Jan 15 2009
NASCAR’s Sadler and GEM ready to move forward
(By Greg Engle, NASCAR Today)
Elliott Sadler is ready to move on.
After a much-publicized near split with his Gillette-Evernham Motorsports team towards the end of last year, Sadler said this week that he doesn’t expect the incident to affect the teams or his on track performance.
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Driver AJ Allmendinger, who had competed in the last five races of the season in the GEM No. 10 Dodge, was rumored to be taking over Sadler’s No. 19 ride this season in spite of a contract extension that Sadler had signed in May of last year.
Sadler threatened legal action however and in the end the driver and team were able to work out their differences and last week Sadler was confirmed as the driver for the No. 19 for this season.
“We’re professionals,” Sadler said. “And when we show up to play, we should be ready to play.”
“When we’re on the field, we should give it our all 100 percent, whether it’s me and the racecar or the guys doing the pit stops or the guys bolting the shocks on, whoever it may be and whatever it may be.”
Sadler admitted however that he understood the reason behind the team’s talks with Allmendinger. Sadler has been winless in the nearly three years he’s been with the team and in NASCAR performance is key to job security.
“At the end of the day me as a racecar driver and us as Gillett Evernham Motorsports have to do a better job,” he said. “We have to be accountable for our product we put on the racetrack each and every Sunday. At the end of the day, that’s what the whole bottom line was.”
The Emporia Virginia native was adamant however in stressing that he never wanted legal proceedings to cause any hard feelings between him and the team and added that he simply sought advice to protect what he thought he was entitled to.
“We have a lot of contracts in place between each other, with sponsors, with personal service contracts, with manufacturers,” he said. “There are a lot of different things that come into play from the legal side of it that honestly I don’t know a lot about.
“My legal team did what they thought they had to do to protect me and to protect some of the sponsors and stuff that we have. But between me and the team, I never wanted the legal stuff to come between me and them.”
Sadler said it’s all behind him and everyone is ready to move forward and get the season started.
“As far as the team is concerned and myself is concerned, it’s in the past.” Sadler said.
”You know, I’ve been to the shop the last two days. Not one conversation about what happened a week ago.”
