By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Saturday night was looking to be one to remember for Virginian Elliott Sadler. Not only was he out front at his home track of Richmond Raceway, but the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus was in reach for the XFINITY Series veteran.
However, only one of those prizes came to fruition as Sadler lost the lead to Noah Gragson with 87 laps to go and fell to finish third in the ToyotaCare 250.
But it wasn’t all for nothing. Sadler’s third-place effort was enough to lead the Dash 4 Cash drivers, leading him to one big check from XFINITY.
“I’ve never felt this way finishing third before,” Sadler said. “Definitely never felt this way winning $100,000 which is a lot of money to an XFINITY driver and team.”
Sadler continues to lead the regular-season title hunt and now has a monetary boost heading into the next Dash 4 Cash event next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
“It means a lot to me and my family to be a part of the Dash 4 Cash,” he said. “It was fun racing at my home track for $100,000 and we’re pretty decent at Talladega, too, so it’s good to go down there and try for it again.”
With an eighth straight top 10 to start 2018, the 42-year-old, however, is wanting more. Specifically, a win at his home track would have been a special trophy to add to his collection, having a rich family history of attending and racing at Richmond.
“Taking the lead, winning the stage, [I thought] how great would it finally be to pull one off here,” he said. “I would definitely trade in a lot of trophies for a win at this racetrack. It felt good running a good as we did mid-race.
“I would trade this in tomorrow — not that this is a light thing — but a memory in Victory Lane is something that lasts a lifetime and something I’ve been dreaming of as a kid at this track.