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Hermie Sadler
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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 for autism, as his daughter, Hailie Dru, was diagnosed with the disorder in 2001. His brother Elliott 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.
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Encyclopedia
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 for autism, as his daughter, Hailie Dru, was diagnosed with the disorder in 2001. His brother Elliott 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-karts alongside younger brother Elliott in their hometown of Emporia. He then began running late models in Virginia. In 1992, Sadler made his debut in the NASCAR Busch Series at Orange County Speedway. He started 19th but finished 25th after wrecking his #32 Oldsmobile. He would run four more races that season, with a best finish of 20th at Dover International Speedway.
Busch Series
Sadler began running the Busch Series full-time in 1993. Driving the #25 Shell Oil/Virginia is for Lovers Oldsmobile for Don 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 #1 Chevrolet sponsored by DeWalt Tools. Although he did not win, Sadler had six top-ten finishes and a thirteenth-place finish. 1996 yielded a pole at the Milwaukee Mile, but Sadler continued to drop and finished 15th place in points. He also made his debut in the Winston Cup series, starting 30th and finishing 37th at the Miller 400 in the #26 Chevrolet owned by William 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 with Wood 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-opening NAPA Auto Parts 300 brought an end to a streak of 173 consecutive races for Sadler. Following his release following the MBNA Platinum 200, Sadler spent the rest of the season with BACE Motorsports and then Innovative Motorsports. In 2000, Sadler signed to drive the #30 Little 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 at Pikes 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 at Richmond International Raceway proved fruitless, as he failed to qualify. He eventually ran three races that season with the Virginia 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 the Curb 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 for Junie Donlavey.
Recent years
In 2003, Sadler announced he would run the #54 Toys R Us Chevy for Team Bristol Motorsports. Unfortunately, owner Rick Goodwin had problems paying off the team's debt, and the team shut down following the Hardee's 250. Sadler ended that Busch Season running three races on his own with Zapf Creations sponsoring. He also ran ten more cup races that season, with sponsors such as Dollar Tree, , and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling climbing on board. In 2004, former NBA player Bryant 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 at Talladega Superspeedway. He also fielded cars for Carl Long and Andy 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 of Peak 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 for Front 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 the Michael Waltrip Racing team. Sadler is currently a race analyst on Nascar Race Day, shown on Speed, serving as the official driver of SPEED 1, a racecar set up by JR Motorsports and crew chiefed by Todd Berrier. Sadler returned to competition at Martinsville Speedway 2007, driving the #71 Chevrolet Silverado for Andy Hillenburg.
Wrestling
In 2002 Sadler had a feud in TNA Wrestling with Ron 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.
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