Here's hoping so. With Evernham Motorsports not doing too well this year, all three cars need a good run at Talladega. Elliott currently sits 17th in points while his equally as good looking bookend Kasey Kahne sits 33rd, and wanna-be pretty boy Scott Riggs drags up the rear of the 3 car team in 37th.
Before I sign-off on yet another awe-inspiring personal commentary, let me make you aware (if you were not already) about Elliott Sadler's specially designed racing helmet. According to Elliott's official Fan Club Site his new helmet was designed,
Elliott Sadler is the second highest ranked Dodge driver in the standings, right behind the Latin Lover Juan Montoya, who is currently 16th and only 14 points ahead of him.
So what is the problem with Dodge this year, especially at the intermediate tracks? Money/partnership problems? CoT problems? Geometry/car attitude problems? What?
"I don't know. I wish I had an answer for you, but I just don't know. They've (other non-Dodge race teams) got a lot of good race teams, too, that work on their restrictor-plate programs very hard. That could be a lot to do with it. I don't think it's the manufacturer's stuff. I think Dodge gives us the right tools to make it work. It's just our job to put the effort into it and make it work, so we'll see ... We know we have a tool that can do it. We've just got to go out there and put it together." - Elliott Sadler Motosport.com
Being almost a 3rd of the way through the non-Chase race portion of the schedule is panic starting to set in? It would with me that's for sure, but Elliott is keeping himself positive,
"Right now, Evernham Motorsports has not gotten off to a start it would have liked to gotten off to compared to last year, but I believe in my guys and that's why we're not panicking. We believe we've got some guys who can fix it. We've just got to get in the right areas and find what we're missing and work on it. I could be sitting here today and panicking because we don't know what to do. It's a difference between struggling and not knowing how to fix it and struggling and got an idea on which direction you need to go to fix it. I feel like at Evernham's we've got a direction to go to make our teams better, not only on the COTs, but also on the intermediate stuff. I think driver confidence has a lot to do with do you believe in your guys or not? Some guys don't believe in the guys they have and some do. That's the difference in the confidence level. I believe in my race team. I'm not panicking right now. I know we haven't gotten off to a great start, but I believe we can make a run for The Chase. You want to win together. I really want to win with this race team." - Elliott Sadler Motosport.com
Let's hope that Elliott Sadler and the rest of the Dodge teams, Kurt Busch included, can get their machines rolling to the front of the pack, and soon too, because I don't think Ford has enough to make it competitive with GM this year either. If Dodge and Ford don't get their acts together soon I think GM will have yet another Manufacturer's Championship to boast about at the end of the season.
Before I sign-off on yet another awe-inspiring personal commentary, let me make you aware (if you were not already) about Elliott Sadler's specially designed racing helmet. According to Elliott's official Fan Club Site his new helmet was designed,
"In an effort to promote Autism Awareness Month, Sadler will be wearing a special autism helmet at every race throughout the month of April. It will then be auctioned online to benefit the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Charitable Foundation.
The helmet, which was donated by Impact Racing, will sport the multi-colored puzzle piece logo of the Autism Society. The complex design was painted by Ryan Young of Indocil Art, who handles the majority of helmet paintings for Evernham Motorsports." - SadlerFanClub.com
The helmet, which was donated by Impact Racing, will sport the multi-colored puzzle piece logo of the Autism Society. The complex design was painted by Ryan Young of Indocil Art, who handles the majority of helmet paintings for Evernham Motorsports." - SadlerFanClub.com
For more info on the helmet and the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Charitable Foundation please read the rest of the article found by clicking either the above link or here.
Having worked with autistic people in the past, I can honestly say that they are uniquely special individuals and deserve our help in eventually finding a cure for their condition.
Photo Credits: 1) Elliott Sadler - Todd Warshaw/Getty Images, 2) Helmet Pictures - SadlerFanClub.com
A copy of this post is also found at MVN.com/nascar