Fighting top six for Sadler.

Elliott Sadler had two reasons to be satisfied with his eventual sixth place showing in Sunday's Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for not only was it his best finish for new employer Robert Yates but it also came after he started the race with a car that handled like a shed.

Sadler drove to his best result ever at the fearsome 1.54-mile quad oval, finishing seven seconds behind winner Bobby Labonte in his #38 Ford which this weekend sported Pedigree Chum rather than its usual M&M's livery. Even though he started the race from the third position, unusually sunny race conditions caught the #38 team off guard and it was all Sadler could do just to stay on the lead lap during an initial green flag run that blew the field wide open.

The No. 38 car was tight into the centre of the corner and loose off. The race stayed under green flag conditions until lap 135 of the 325 lap event. At that point of the race Sadler was the final car on the lead lap in the 12th position.

Each time the No. 38 crew brought Sadler into the pits they made track bar and air pressure adjustments on the car. As the track conditions changed so did the car and Sadler fought the handling on it all day. He battled for the ninth position most of the afternoon.

In the closing laps of the race, Sadler said the car was at its best as he worked his way into the top-5. A late race caution on lap 304 disrupted Sadler's best run of the day as he rallied to a sixth place finish.

"We worked on this car all day long," said Elliott. "I am so proud of Raymond (Fox) and Shawn (Parker) for making the right calls all day. Each time the car improved and the over the wall guys worked hard. I know its only the fourth race for this team being together, but we have had two top-10's, one top-5 starting position and three bouts of bad luck where we had cars capable of top-10's. That's encouraging and I can't wait until we can win one for the Yates family, "M&M's" and for this team.

"My best tracks are coming up," continued Sadler. "Darlington, Bristol and Texas - all three have been good to me in the past and I really hope we can capitalize in the next few weeks."

The next event for the Winston Cup Series takes place at the historic Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Sadler finished second to Sterling Marlin at last years Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.