rpm.espn.com: Elliott Sadler

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Tuesday, January 28
Updated: February 4, 3:38 PM ET

Elliott Sadler
By Rupen Fofaria
ESPN.com

Team: Yates Racing
Car/sponsor/make: No. 38 M&M's Ford

Elliott Sadler
Sadler

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Best finish

2002 23 0 2 7 2nd, twice

Career 1 4 11 1st, Bristol (2001)

2002 recap
The good: An amicable departure from Wood Brothers Racing, a couple of runner-up finishes in races and the knowledge that he was on his way to a big-time, multi-car operation in 2003 -- these were the goods in another subpar year for Sadler.

Season highlight: Sadler's season highlight came in the first race of the year, when he finished second in the Daytona 500. After Sterling Marlin was relegated to the back of the lead pack when he worked on his car under a red flag, Ward Burton inherited the lead and Sadler charged after him. Although he never stood a chance to catch him, he finished a career best second at Daytona, a feeling almost as good as winning at Bristol, Tenn.

The bad: Twelve times he finished outside the top-30 and, after breaking through for his first victory in 2001, never did finish first in 2002. But the worst for Sadler was having to tell the Wood Brothers that he wanted to leave. They brought him in as a rookie in '99 and gave all they had in their one-car operation. But Sadler needed more, he thought, to become a consistent winner.

Season lowlight: Finishing last in the road course race at Watkins Glen, N.Y. Sadler had mechanical troubles less than halfway through the event and finished 43rd.

Elliott Sadler
Elliott Sadler will have M&M's as a sponsor next year.

Key stat: 24. That's how many races in 2003 that Sadler failed to finish on the lead lap.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Sadler has better equipment and a teammate that likes the same things in his car that Sadler does. If he and Raymond Fox III can click early on in the season, then Sadler will be a good investment for Yates and M&M's.

Prediction: Sadler won't contend for a title in 2003, but he'll contend for victories and become a force to reckon with in the future.

Your take
Here are your thoughts on Sadler's prospects for the 2003 season, his first year with Robert Yates.

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