10 Questions: Elliott Sadler
10 Questions: Elliott Sadler
August 14, 2007
10:31 AM EDT
1. What's the best advice you ever received, and who was it from?
Sadler: The best advice I ever got was from my uncle, Bud Elliott: "Pretty much don't point fingers at anybody because you've always got three fingers pointing right back at you." So that's kind of the best advice I ever got when I was a little kid racing. When things don't go well, instead of blaming it on somebody else to make yourself feel better, pretty much have the attitude that the buck stops here. That's pretty good advice.
2. What was your first car?
Sadler: A Mustang GT.
3. What's the one thing you do to push your brother Hermie's buttons, that makes him mad?
Sadler: I'm very impatient when it comes time to leave and go somewhere. I'm a very impatient person on traveling so my brother travels with me a lot and I usually tell him to be somewhere at 3 o'clock, I'm usually ready to go by 2:30. And I'll call him at 2:25, wanting to know where he's at. So that gets on my brother pretty bad, my impatient traveling techniques that I have.
4. What's your favorite meal?
Sadler: I want steak and mashed potatoes.
Elliott Sadler:
Green
5. What was your first apartment?
Sadler: My first apartment that I ever had was when I went off to college and lived off-campus for the first time. There was four of us sharing a little bitty apartment, maybe 1,200-1,400 square foot at the most. Pretty tight, very small, but a good experience. It was the first time away from home, so I had to learn to do a lot of things on my own. It was a real good learning experience.
6. When you want to get away from it all, where do you go?
Sadler: Home. I'm a big outdoorsman and a big deer hunter and all that. The off week was a perfect example. I spent a lot of time at home, back in Virginia on the farm and things like that.
7. Who do you feel has been the most influential on your career?
Sadler: My dad, big time. He's been my biggest fan and my biggest critic. And without his support, I would have never made it to this level. They poured a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of effort into it to get us where we're at today.
8. If you could pick someone to play you in a movie, who would it be?
Sadler: Vince Vaughan. I love him. I've met him before. He's one of the greatest guys you could ever meet. He's funny as he can be and I wish I could do that kind of stand-up comedy he does.
9. What's No. 1 on your list of things to accomplish?
Sadler: I think every driver wants to be a Nextel Cup champion and I think, professionally, that would be a pretty good goal of mine. The second goal is to marry the woman of my dreams and raise a beautiful family at home in Virginia, so I think that's probably my personal No. 1 goal.
10. If someone was visiting Virginia for the first time, where would you suggest for them to go?
Sadler: That's a good question. You know, a lot of people like going to the monuments and things like that, and all the science museums and everything they have in Washington, D.C. But my favorite things to do when I'm in Virginia are go to King's Dominion and Busch Gardens. So if you're ever going through there, stop by those couple of places. They're pretty cool.