Sadler enjoying role as underdog at Daytona

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 | 10:07 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If Elliott Sadler is trying to sneak up on the rest of the field for Sunday's Daytona 500, as he suggested, he's going about it the wrong way.

Sadler on Sunday qualified on the outside of the front row for the 46th annual race and then went out Thursday and scored what he called "the biggest win of my career" in the second 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway.

But many still consider Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammates and restrictor-plate specialists Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the first 125-miler, and Michael Waltrip the favorites to win the Daytona 500.

And that's fine with Sadler.

"Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip definitely (deserve) the respect they're getting -- I mean, they're proving it on the race track week in and week out at these restrictor-plate races," Sadler said.

"I'm glad (Earnhardt) is the favorite. That takes the pressure off of me and I can kind of go out there quietly and do my job and hopefully we can sneak up on them."

Thanks to the unexpected merger of rival engine builders and team owners Robert Yates and Jack Roush, Sadler said he believes his Robert Yates Racing team is catching up to the DEI cars, which have dominated the restrictor-plates races the past three years at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway.

"Here we're on the outside pole and won the twin 125, so we're catching up to them," Sadler said. "Are we at the status they're at? No, we are not. Are we catching up to them? I think we are."

Greg Biffle, one of five Roush Racing drivers in the field for Sunday's race, will start on the pole Sunday, completing a front-row sweep for the new Yates-Roush engine venture.

After Thursday's qualifiers, however, it appears as if tires -- not engines -- will be the story of the day on Sunday. The new, softer tire that Goodyear produce at NASCAR's request will either improve the racing at Daytona or ruin it -- depending on which driver you believe.

"The tire is not a good tire," said Earnhardt, who will start on the inside of the second row. "You really can't run as hard as you want (because) the cars were just real tight.

"I knew the right-front tire was going to blow on somebody's car before we got to the end of the fuel run because of how bad the tires were wearing out in practice."

Tony Stewart, who finished second to Earnhardt in the first qualifier and will start fifth on Sunday, begged to differ.

"A lot of guys are having to life (off the accelerator) and a lot of guys are having to run in places where we don't normally run here, which is making it fun," Stewart said.

"We actually have to drive these cars for once instead of just riding them around like we've done in the past. The good drivers are going to get themselves to the front."

Mark Martin, who is winless in his 19 previous Daytona 500 appearances, will start Sunday's race on the outside of the fourth row, said he enjoys the different style of racing at Daytona.

"I like the fact that the cars are faster than the handling will let them go," Martin said, "so it makes a real race out of it instead of some follow-the-leader, cruise-control set.

"It gives everyone an equal chance so that they're not at total mercy of the motor. But this makes it fun because it sits in the racer's hand to some degree."

Las Vegas natives Kurt Busch and Brendan Gaughan will start Sunday's race in the top half of the field. Busch will start 15th in his fourth Daytona 500 while Gaughan will start 17th.

Although Earnhardt is starting only his fifth full season on the Nextel Cup circuit, he admitted he is eager to get a Daytona 500 victory under his belt -- and not have to wait 20 years as his late father did.

"I don't want to have to keep on coming close and keep on coming close and losing it because it was tough on my family and my dad -- it was hard on me just being a kid because I wanted him to win so bad," he said.

"I don't want to sit here 20 years later and still be coming so close that I can't stand it and not win it. But that's the way this place is."

Despite his disdain for the different style of racing he expects on Sunday, Earnhardt still believes he and two-time Daytona 500 winner Waltrip will have the cars to beat on race day.

"I feel like today we made some things happen on the racetrack to give that some substance, as far as claiming to be the favorite of the race," Earnhardt said.

"But Michael has won two out of the last three and I feel like he's at the top of the list. His (car) is as good as mine ... (but) if you put my car out front, it's a beast."