Johnny Sauter 2010 Headlines

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07-28-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway

Johnny Sauter enters the Pocono Mountains 125 looking to continue doing exactly what he and the ThorSport Racing team have been doing throughout the first half of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – running up front and contending for victories. Sauter is as intense and competitive as it gets behind the wheel so despite three consecutive top-five finishes at Iowa, Gateway, and ORP, he is hungry to win and nothing but a victory will leave him satisfied.

Is it possible for someone who doesn’t compete to fully understand your competitive nature and your desire to win every time out? “I have always been very motivated to win, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to make it happen. If we don’t run well because we just didn’t get the truck the way it should be, I still put all that weight on my own shoulders. And if we have a day and we’re horrible and we end up 30th it’s my name that’s listed there. We all want to win on this team and we’re all working our hardest to make it happen. I am as proud of my team as anyone can be. They work hard and build me awesome trucks. We’re working on some things to make us even better. We know we need to be a little better on pit road and the guys are stepping up their practice and training programs. We’re giving it all we can to win some more races before the season is over, and if we can do that we should be right there at the end of the season for the championship too.”

Since it is just a short sprint race, what type of race do you think we will see at Pocono? “Pocono is very demanding on every aspect of the team. You need a great handling truck, you need your aero package to be as good as it can be and you need a lot of horsepower. I am really confident in the team to get the package we need and I think I can get the job done from inside the truck. It’s a short race so you don’t have a lot of time to be patient or wait; you’re going to need to get to the front as fast as you can. Even though things can get spread out a little at a place like Pocono I think the short race will have everyone racing really hard and you’ll see some action that you might not see in a Cup race.”

Although you have only been with ThorSport Racing on a full-time basis for a season and a half what does racing for a team with 500 starts in the Truck Series mean to you? “It’s awesome to see any team hit a milestone like that. I know Duke and Rhonda Thorson are as committed to this as they have ever been, and you can see it with the results we have on the track. This team has developed into a winner and a championship contender. As proud as I am for them to hit 500 starts, I am even more proud to know we’re up front winning races and giving them a chance to race for a championship.”

07-25-10

Sauter Rallies Back to Fourth in Truck Race at ORP

After racing up to second-place during the middle stages of the race, Johnny Sauter raced back to fourth after problems during the final round of pit stops dropped the No. 13 SealMaster/Curb Records Chevrolet back to ninth with just 56 laps to go in the AAA Insurance 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Sauter started ninth and charged towards the front at the drop of the green, cracking the top five by lap 60 on the tricky 0.686-mile oval and working his way up to second just after a restart at the halfway point. But a caution with 60 laps to go threw Sauter’s night into turmoil. A loose lugnut cost Sauter four seconds on pit road, dropping him again all the way back to ninth. Sauter’s impressive charge to the front over the final 50 laps resulted in his fifth top-five finish of the season, his third consecutive and fourth in the last five races.

“The SealMaster/Curb Records Chevy was really strong tonight and I thought we had a chance to get up there and win the race,” Sauter said. “We had some problems on the last pit stop and it dropped us back and I had to really use the truck up to get back to fourth. When you push that hard and you have to run that lower groove to pass it just burns the right front tire off and we had make our way up through the pack twice tonight. We’re disappointed because we come here to win and we had a chance to get it done tonight. I’m not a points racer at all but with the problems with the 51 (Aric Almirola, second in the standings) we gained a lot on them. I’m still really proud of my guys, they built me a great truck and we had a real good chance to win, we just need to work on our pit stops. If we can do that we’ll win our share of these races and get ourselves in position to win the championship.”

Sauter also fought issues with the heat, which was in the upper 90s with the heat index hovering above 110 degrees throughout the afternoon. Cockpit temperatures exceeded 135 degrees during the day’s practice sessions, and although it cooled off into the 70s during the race it was still very warm in the truck.

“It wasn’t as bad as Gateway last weekend but not by much,” Sauter said. “I’m pretty beat after a day like today. Thankfully it did cool off a little once the race started and the sun went down. Hopefully we get a break from the heat up at Pocono next week.”

