Sadler's second 125 win

He traded the lead with fellow Ford star Ricky Rudd early on, and then sailed past Dodge driver Jeremy Mayfield, who gambled on taking only two tyres during his pitstop.

Sadler was well ahead at the finish, thanks to a penultimate corner collision between Sterling Marlin and Kevin Harvick. Marlin's robust move earned him second by a fraction from Jimmie Johnson. Mark Martin, who toiled his way past Joe Nemecheck for fifth with five laps to go, picked up fourth on the finish line as Harvick limped across the line a chastened fifth.

"This is the biggest win of my professional career," said Sadler. "Daytona is the best. I am so proud of the pit guys. If I didn't come out of the pits first, I would not have won this race. I got the okay from Robert [Yates, team owner] to go and win the race, and that's what I did. I'm still shaking!"

Harvick said: "We were just racing for a trophy, I tried but lost out. I just couldn't get by Elliott on my own so I backed up to get a run and it didn't work out."

Marlin said: "I had a few good runs on Kevin, but when he backed off to get a run on Elliott, I managed to get him."