Monday, August 19, 2002
Sadler takes Rudd's place with Yates
NASCAR notebook
The Associated Press
BROOKLYN, Mich. - Robert Yates hired driver Elliott Sadler to replace Ricky Rudd in 2003 with new sponsor M&M's.
Sadler will drive a No.38 Ford, ending Yates' 14-year association with No.28. That number probably will stay with Chevron-Texaco, which has backed Robert Yates Racing since 1988.
Chevron-Texaco already has canceled two news conferences in the past month to announce its Winston Cup plans for next season. Those might include Rudd.
The 27-year-old Sadler has one victory in three seasons, and finished second in this year's Daytona 500. He had a contract for next season with the Wood Brothers, but was granted his release. Yates' drivers have won 52 races, including two in 2002, and consistently challenge for the championship.
Yates wouldn't discuss the decision not to keep the 45-year-old Rudd, who was thinking about retirement this year but now appears to want to drive at least one more season.
Yates said the drivers' ages “wasn't a factor” in the change.
Crew chief Michael McSwain, who came to the team with Rudd before the 2001 season, will stay and work with Sadler.
GORDON BREAKS MARK: Jeff Gordon was running at the finish for the 54th consecutive race Sunday, breaking the modern-day NASCAR record set by the late Dale Earnhardt.
But Gordon extended his losing streak to 31 races and fell 150 points behind leader Sterling Marlin in the Winston Cup standings. Gordon never challenged for the lead before finishing 19th in the Pepsi 400, only the fifth time in 20 starts at Michigan International Speedway he's been out of the top 10.
“We've been off our game this whole season,” said Robbie Loomis, Gordon's crew chief. “It's just unfortunate. We had a real good car again, but I made some bad calls on the adjustments, and that took us out of the ballpark.”
ENGINE TROUBLE: Johnny Benson finished eighth, his fourth top 10 in his past five starts at Michigan. But he wasn't happy about it.
“The car was better than that, the engine wasn't,” said Benson.
Benson and his MB2 Motorsports team lease their engines from Hendrick Motorsports.
“If we could have stayed with them down the stretch, I think we could have given them their money's worth,” Benson said. “But, for whatever reason, that is not happening.”
MELLING RETURN: In its first race since the season-opening Daytona 500, Melling Racing finished on the lead lap with driver Stacy Compton. Compton even led three laps during an exchange of pit stops en route to a 30th-place finish.
Compton, out of a ride since being fired by A.J.Foyt Racing last month, used the weekend as an audition for potential employers. Team owner Mark Melling did the same, hoping to attract a sponsor.
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Sadler takes Rudd's place with Yates