Next up for Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Curb Records Chevrolet is the Pocono Mountains 125 at the 2.5-mile triangular Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 30. As a team, ThorSport Racing will be participating in its 328th race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, moving into second-place all-time behind only Roush Fenway Racing with 353 races and into the lead among active teams. The green flag will fly shortly after 1 P.M. Eastern live on SPEED. The race will also be broadcast live on select MRN Radio affiliates nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

07-21-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 SealMaster/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: O’Reilly Raceway Park

It doesn’t take much to motivate Johnny Sauter to go out and win. Hang a checkered flag and offer up a trophy to the winner and Sauter is all in. But put that trophy within his grasp and then snatch it away at the last second and Sauter will find that extra motivation, and that’s exactly how he feels returning to O’Reilly Raceway Park. Sauter, in a self-built truck no less, dominated the Camping World Truck race at ORP in 2004, leading 139 of the race’s 200 laps. But a bump out of the last turn coming to the white flag dropped him to second and he’s ready to even the score.

What do you remember about that 2004 race at ORP? “We dominated that race. It was a truck that Joe Shear and I built in my garage. My dad had raced it one other time that year at Milwaukee but it was the first time I drove and we didn’t really know what to expect. We led most of the race and then there was a caution with about 20 to go. We stayed out and everyone else pitted. We still drove away from them on the restart but there was another spin with about five to go and we couldn’t hold them off on that restart. Travis Kvapil got into us coming to the white flag and that opened the top groove for Chad Chaffin and it pushed us back to second.”

Did you have to get used to racing next to the wall when you first raced there? “I’ve never really run the high groove there like everyone else does. I’ve always run a little bit different groove there. It didn’t seem strange to me to be that close to the wall, you just want to run wherever your car or truck is the fastest. I found a line that was a little better for me, but lately it seems that the pavement is getting a little worn down and the grip isn’t what it used to be. Even the groove that I run has moved up a little bit.”

What is it about ORP that seems to suit you so well? “I don’t know what it is about that place but I just love racing there. I won the ASA race there in 2000 the same night we locked up the championship. The first time I raced a Nationwide car there we finished fourth. We ran second in both the Truck race and the Nationwide race in 2004. Joe and I seem to have a really good setup for that place and whenever you have that confidence that you’re going to run good you usually do.”

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07-17-10

Sauter Perseveres to Third in St. Louis Heat

After a 16-hour delay for a power outage that moved the CampingWorld.com 200 from the relatively cool conditions on Friday night to the sweltering heat of Saturday afternoon, Johnny Sauter fought extreme temperatures in the cockpit and unpredictable track conditions to bring the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet home to a third-place finish at Gateway International Raceway. It’s Sauter’s second consecutive top-three finish; he came home second last weekend at Iowa Speedway.

“That might be the hottest I’ve ever been in a race in my entire career,” Sauter said. “It’s a big difference between racing when it’s cool at night and here during the heat of the day. We try and try to take as much weight out of these trucks as we can, and today I think we sweated about 15 pounds out of the driver.”

Sauter credited a gutsy pit call by crew chief Joe Shear, Jr. late in the race with preserving track position and allowing him to challenge for the win late in the race.

“We took two tires late trying to keep track position and it worked,” Sauter said. “I didn’t think we had a top three or a top five truck here today but Joe and the guys made it happen with pit strategy. It was really tough to figure out what kind of adjustments we could make with the track being as hot and slick as it was. I think if we could have gotten it figured out we could have gotten up there and fought for the win like we did last week. But it was a great day for the ThorSport guys again, we had both trucks up in the top five again this weekend.”

On the strength of his fourth top-five finish of the season, Sauter jumps to third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings. Sauter gained five points on leader Todd Bodine, now just 196 points behind. He’s just 95 points behind Aric Almirola in second.

Next up for Sauter and the ThorSport Racing No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet is the AAA Insurance 200 next Friday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. The race is scheduled to go green shortly after 8 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live on SPEED. It can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

07-14-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Express Notes: CampingWorld.com 200 at Gateway

After a runner-up finish in last week’s Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway, Johnny Sauter and the ThorSport Racing No. 13 Curb Records Chevrolet team head to Gateway International Raceway to try to better last season’s second-place result at the quirky 1.25-mile oval. Sauter was in position to win last season’s race at Gateway - he was in and among the lead pack all afternoon - and was just behind teammate Matt Crafton and then-leader Ron Hornaday when they tangled on a late-race restart. When Sauter checked up to avoid Hornaday’s spinning truck he was passed by eventual winner Mike Skinner. Sauter isn’t focused on the past, but is using last year’s experience to make the No. 13 Chevrolet more competitive so he can drive it into victory lane on Friday night.

Does what happened at Gateway last year come back to mind at all headed back in 2010? “I try not to dwell on those things. You can look back at it and say you could have done this or done that, but that’s not what we do. What I think about isn’t what happened on the track or the controversy but how our truck handled, how the race played out, and what we need to do to make our truck better for this season. That’s what I talk to Joe (Shear) and the guys about, not what happened with Matt or anything else. That race was last year and this is this year, and that’s where our focus is.”

