Elton Sawyer

Elton Sawyer (born November 5, 1959) is a former NASCAR driver. He is married to former NASCAR driver Patty Moise. Sawyer is currently the Vice President, Officiating and Technical Inspection of NASCAR.[1]

Elton Sawyer
Born (1959-11-05) November 5, 1959
Chesapeake, Virginia
NASCAR Cup Series career
29 races run over 2 years
Best finish38th (1995)
First race1995 Hanes 500 (Martinsville)
Last race1996 NAPA 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
392 races run over 20 years
Best finish5th (1998, 1999, 2001)
First race1983 Cardinal 250 (Martinsville)
Last race2002 Ford 300 (Homestead)
First win1994 Cardinal Pride/Budweiser 250 (Myrtle Beach)
Last win1999 Busch 200 (Loudon)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 131 2
Statistics current as of November 2, 2013.

Beginnings

Sawyer began his career in the NASCAR Busch Series. He ran a handful of races in 1983, 1984, and 1985, scoring 8 top tens while running his own team. From 1986 to 1989, he ran full-time seasons with Lewis Motorsports. Sawyer ran competitively, scoring many top tens, while finishing between 14th and 18th in points in all of those years. Sawyer left the Lewis organization, after not winning in his four seasons with the team, and headed to the team owned by A.G. Dillard. In 1990, Sawyer ran his best career season, scoring 4 top fives and finishing 13th in the points. However the following year, the Dillard team faced sponsorship problems, which kept Sawyer from completing the whole year. He salvaged a 20th-place finish in the points that year. The sponsorship issues that affected Sawyer in 1991 also caused problems for him the next two years. He was not able to find a solid ride, and only competed in 4 races.

Mid 1990s

However, luck changed for Sawyer in 1994 when he found a solid ride at Sutton Racing. He would go on to win his first Busch Series race at Myrtle Beach Speedway. He would only have six more top tens the remaining of the year, finishing 14th in points. In 1995, Sawyer continued driving in the Busch Series full-time for Sutton, but he was named to replace Loy Allen Jr. in the No. 27 Winston Cup car Junior Johnson & Associates.[2] Sawyer's Cup season did not fare too well, but his Busch year was his best of date, finishing 9th in points. In that same year, Sawyer competed in the Winston Select, driving the No. 27 car of Junior Johnson that made it in, thanks to Jimmy Spencer winning twice the previous year.

Sawyer started the 1996 Cup season driving for David Blair Motorsports. However, after sponsorship problems, he was released from the team. He then decided to jump back down to Busch, however he did not grab a solid ride until 1997, when he rejoined Sutton. Sawyer would go on to finish 8th in points. In 1998, he had a great year, finishing 5th in points, after scoring 10 top tens. In 1999, Sawyer joined Akins Motorsports in the Busch Series. Sawyer had one of his most competitive years, winning a race at New Hampshire International Speedway. He also scored 14 top tens, and finished 5th in points. 2000 was also a great year for Sawyer after he scored once again 14 top tens and finished 6th in points.

Decline

2001 turned out to be Sawyer's last full season in NASCAR. He raced competitively, scoring his career high of 19 top tens in a season, while finishing 5th in points. Akins had sold the No. 98 car to Michael Kranefuss in April 2001, however the team was unable to secure sponsorship after the season and folded causing Sawyer to search for a ride for 2002. Sawyer did race 3 races in 2002 for the ailing Jeff Purvis at Brewco Motorsports. However, David Green received the ride in 2003. Sawyer continued looking for a ride; however, he was unable to find one due to the trend of teams wanting young drivers with sponsorship money.

On February 2, 2015, NASCAR announces that Sawyer would become the Managing Director of the Camping World Truck Series, replacing Chad Little, who was moved to a new role within the organization. Sawyer had previously served as the Director of Team Operations for Action Express Racing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.[3]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1995 Junior Johnson & Associates 27 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR
20
TAL
27
SON
DNQ
CLT
25
DOV
41
POC MCH
23
DAY NHA
23
POC
29
TAL
14
IND
41
GLN
29
MCH
21
BRI
DNQ
DAR
32
RCH
38
DOV
40
MAR
33
NWS
34
CLT
28
CAR
31
PHO
30
ATL
28
38th 1499 [4]
1996 David Blair Motorsports 27 Ford DAY
25
CAR
DNQ
RCH
30
ATL
19
DAR
30
BRI
37
NWS
32
MAR
DNQ
TAL
37
SON CLT
21
DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH
DNQ
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO 43rd 705 [5]
Ranier-Walsh Racing 20 Ford ATL
23
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1996 David Blair Motorsports Ford 18 25

