Sadler fastest in first day of testing at LVMS.
A new sponsor and a new crew chief have already given Elliott Sadler confidence heading into the 2001 campaign. His test session on Monday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the third-year driver feeling especially good about the March 4, UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
Sadler's Motorcraft Ford was the fastest car among 14 NASCAR Winston Cup teams who tested at the 1.5-mile Superspeedway. Sadler's speed of 169.833 miles per hour was slightly faster than that of rookie Andy Houston who toured the track at 169.242 mph. In all, 14 drivers tested NASCAR Winston Cup cars.
A new sponsor and a new crew chief have already given Elliott Sadler confidence heading into the 2001 campaign. His test session on Monday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the third-year driver feeling especially good about the March 4, UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
Sadler's Motorcraft Ford was the fastest car among 14 NASCAR Winston Cup teams who tested at the 1.5-mile Superspeedway. Sadler's speed of 169.833 miles per hour was slightly faster than that of rookie Andy Houston who toured the track at 169.242 mph. In all, 14 drivers tested NASCAR Winston Cup cars.
"(New crew chief) Pat (Tryson) coming on board has made this a new game and a new team," Sadler said. "We tested at Kentucky to get ready for this, and we learned a lot. We're really happy with where we are. We have had three good tests, and we have two cars here that area really close. You're going to see big things from this team this year."
Las Vegas' Kurt Busch, who will be competing with Houston for rookie of the year honours, was involved in the day's only crash. Busch got into the wall in turn four and caused extensive damage to his Roush Racing Ford. Busch went to his secondary car for the remainder of the day.
Greg Biffle was the fastest of three Busch cars in the field. Biffle's speed of 167.110 mph was much faster than Chad Little (163.053) or Tony Raines (163.964). The teams of Shane Hall and Tim Sauter were slowed by snow in Texas and did not arrive in time for their scheduled test on Monday.
Testing will continue throughout the week. Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd are among the drivers who will join the test on Tuesday.
NASCAR Winston Cup times from Monday's test:
1. Sadler 169.8332 mph
2. Houston 169.242 mph
3.Jerry Nadeau 169.136 mph
4.Joe Nemechek 168.324 mph
5. Jeff Gordon 168.214 mph
6. Ricky Craven 168.193 mph
7. Bobby Hamilton 167.333 mph
8.Brendan Gaughan 166.651 mph
9.Mark Martin 166.400 mph
10.Kenny Wallace 166.266 mph
11.Dale Earnhardt 165.193 mph
12.Mike Skinner 164.755 mph
13.Terry Labonte 164.674 mph
14.Busch 163.127 mph
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
