NASCAR Bristol Results: Elliott Sadler Wins Second Nationwide Race Of 2012

An astute call to stay on the racetrack under caution gave Elliott Sadler the boost he needed to win his second NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season, two weeks after he broke a 14-year drought at Phoenix.

The Nationwide Series points leader drove away from Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski after a restart on Lap 273 of 300 and beat Kahne to the finish line by 1.159 seconds to win Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The victory was the seventh of Sadler’s career, and it came at the .533-mile track that gave him the first of his three Sprint Cup victories in 2001.

Keselowski finished third, followed by polesitter Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Defending series champ Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Truex completed the top 10.

With a two-tire stop on Lap 160, Bayne took the lead off pit road and held it until Stenhouse passed him in traffic on Lap 224. Stenhouse drove away as Bayne and Keselowski battled for the second spot; with 40 laps left Stenhouse held a 2.873-second advantage over Sadler, who had blown by both Bayne and Keselowski to take over the second position.

Sadler stayed out under caution after Kyle Busch’s No. 54 Toyota pounded the wall between Turns 3 and 4 to bring out the fourth caution of the race on Lap 262. Kahne stayed out with Sadler, but all the drivers behind the top two came to pit road.

It didn’t matter to Sadler that the drivers behind him had new tires. On old rubber, he pulled away for his second win in four Nationwide starts this year.

NASCAR Nationwide Series results from Bristol: