Elliott Sadler Lashes Out on Younger Drivers As He Looks Back on How NASCAR Robbed Him of His Glory

It’s no secret that motorsport is a physically demanding sport and over time, the body loses out to aging, leaving even the biggest stars with nothing but memories of their prime. But that notion quickly changes when the conversation lands on NASCAR, with drivers having careers that span far longer than the entirety of most Formula 1 drivers’ entire careers from the moment they step into a go-kart! However, whenever motor racing is involved, a fairytale career ending can very quickly turn into a nightmare.

This is exactly what happened to Elliott Sadler when he was nearing the end of his glory days, he would have never expected to lose out on the Xfinity Series championship driving for JR Motorsports in 2017 the way he did after getting so close to glory. That fateful run-in with the young Ryan Preece stings Sadler to this day, but that’s not the only time younger drivers have threatened all that is dear to the former JRM driver!

Elliott Sadler relives the moment he found out his glory days are over

Sadler was speaking to Kenny Wallace on the Kenny Conversation and shared a laugh when the topic of being the popular guy came up. Without missing a beat, Elliott Sadler opened up about how NASCAR officials treated him as he moved beyond his prime in the sport but still dominated the fan awards. Sadler had won the Most Popular Driver Award for the Xfinity Series three times consecutively back in the day. Still, his grasp on fame was being weakened by NASCAR’s tactics to replace the aging icon with a younger face.

Elliott went on to share that, while he was invited on the stage and spoke to the fans on the news at his first banquet as the most popular driver, the 48-year-old was promptly told by the authorities that he wouldn’t get that privilege in the future. The Virginia native shared, “The last year I won it, they’re like, ‘Nah we’re not even going to bring it up this year at the award ceremony, so I’m going, here I am, I mean if I’ve ever felt like being pushed out or something, not by my team, and I get to NASCAR and Xfinity and they’re trying to do all these promotions and they want all these young kids coming up,”

The former JR Motorsports driver also shared that even though the officials wanted to promote the younger generation to secure the sport’s future, the community chose to favor the drivers that made NASCAR what fans have come to love to this day. Reflecting on their era as the best the sport has seen, with blue-collar success stories unlike any other, Sadler added, “I can’t help it that these young kids are coming in and all they know how to do is play on their freaking phone! They don’t have a personality, what are we doing here? They pushed me out pretty good.”

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After overcoming multiple challenges throughout his career and giving the sport his all, Sadler was saddened by the state of affairs of NASCAR, which seemed to favor the younger drivers, who had more potential for growth in the future to well-established legends. But he wasn’t the only one to fall victim to the marketing shenanigans that a sport ultimately requires to keep the ball rolling. Kenny Wallace joined in to share an unfortunate incident that reminded him of Sadler’s plight.

Wallace shared a similar fate with Sadler

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Although Kenny Wallace pointed out the age difference between the two, the moment they understood they would be replaced sooner or later was quite similar. After all, when the checkered flag is packed into a box at the end of a season and the grandstands become empty, it’s only money that lets the sport keep the lights running.

Wallace opened up about when he got a reality check from his boss, “I said Mike, I don’t see you use me anymore to advertise the Xfinity series. And there was this long pause, and our boss at the time, it was Mike Helton, he says, well, basically, you’ve been there and done that, and that’s when I thought to myself, they’re done with me. And to me, that’s what you’re telling me, that they were done with you like they were done with me. And you know, you could keep racing, but we’re done advertising you, we’re looking for the 22-year-old.”

READ MORE: “They Wouldn’t Let Me Out”- Elliott Sadler Unmasks Jack Roush’s Career Jeopardizing Move That Forced a $1 Million Penalty

While the pair vented out their frustrations at the young guns taking up the spots they had worked all their lives for, Sadler ended things on a lighter note by saying that there are no grudges held now that he looks back at the whole thing. After all, the most popular driver awards lie with Sadler, as the fans have spoken regardless of NASCAR taking away his opportunity to speak to them.