Elliott Sadler said Tuesday that he is ‘close’ to determining where he will be working next season, but said first he must focus on taking care of unfinished business this season. Sadler currently drives the #2 Chevy full-time for Richard Childress Racing in the Nationwide Series, where he is the current points leader by a slim margin. But he already has said he and RCR will be splitting ways at season’s end. He also has said that he would like to make a return to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series as soon as possible, and reiterated that point Tuesday after an appearance at RCR where he helped promote the Bank of America 500 that will be run Oct. 13 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. ‘My goal as a driver is to be back in the Cup Series and make the Chase as a Cup driver. That’s my No. 1 goal,’ Sadler said. Asked if he expected to have that chance in 2013, Sadler hedged and replied, ‘Uh, I don ‘t know. We ‘re working on some different things. But my No. 1 goal is to have that opportunity, to be a part of the Chase again.’ Sources have confirmed that one of the teams he has been talking with is Joe Gibbs Racing, which appears willing to offer him a full-time Nationwide ride and a limited Cup schedule for 2013 with the possibility of a full-time Cup ride developing by 2014 if full-time sponsorship can be found for a fourth JGR Cup car. ‘We ‘re close. We ‘re talking to three teams right now, so we ‘ll see,’ said Sadler, while declining to offer details on which teams he has been negotiating with. ‘I ‘m just kind of late to the party, getting out there and meeting and greeting with everybody.’(NASCAR.com)(9-25-2012)
UPDATE: [Team president J.D.] Gibbs & confirmed the possibility that JGR could hire Nationwide Series point leader Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers to drive full-time in the Nationwide Series next season. ‘That’s a potential,’ Gibbs said. ‘I think we have to wait a little while before we can say anything officially.’ Sadler, who has made it clear he will not return to Richard Childress Racing after this season, would drive one car with OneMain Financial as the primary sponsor. He also is expected to drive a part-time Sprint Cup schedule. Vickers would drive the second car with Dollar General as the sponsor. Gibbs said the plan is to field a third car for his Cup drivers and developmental drivers Drew Herring and Darrell Wallace Jr. to share.(ESPN.com)(10-1-2012)
