on lap 134 gave Beam and Sadler a chance to do the work Sadler felt he needed done on the car. After repeated stops during the caution, Sadler rejoined the field to see how the adjustments worked.

To say they hit the combination could be considered an understatement. The end result for the CITGO Ford was a tenth place finish --- a season best for the team. The finish also marked a Winston Cup career best finish for Sadler.

"Man, this feels great," said an excited Sadler after the PRIMESTAR 500. "I can't put into words how I feel right now. I knew we had the team to do it. We've been qualifying good all year. But we've been having terrible luck in the races. This is the first race nothing has happened. Nothing broke or I decided not to hit anything. This shows the true potential of the race team. It's great to have a top 10 car."

This Week:

The Wood Brothers race team won't be sitting still in the Winston Cup off week. The team has two test sessions scheduled in the period leading up to the April 11th Bristol event. The first stop will be at Martinsville Speedway, which will be followed by a trip to Talladega Superspeedway.

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos and racing art, please visit The Racing Image Galleries and The Visions of Speed Art Gallery

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