What’s most important at Gateway, horsepower, handling, or aerodynamics? “To me, if you’re going to have a chance to win, you need to get through turns one and two the best. You have to use a lot of brakes to get in there and then get the truck turned and off the corner good because you have a long straightaway afterwards. Turns three and four are more of a basic corner to me, very much like Milwaukee. You need that horsepower to get down the straightaways but you need the truck to handle to get the power down.”

Is Gateway more superspeedway or more short track? “To me it’s all short track. Yeah it has really long straightaways but the corners there drive just like a short track does. You have to use a lot of brakes to get turned and you have to have the truck handling to get off the corners. There are a couple different lanes you can use on both ends of the track too. I can draw a lot of similarities between Gateway and some of the short tracks I’ve raced on.”

07-12-10

Sauter a Strong Second in Iowa

After fighting mid-race radio problems that wouldn’t allow him to communicate with his crew, Johnny Sauter fought hard over the final 50 laps to race to a second-place finish in Sunday’s Lucas Oil 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway. Sauter was just 0.635-seconds behind winner Austin Dillon at the finish.

Sauter qualified fifth but was shuffled to eighth at the start. He methodically worked his way through traffic back to the top five, but dropped to tenth after the first round of pit stops under caution at lap 42. From there, despite the radio issues, Sauter charged towards the front. He was up to fourth by the halfway mark, and on a restart at lap 150 became the only driver to pass Dillon on the track all afternoon to lead four laps before Dillon zipped past the No. 13 Karl Chevrolet/Curb Records Chevrolet to retake the lead.

Sauter had two more chances to race Dillon for the lead as late-race cautions bunched the field, but a minute stumble on the final restart when Dillon broke momentum just before the green flag forced Sauter into a defensive mode.

“After we got by the 3 truck on that restart with 50 to go, he chose the outside lane for the final two restarts,” Sauter said. “When we were coming to the green on the green-white-checkered at the end I knew I was going to have to get a good jump to clear him coming off two so I was anticipating the start. He must have rolled off the gas just a little coming to the stripe because I looked over and he wasn’t there, and I had to let up and it broke our momentum. I didn’t want to beat him to the line because we’d have risked a black flag. Once that happened it was all I could do to hold off (ThorSport Racing teammate Matt) Crafton at the end.”

Sauter stays fifth in the Camping World Truck Series championship standings, but closed the gap considerably as the four drivers ahead of him all had problems at Iowa. Sauter is now 201 points behind leader Todd Bodine and just ten points behind third-place Ron Hornaday.

Next up for Sauter and the No. 13 Curb Records Chevrolet is the Camping World 200 at Gateway International Raceway on Friday July 16. The race will be televised live on SPEED at 8 P.M. Eastern and broadcast live on select affiliates MRN Radio affiliates nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

07-07-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 Karl Chevrolet/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway

After a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway in 2009, Johnny Sauter is ready to return and chase victory in 2010. Sauter comes back to Iowa with Karl Chevrolet on board again, and thanks to dealer principal Carl Moyer, Sauter will also make his first-ever attempt at dirt track racing on Friday night at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway.

What are your thoughts on heading back to Iowa Speedway for the second time? “Before we ever raced there we had heard so much about Iowa and what a great track it is and what an awesome facility it is so we really looked forward to coming out here last season. We ran really well here last year so we’re coming back thinking we are going to have a chance to win. It’s a fun racetrack. It took me about half the race last year to figure out how to drive the track and once I finally did then we went to the front. Now that I know how to drive the track we should be at the front all day long on Sunday.”

Is Iowa more of a short track or a superspeedway? “I originally thought it was going to be more of a momentum track like a lot of the mile and a half tracks we go to, and maybe it is like that when we first get there and the track is green and doesn’t have any rubber. But once we start laying down rubber I found myself driving it a lot like Richmond. The longer we run the more it drives like a short track instead of a speedway.”

Since you say it drives like a short track, do you expect to see a lot of typical short track bump-and-run racing? “It is a fast racetrack but that doesn’t mean you won’t see a lot of short track style racing. I definitely think you can get away with some of that bump-and-run but you don’t want to knock the fenders off. A lot of that’s going to depend on who you’re racing with and what positions they put you in out there. I won’t say you’ll see a lot of it, but I wouldn’t rule anything out either.”

