Elliott Sadler overcame sweltering heat to win the inaugural Gateway 300 Busch Grand National race at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday, his second straight victory in the series.
Sadler, who won at Myrtle Beach, S.C., two weeks ago, became the first repeat winner since Chad Little in 1995.Sadler, who wrecked his car 45 minutes before qualifying on Friday and was forced into his backup car, held off a last-lap charge from Jason Keller by .223 seconds for his third win of 1997.
"I've got to hand it to this crew," Sadler said. "They really worked hard. This was our backup car and it was awesome. It's great winning two in a row and I would like to make it three next week in Indianapolis."
Drivers in the race not only had to endure temperatures of over 120 degrees inside their cars, but also had to contend with a track that started coming apart due to the extreme heat. Officials estimated that track temperatures reached as high as 160 degrees during the race with the outside mercury reaching over 100 degrees by race end.
Due to the poor track conditions, there were 14 cautions for 75 laps, and only 22 cars were running at the end.