Sadler wins and crashes at Pocono
Elliott Sadler had tears of joy in his eyes when he drove his No.2 truck past the finish line at Pocono Raceway Saturday night for his first Camping World Series race win in six years. One day later he started in 29th place in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 but crashed head on into an interior fence.
Sadler escaped the crash without any serious injuries. His Air Force sponsored Ford car crashed head on into the interior fence as he approached Turn 2. The force of the collision ripped away the front of the car and tore out the engine.
Sadler was conscious and climbed out of the cockpit but collapsed on the track where he lay until the medical team arrived. He was treated and released from the medical center just after the race was red-flagged.
“That was probably the hardest hit I’ve ever had in a race car,” Sadler said after completing his medical inspection. “The breath definitely got knocked out of me. I have to thank all my guys back at home that put these things together. I'm still in one piece, so it did its job.”
Sadler’s crash occurred due to visibility restriction seconds after Kurt Busch also suffered a car crash. He said that he saw “smoke and some cars sideways in front of me” so he slowed down, and that’s when “somebody ran into the back of us.”
Busch hit the outside of the fence before he careened into the interior where Sadler would eventually hit as well. Busch was able to walk away from the crash but Elliott complained of residual chest pains. "I'm a little sore through my chest and my stomach, but that's from where the seat belts did their job and grabbed me and kept me in the car, so I'm thankful for that."
The crashes were a result of being bump-drafted by Jimmie Johnson, who admitted he was at fault. “Darn, that was kind of my fault. Tell those guys I was trying to bump-draft him,” Johnson said over his radio.
After the race Johnson said, "I certainly feel bad. I am glad (Elliott) is OK. I understand he took a heck of a hit. Last thing I wanted to do was cause a wreck or crash the No. 2 (Busch). I feel bad about that, but we were all just racing real hard down the back.”
After a dismal year in the Sprint Cup were he barely registered as a contender Sadler considers the weekend a success despite the crash, as it marks his first win since 2004. “You sit at home a lot wondering if you're ever going to make it back to Victory Lane," said Sadler. "This time, I know it's recent, I know it's today, but it feels like the biggest win of my career."
On Saturday Sadler held off Matt Crafton’s attempts to pass him on the inside after a restart and kept away from Kasey Khane on the final lap. Khane followed Sadler and Crafton took third while points leader Todd Bodine held the disappointing and surprising 12th place position.
The last crash at Pocono occurred in 2006 when Jeff Gordon’s car suffered brake failure. That was also when Gordon described as “one of the hardest hits I’ve ever taken” when he shot through the troublesome grass and up onto a barrier.
Before this weekend Pocono Raceway had announced their plans for improving safety measures on the track, and will be putting them into place for 2011. Amongst the improvements is shock absorbing SAFER barriers which will span the length of the Long Pong straightaway and the short chutes between Turns 1, 2, and 3.
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