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NBSC Pts Ref
1983 Zervakis Racing Team 01 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV BRI CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU CRW ROU SBO HCY LGY IRP GPS BRI HCY DAR RCH NWS SBO MAR ROU CLT HCY MAR
30
141st 73 [6]
1984 Sawyer Racing 02 Pontiac DAY RCH
7
CAR HCY MAR
5
DAR ROU NSV 38th 577 [7]
0 LGY
9
MLW DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU HCY IRP LGY SBO BRI DAR
Lewis Motorsports 42 Pontiac RCH
9
NWS CLT HCY CAR MAR
2
1985 DAY CAR HCY BRI MAR
8
DAR SBO LGY
4
DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU IRP SBO LGY
9
HCY MLW BRI DAR RCH
27
NWS ROU MAR
20
38th 577 [8]
Olds CLT
23
HCY CAR
1986 DAY CAR
29
15th 3046 [9]
Pontiac HCY
12
MAR
8
BRI DAR SBO
6
LGY
3
JFC
14
SBO
8
HCY
15
ROU IRP
21
SBO
4
RAL
20
OXF SBO
10
HCY
8
LGY
9
ROU
7
BRI
12
RCH
6
DOV MAR
9
ROU
11
CLT MAR
5
Chevy DOV
12
CLT
12
DAR
39
CAR
27
1987 DAY
14
HCY
13
MAR
27
DAR
25
BRI
25
LGY
3
SBO
24
CLT
39
DOV
11
IRP
2
ROU
11
JFC
14
OXF
32
SBO
14
HCY
20
RAL
18
LGY
3
ROU
2
BRI
4
JFC
24
DAR
24
RCH
12
DOV
28
MAR
26
CLT
43
CAR
36
MAR
8
14th 2955 [10]
1988 DAY
28
HCY
21
CAR
38
MAR
21
DAR
23
BRI
22
LNG
6
NZH
34
SBO
15
NSV
25
CLT
36
DOV ROU LAN LVL MYB
7
OXF
35
SBO
8
HCY
12
LNG
15
IRP
16
ROU
9
BRI
15
DAR
17
RCH
29
DOV
36
MAR
3
CLT
34
CAR
15
MAR
7
16th 2686 [11]
1989 DAY
23
CAR
15
MAR
3
HCY DAR
32
BRI NZH
24
SBO CLT
32
DOV
21
ROU
6
LVL
3
VOL
23
MYB
5
SBO
12
HCY
15
DUB
24
IRP
18
ROU
17
BRI DAR RCH
35
DOV MAR
30
CLT CAR MAR
15
18th 2202 [12]
Huffman Racing 70 Olds LAN
11
NSV
1990 A.G. Dillard Motorsports 41 Buick DAY
5
13th 3442 [13]
Roy Hill Racing 4 Buick RCH
8
A.G. Dillard Motorsports 27 Buick CAR
19
MAR
2
HCY
10
DAR
27
BRI
30
LAN
27
SBO
10
NZH
14
HCY
23
CLT
19
DOV
9
ROU
17
VOL
2
MYB
22
OXF
29
NHA
25
SBO
24
DUB
28
IRP
6
ROU
5
BRI
31
DAR
41
RCH
12
DOV
25
MAR
18
CLT
34
NHA
6
CAR
13
MAR
15
1991 DAY
15
RCH
26
CAR
25
MAR
5
VOL
12
HCY
12
DAR
29
BRI
27
LAN
11
SBO
7
NZH
11
CLT
38
DOV
23
ROU
23
20th 2481 [14]
Henderson Motorsports 75 Olds HCY
24
Laughlin Racing 45 Pontiac MYB
26
GLN OXF NHA
Fred Harris 67 Pontiac SBO
7
DUB
DNQ
IRP
14
ROU
27
BRI
12
DAR
23
RCH
34
DOV
21
CLT
DNQ
NHA CAR MAR
30
1992 Huffman Racing 77 Buick DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR
16
DAR BRI HCY LAN DUB NZH CLT DOV ROU MYB 81st 179 [15]
Owen Racing 91 Buick GLN
33
VOL NHA TAL IRP ROU MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR HCY
1993 Akins-Sutton Motorsports 38 Ford DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY ROU MAR NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL IRP MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH
25
DOV ROU CLT
36
MAR CAR HCY ATL 80th 143 [16]
1994 DAY
20
CAR
12
RCH
4
ATL
DNQ
MAR
22
DAR
13
HCY
28
BRI ROU
31
NHA
DNQ
NZH
2
CLT
21
DOV
13
MYB
1
GLN
35
MLW
8
SBO
17
TAL
21
HCY
14
IRP
22
MCH
20
BRI
15
DAR
9
RCH
31
DOV
13
CLT
5
MAR
19
CAR
39
14th 2873 [17]
Zock Motorsports 82 Ford ATL
38
1995 Akins-Sutton Motorsports 38 Ford DAY
39
CAR
32
RCH
15
ATL
10
NSV
30
DAR
38
BRI
18
HCY
26
NHA
2
NZH
8
CLT
27
DOV
12
MYB
10
GLN
22
MLW
14
TAL
10
SBO
7
IRP
2
MCH
13
BRI
26
DAR
8
RCH
10
DOV
17
CLT
20
CAR
14
HOM
12
9th 2952 [18]
1996 MS Racing 14 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL
33
NSV
12
DAR BRI HCY
17
NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP 39th 1217 [19]
Akins-Sutton Motorsports 38 Ford MCH
25
BRI
12
DAR
16
RCH
22
DOV
8
CLT
19
CAR
14
HOM
15
1997 DAY
16
CAR
12
RCH
11
ATL
