Elliott Sadler’s season got off to a turbulent start when he threatened to sue Gillett Evernham Motorsports to prevent the team from releasing him. Elliott Sadler’s season has been about as bumpy as a lap around Daytona International Speedway. The Emporia native threatened a lawsuit to keep his ride, nearly won the season-opening Daytona 500 and endured all sorts of changes, cutbacks and layoffs at Richard Petty Motorsports. But Sadler remains upbeat, even with the team’s uncertain future with Dodge.

ANOTHER EARNHARDT: Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt and cousin of current Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr., will make his Nationwide Series debut May 30 at Dover International Speedway. The 19-year-old driver, who has raced late model stock cars the past two years in the NASCAR Camping World Series East, has joined Rick Ware Racing, along with his father, Kerry Earnhardt.

Jeff Gordon continues to lead the Sprint Cup points standing after a fourth-place finish in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. But the four-time Cup champion has gone 46 races without a win. “We just were off, but I’ve got to give this team a ton of credit. They kept us in the game on pit road,“ Gordon said after his third top-five finish this season. “Right there at the end was the best we had been all day long.“

Robbie Loomis, director of racing for Richard Petty Motorsports, said yesterday that Bristol Motor Speedway isn’t big enough for 43 cars. So, those qualifying up front in today’s Food City 500, he says, have a better shot at victory today, especially considering the resurfaced .533-mile racetrack is even more challenging. “You’ve got to first finish to finish first,“ Loomis said. “Track position is a big [key], so it’s nice to qualify well.“

DARLINGTON, S.C.—In a rare show of accord, the NASCAR drivers testing tires at Darlington Raceway this week agreed that Goodyear is making progress on the most thankless task in racing.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Matt Kenseth took the lead in the nick of time yesterday to win a rain-shortened Daytona 500. Kenseth passed Emporia native Elliott Sadler on Lap 146 just before a yellow flag flew and rain that had been threatening all day finally arrived.

It didn’t matter that Gillett Evernham Motorsports fired him, Elliott Sadler never doubted he was wanted. However, the Emporia native didn’t exactly exude confidence days after receiving his pink slip. First, he protested. Then, he threatened to file a breach of contract lawsuit, alleging he was unfairly yanked from the No. 19 Dodge he had driven the past 2½ seasons.

Emporia’s Elliott Sadler will remain in the No. 19 Dodge of Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The announcement came yesterday, nearly two weeks after Sadler had been dropped by GEM in favor of A.J. Allmendinger. Sadler, who hasn’t won a Sprint Cup event since 2004, had threatened to file suit against the organization for breach of contract.

Elliott Sadler had hoped to jumpstart his career when midway through the 2006 Sprint Cup season he switched from Robert Yates Racing to Evernham Motorsports. With the exception of a handful of competitive efforts on the superspeedways at Daytona and Talladega, the Emporia native performed below expectations.