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NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR

Elliott Sadler's 2005 STAR WARS Taurus


Elliott Sadler has been a "Racing Brat" all his life, as has brother Hermie. Long before Elliott was born in 1975,the Sadler family had begun racing - nearly 45 years ago. Elliott's father, Bud, and his uncles raced on the short tracks of Virginia . Young Elliott made his way from track to track with his Dad and uncles to watch them compete in the weekly racing series.

Inevitably, of course, Elliott began racing as well, first on the short tracks in Virginia in go-karts - at seven years old. He had over 200 victories before moving into the Late-Model Stock car division and added several series championships to his resume. At 18, Sadler joined the ranks of the weekly racing series, clinching a track championship title at South Boston Speedway in 1995. His success in the series caught the eye of Busch team owner Gary Bechtel, who gave Elliott a ride in a full-season Busch Series effort in 1997.

Sadler captured the pole for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. After thirteen starts Sadler had his first career Busch Series win, at Nazareth Speedway. This was followed by three more poles and two more victories at Myrtle Beach Speedway and Gateway International Raceway. He finished the year an impressive fifth in the Busch Series championship standings, and was the recipient of the Busch Pole Award for the most poles won in a single season. Sadler scored two more Busch Series wins in 1998 (Bristol Motor Speedway and North Carolina Speedway), in what would be his final season as a full-time Busch Series driver.

In 1999, the Wood Brothers signed Sadler to his first full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride. In his 75th career start Sadler took the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. After four seasons, Sadler landed the opportunity of a lifetime – driving for Robert Yates Racing (RYR) with M&M’S sponsorship for the 2003 season. The No. 38 RYR Team completed the year with two top five and nine top 10 finishes resulting in a 22nd-place finish in the point standings.

In 2004, Sadler struck early, at the season opening event at Daytona, winning the outside pole for the 500. In the Speedweeks session, Sadler took the checkered flag for a win in the Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying event marking primary sponsor M&M’S, first ever trip to Victory Lane. Success continued as Sadler won at Texas Motor Speedway, and California Speedway, clinching a position in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Chase for the Championship. Sadler was one of four drivers to stay in the top 10 in the point standings the entire season, with two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, finishing a respectable ninth in the championship standings.

The 2005 season marks the third season of Sadler in the M&M's 38 Ford owned by Robert Yates Racing. The model shown is the car Elliott drove at Phoenix under the lights in April, 2005,in the SUBWAY FRESH 500, in a colour scheme promoting the soon-to-be-released sci-fi epic STARWARS - Revenge of the Sith. This is the "DARK SIDE" colour scheme - Team mate Dale Jarrett got to be the good guy this race...

Shortly after the race, this file arrived from Sam, who had done yeoman's work ,on this and the 88 version, to reproduce these graphics. They were designed to fit the 2000-2002 vintage Taurus from Revell, or. preferably, the more accurate 2004 –spec body available from Perry’s Resin in 1/24th. This body, in conjunction with the kit chassis, is recommended for maximum accuracy. This is the body in the pictures. You can contact Perry’s resin thru their website: www.perrysresin.com for more info on price and availability. (See my write-up on Matt Kenseth's SMIRNOFF car for more info... Click Here)

I primed and painted the entire body to match references with a blend of TAMIYA TS37 Lavender and TS 8 Red, blended in a bottle and airbrushed on over PLASTIKOTE Grey Primer. (Cowl and rear spoiler should be black - I got overexcited, and forgot to paint them...).

Chassis was built box stock, except for seatbelts, and the mandated dashboard ignition tray - again I used a piece from Modern Motorsports.To find out more about these and Modern Motorsports' other offerings, Click Here.

Once i had the paint applied and had allowed it to dry overnight, it was time for the fun part - decalling!

I found the order of decal application to be critical, particularly the first steps, while applying the giant “M&M’s circles. I made sure sure to apply in order suggested by Sam on the decal sheet. I allowed them to dry for several hours, then applied other graphics, logos, etc.

Once all the decals are in place, and had had 24 hours or so to dry, I clearcoated them in place, applying successive light coats of clear (TS13, from warmed rattle-can, in LIGHT DUST COATS). After a day or two to dry, I polished it all up with terry cloth and Turtle Wax to a nice shine.

In the race, Sadler started from the 33rd position and, remaining on the lead lap for all 312 circuits, posted an 11th place finish in the #38 Dark Chocolate M&M’S Ford Taurus.

(This decal sheet is now available from 3 Amigos (Click here for our catalog page).

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