CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Elliott Sadler was back in his race car Tuesday, just days after a frightening accident at Talladega Superspeedway.

Sadler was not injured. His car flew into the air, sliding on its roof through the grass before flipping 4 times and coming to rest right side up.

He got out of the car on his own, but was flown to a nearby hospital for a precautionary examination that found no serious injuries.

“It was a scary wreck from inside of the car and it may have been a little scarier to see the replay,” he said Tuesday. “I was alert during the entire wreck. When you flip or get airborne, it’s a very eerie feeling.

“Everything goes quiet when you’re off the ground, and when you wreck and hit the wall there’s a lot of loud noises. Its hard to describe, but the two are totally different feelings.”

But Sadler didn’t hesitate to get back behind the wheel, testing his car Tuesday in Kentucky in preparation for Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.

Meanwhile, he praised NASCAR on its new policy of prohibiting drivers from racing to the caution flag because it allowed the safety crew to get to him much sooner after his wreck.

“The safety workers were there in a matter of seconds,” he said. “It would not have been a good feeling to sit there for a long period of time without seeing someone there to help.

“As soon as I stopped flipping the safety guys were on the scene and they were very respectful of my wishes with getting me out of the car and into the ambulance.”

AP-ES-09-30-03 1800EDT