2
LVS
31
DAR
17
HCY
6
TEX
11
BRI
32
NSV
17
TAL
42
NHA
4
NZH
23
CLT
43
DOV
9
SBO
5
GLN
19
MLW
6
MYB
5
GTY
4
IRP
3
MCH
16
BRI
34
DAR
13
RCH
31
DOV
16
CLT
22
CAL
19
CAR
12
HOM
32
8th 3419 [20]
1998 DAY
28
CAR
14
LVS
30
NSV
10
DAR
11
BRI
4
TEX
27
HCY
27
TAL
10
NHA
27
NZH
36
CLT
8
DOV
8
RCH
18
PPR
4
GLN
11
MLW
2
MYB
11
CAL
12
SBO
25
IRP
8
MCH
8
BRI
18
DAR
12
RCH
33
DOV
3
CLT
13
GTY
38
CAR
32
ATL
13
HOM
26
5th 3533 [21]
1999 98 DAY
21
CAR
7
LVS
26
ATL
8
DAR
2
TEX
12
NSV
8
BRI
3
TAL
41
CAL
7
NHA
1
RCH
34
NZH
32
CLT
8
DOV
9
SBO
23
GLN
11
MLW
34
MYB
7
PPR
8
GTY
13
IRP
8
MCH
26
BRI
7
DAR
14
RCH
16
DOV
26
CLT
19
CAR
14
MEM
3
PHO
15
HOM
13
5th 3891 [22]
2000 Akins Motorsports DAY
30
CAR
12
LVS
25
ATL
18
DAR
9
BRI
12
TEX
28
NSV
13
TAL
18
CAL
9
RCH
34
NHA
9
CLT
9
DOV
9
SBO
3
MYB
3
GLN
7
MLW
6
NZH
2
PPR
25
GTY
10
IRP
6
MCH
31
BRI
29
DAR
3
RCH
19
DOV
33
CLT
29
CAR
19
MEM
2
PHO
11
HOM
40
6th 3776 [23]
2001 DAY
43
CAR
29
LVS
8
ATL
35
DAR
9
BRI
17
TEX
21
NSH
5
TAL
6
CAL
12
RCH
40
NHA
9
NZH
11
CLT
19
DOV
6
KEN
4
MLW
6
GLN
6
CHI
8
GTY
8
PPR
30
IRP
4
MCH
7
BRI
5
DAR
2
RCH
8
DOV
11
KAN
16
CLT
9
MEM
26
PHO
38
CAR
10
HOM
2
5th 4100 [24]
2002 Brewco Motorsports 37 Chevy DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR
22
PHO
20
HOM
22
70th 297 [25]

References

  1. "NASCAR enhances competition executive team". Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  2. Pearce, Al (May 17, 1995). "Driver To Do Double Duty: Sawyer To Run Cup, Grand National Races". Daily Press. Newport News, VA. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  3. "NASCAR moves Chad Little to inspection role; Elton Sawyer to lead Truck Series". Fox Sports. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  4. "Elton Sawyer – 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  5. "Elton Sawyer – 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  6. "Elton Sawyer – 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  7. "Elton Sawyer – 1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  8. "Elton Sawyer – 1985 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  9. "Elton Sawyer – 1986 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  10. "Elton Sawyer – 1987 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  11. "Elton Sawyer – 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  12. "Elton Sawyer – 1989 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  13. "Elton Sawyer – 1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  14. "Elton Sawyer – 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  15. "Elton Sawyer – 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  16. "Elton Sawyer – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  17. "Elton Sawyer – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  18. "Elton Sawyer – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  19. "Elton Sawyer – 1996 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  20. "Elton Sawyer – 1997 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  21. "Elton Sawyer – 1998 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  22. "Elton Sawyer – 1999 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  23. "Elton Sawyer – 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  24. "Elton Sawyer – 2001 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  25. "Elton Sawyer – 2002 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
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