- Hermie Sadler
Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Herman Marion Sadler III
Birthdate = birth date and age|1969|4|24
Birthplace = Emporia,Virginia
Awards =1993 NBS Rookie of the Year
Previous_Year = 2006
Prev_Cup_Pos = 54th | Best_Cup_Pos = 44th - 2004 (Nextel Cup)
First_Cup_Race = 1996Miller 500 (Dover)
Last_Cup_Race = 2006GFS Marketplace 400 (Michigan)
First_Busch_Race = 1992Texas Pete 300 (Orange County)
First_Busch_Win = 1993Polaroid 300 (Orange County)
Last_Busch_Win = 1994Pantry Stores 300 (Orange County)
Last_Busch_Race = 2004Ford 300 (Homestead)
Best_Busch_Pos = 5th - 1994 (Busch Series)
Busch_Wins = 2
Busch_Top_Tens = 44
Busch_Poles = 3
Updated_On =November 12 ,2006 Herman Marion Sadler III (born
April 24 1969 ) is an American race car driver/announcer and professional wrestling promoter from Emporia,Virginia . He also an advocate forautism , as his daughter, Hailie Dru, was diagnosed with the disorder in 2001. His brotherElliott Sadler is also a NASCAR driver.His graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1991 with a BA in Industrial Relations, serving as an equipment manager for the school's lacrosse team. He also was a suitemate at the school with
Benny Parsons ' son Keith.Early years
Sadler began racing in
go-kart s alongside younger brother Elliott in their hometown of Emporia. He then began running late models in Virginia. In 1992, Sadler made his debut in theNASCAR Busch Series atOrange County Speedway . He started 19th but finished 25th after wrecking his #32Oldsmobile . He would run four more races that season, with a best finish of 20th atDover International Speedway .Busch Series
Sadler began running the Busch Series full-time in 1993. Driving the #25
Shell Oil /Virginia is for Lovers Oldsmobile forDon Beverly , Sadler picked a win at Orange County, finished tenth in points, and was named Rookie of the Year. He followed that up with another win and a fifth place points finish the next season. After that season ended, Sadler teamed with his father Herman to run the #1Chevrolet sponsored byDeWalt Tools . Although he did not win, Sadler had six top-ten finishes and a thirteenth-place finish. 1996 yielded a pole at theMilwaukee Mile , but Sadler continued to drop and finished 15th place in points. He also made his debut in theWinston Cup series, starting 30th and finishing 37th at theMiller 400 in the #26 Chevrolet owned byWilliam Slate .In 1997, his ride was purchased by
Diamond Ridge Motorsports , who also owned Elliott's current ride. Sadler grabbed two more poles and had seven top-ten finishes, finishing tenth in points. After a nearly identical season in 1998, Sadler was pushed out of the ride, while Elliott signed withWood Brothers Racing in the Cup series.Struggles
In 1999, Sadler signed to drive the #72
MGM Brakes Chevy for Ron Parker. But a DNQ at the season-openingNAPA Auto Parts 300 brought an end to a streak of 173 consecutive races for Sadler. Following his release following theMBNA Platinum 200 , Sadler spent the rest of the season withBACE Motorsports and thenInnovative Motorsports . In 2000, Sadler signed to drive the #30Little Trees Chevy for Innovative, but was plagued by DNQ's, and was quickly released. However, Innovative soon found that it had not been Sadler's fault that he had struggled, and invited him back for the rest of the season, and Sadler was able to post a 7th place finish atPikes Peak International Raceway .In 2001, Sadler and his wife Angela formed their own team, SCORE Motorsports. Running cars purchased from
Larry Hedrick Motorsports , Sadler's first attempt atRichmond International Raceway proved fruitless, as he failed to qualify. He eventually ran three races that season with theVirginia Lottery sponsoring, his best finish being a 27th at Dover. Sadler returned to the Busch Series in 2002, running a limited schedule in his own #02 as well as the #43 for theCurb Agajanian Performance Group . His best finish was a 21st at Richmond. Sadler also ran 10 Cup races that year, eight in the #02 and two races forJunie Donlavey .Recent years
In 2003, Sadler announced he would run the #54
Toys R Us Chevy forTeam Bristol Motorsports . Unfortunately, ownerRick Goodwin had problems paying off the team's debt, and the team shut down following theHardee's 250 . Sadler ended that Busch Season running three races on his own withZapf Creations sponsoring. He also ran ten more cup races that season, with sponsors such asDollar Tree , [http://www.goteamva.com Go Team VA] , andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling climbing on board. In 2004, former NBA playerBryant Stith became a co-owner of SCORE, and with help from fan donations, Sadler was able to run 30 races, the best finish being a twelfth at Milwaukee. He also ran 16 races in the Cup Series, and had a 23rd place finish atTalladega Superspeedway . He also fielded cars forCarl Long andAndy Belmont as well that season.During the lead-up to 2005, Sadler sold his Busch Series team and announced he was selling a large portion of his Cup team to
Jeff Stec , owner ofPeak Fitness , who would sponsor the new #66 car. Sadler continued to struggle despite the new ownership, and resigned from the ride midseason. He spent the balance of the year driving occasional races forFront Row Motorsports , and even returned to the 66 for one race in a sponsorship deal with Jerry Kilgore.In 2006, Sadler ran seven races for MBA Racing, racing the #00
Aaron's Rent Ford as a partnership with theMichael Waltrip Racing team. Sadler is currently a race analyst onNascar Race Day , shown onSpeed , serving as the official driver of SPEED 1, a racecar set up byJR Motorsports and crew chiefed byTodd Berrier . Sadler returned to competition atMartinsville Speedway 2007, driving the #71Chevrolet Silverado forAndy Hillenburg .Wrestling
In 2002 Sadler had a feud in
TNA Wrestling withRon Killings , and a number of appearances and matches as part of a cross promotion between TNA and NASCAR. TNA later sponsored Sadler's racing efforts.Hermie started the United Wrestling Federation, wrestling promotion in 2005. At first, the company worked with TNA Wrestling bringing house shows under the TNA/UWF moniker to areas like Detroit, Philadelphia, and other parts of the east coast. Hermie wrestled part time in his promotion as well, teaming with Rhino, Jeff Hardy, Team 3D, and others.
In late 2006, the UWF ceased co-promoting with TNA and began independent operations in 2007, although they continue to use the six sided ring that TNA utilizes. At a show in Richmond, Virginia on September 29, 2006, Hermie presented a $10,000 check to an Autism foundation. On December 5th 2007 he signed with TNA as an announcer.
External links
* [http://www.uwfusa.com United Wrestling Federation]
* [http://www.sadlerfanclub.com Sadler Fan Club]
* [http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=sadlehe01 Hermie Sadler Career Statistics]
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