Labonte May not Catch Jarrett But Elton Sawyer Will

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 10) – Dale Jarrett’s run to the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship seems unstoppable, but there is one man who will catch him this weekend – Elton Sawyer.

Sawyer, driver of the Lysol Ford in the NASCAR Busch Series, will make his 324th career start in Saturday’s Hotwheels.com 300, tying him with Jarrett for second place in career starts in the NASCAR Busch Series. Only Tommy Houston with 407 has more career starts than Jarrett and Sawyer.

Although Sawyer says he is proud to be mentioned in the same sentence as Jarrett and Houston, at the front of his mind is closing in on his second consecutive fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Busch Series Championship. Sawyer is capping off his most successful NASCAR Busch Series season to date. He stands fifth in the point standings and has accumulated one win, four top-five finishes and 14 top-10 finishes. Jeff Purvis is sixth in the standings, with 197 points less than Sawyer.

“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of this team this year,” Sawyer said. “They all worked extremely hard. We are pleased with fifth place, but obviously, would like to be better. The competition seems to get stronger every year, and we have programs in place to help us be more competitive next year.”

Sawyer is optimistic about his chances to score a third career victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“We have run well here in the past,” Sawyer said. “This is a great track to run on with its long straightaways and flat corners. The 38 team tested here, and it went well for them. We all discussed what they learned and what we may be able to apply to our team. We are carrying the same car we ran last weekend, and I think we will run well. I would really like to pull this Lysol Ford into Victory Lane one more time before the season is over.”

Coverage of Saturday’s Hotwheels.com 300 from Homestead-Miami Speedway begins at 1:30 p.m. EST on television on NBC and at 1:15 p.m. EST on MRN radio.