STATESVILLE, N.C. – Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 McDonald’s Dodge team are packing their bags and heading out west in search of their first win of the 2008 season. Sadler and the McDonald’s Dodge team have made significant progress since the start of the season and have consistently started and raced among the top-10 over the last month. Always looking to improve, the team now has its sight set on Victory Lane.

Sadler’s last trip to Victory Lane came four years ago this weekend at California Speedway. In 2004, Sadler started in the 17th position before racing through the field to lead 59 laps and record his third career win.

The No. 19 team is coming off a 32nd-place finish under the lights at Bristol and is looking for a quick rebound as it visits the Golden State for the final time in 2008.

Elliott Sadler Quotes

On California Speedway: "Everyone says California and Michigan are very similar tracks, but they do have their subtle differences. I’m not sure if it’s the track temperature or difference in humidity, but for some reason they race just a little bit different. They also have similarities - both are huge, multi-groove tracks where you can race pretty much anywhere you want. The trick is to find which line the car takes to and adjust as the track and car change throughout the race. "

On Getting Back in Chassis #256: "I’m pretty excited to be getting back behind the wheel of that car. It’s the same racecar that we brought to Indy and Michigan. We had our best finish of the year in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and we finished ninth at Michigan. This car has been good to us. This was a new car that debuted at Indy and we are really excited about its performance. We seem to have hit on something with this car and we’ve been competitive every time it has taken the track.”

Chassis Info: The No. 19 team will race GEM #256; which Sadler raced to a season-best fourth place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and a ninth place finish at Michigan.

Sadler at Fontana: Sadler recorded one of his three career wins at California in the 2004 fall race. In 14 previous races has earned three top-10 starts. Sadler has two top-10 finishes while leading two races for 67 laps.

Best Start: Fifth (Spring ’03)
Best Finish: Win (Fall ‘04)
Spring Race: Started 27th/Finished 24th

Sadler’s Season: In 24 starts, has two top-five and six top-10 finishes. He has nine top-10 starts; including outside pole at Phoenix. Sadler has led four races for a total of 17 laps and is currently 20th in points trailing 19th by 27 points. For more of Sadler’s ’08 season statistics click here.

Career stats: Has won three Sprint Cup races while earning 18 top-fives, 61 top-10s and seven pole awards in 345 career starts. For more of Sadler’s career statistics click here.

Sadler on Sirius and Trackside: Sirius NASCAR Ch. 128 listeners can catch Sadler on Sirius Speedway every Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. (ET). And, SPEED TV viewers can see Sadler every Friday night on “Trackside Live” for the rest of the season.

Race Broadcast Schedule: SPEED TV and MRN Radio will carry the qualifying broadcast on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (ET). The race broadcast beings Sunday evening starting at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and MRN Radio.