Sauter to visit Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny, make his dirt track debut on Friday: On Friday July 9 the No. 13 Karl Chevrolet/Curb Records Chevrolet will be on display at the dealership, located at 1101 SE Oralabor Road in Ankeny just outside of Des Moines from 2:30 P.M. through 4:30 P.M. Sauter will also make an appearance, signing autographs and answering questions from race fans from 3 P.M. through 5 P.M. Following the autograph session, Sauter will head to the Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway to compete in a Dirt Truck Racing Association event on the semi-banked half-mile.

“Last year we finished fifth at Iowa with Karl Chevrolet on the truck with us,” Sauter said. “We’re ready to go on back and try to get us and them a win. It’s shaping up to be a fun weekend with the appearance at the dealership, the race at the State Fair, and then some good short track racing on Sunday afternoon. I’ve not done a lot of dirt track racing in my career but I am always up for a challenge and Carl’s promised me a good truck. It’s always fun to go to an area that is starved for NASCAR racing and Iowa has really welcomed us with open arms. I can’t wait to get out there and get started.”

06-12-10

Late Race Cautions Foil Sauter’s Two-Tire Strategy at Michigan

Johnny Sauter finished 14th in Saturday’s VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway after a late-race gamble to take two-tires on the final pit stop was derailed by two late caution flags that bunched the field and enabled drivers with four fresh tires to race past Sauter’s No. 13 EZ Grill/Curb Records Chevrolet.

Sauter fought a loose condition throughout the early stages of the race, and despite a major chassis adjustment called by crew chief Joe Shear, Jr., Sauter was never able to find the feel he was looking for to gain track position and get in contention to win. Following the third caution of the day – which was actually a 40-minute delay for a brief rain shower – the race restarted on lap 42 ran for an extended period of time without a caution flag. Sauter was running ninth when he readied for a green-flag pit stop with 22 laps to go when Shear called for a two-tire stop to gain track position. The gamble paid off as Sauter jumped to sixth, but that strategy would only pay off in the race ran to its conclusion under green.

With 17 laps to go, Sauter’s teammate Matt Crafton had engine problems which drew the fourth caution of the day. Sauter fought hard to maintain position on the restart, and a subsequent restart on lap 93, but the trucks with four fresh tires were able to race past through the long, sweeping corners.

“We aren’t happy at all with today,” Sauter said. “We’re here to run up front and win races and we were never in a position to do that today. We aren’t here to run around in ninth or tenth, we want to be up front leading laps and fighting for the win. We were really loose all day long and we tried to make some adjustments and they didn’t help like we thought they would. We tried a Hail Mary at the end with the two-tire stop and it put us up close to the top five but we needed it to go green the rest of the way. As soon as the caution came out we were a sitting duck for those guys with four tires. We’ve already put this one behind us, we’re looking ahead to going to Iowa. We’re happy to have had EZ Grill on with us for this race, we just wish we were a little closer to the front for them.”

Sauter remains fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 94 points behind fourth-place Ron Hornaday and 264 points behind leader Todd Bodine.

The next race for Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Curb Records Chevrolet is the Iowa 200 at the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway on Sunday June 11. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 2 P.M. Eastern; it can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

06-08-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 EZ Grill/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway

Johnny Sauter heads to the Irish Hills of Michigan riding a wave of momentum. Not only is he fresh of a runner-up finish last Friday night at Texas, but he has a new sponsor on board the No. 13 Chevy that he hopes helps him grill the competition on the wide, fast two-mile Michigan International Speedway.

What’s the biggest challenge to racing at Michigan? “It’s big, fast, and wide so there is a lot of room to race but the challenge to it is keeping your momentum up all the way around. With the Trucks and the spacer we run, you have to stay on the gas or you lose all your momentum and it slows you way down. I like racing there and it’s fun to be able to go three and four wide but keeping that momentum up while you’re racing in traffic is a challenge.”

Do you look forward to racing at Michigan since it’s back in the Midwest where you earned your racing stripes? “I wouldn’t say I don’t like racing at Michigan but it’s not one of the tracks I look forward to because the finishes don’t really match with how we’ll we’ve run there over the years. Last year is a good example – we were running right near the front when someone spun in front of us and we got collected and tore up the right rear fender. We got that fixed and raced back up into the top ten and had a flat with three laps to go and ended up a couple laps down. But I have every confidence in the world in the truck that we’re taking and with the guys on the team. I really think we’ll be up front at the end of the day fighting for the win. If we can turn that luck around a little then Michigan will be a track I look forward to coming to.”

Sauter’s Midwest Success: Johnny has had much success racing in the Midwest, including scoring the 2001 ASA championship with 10 wins in 20 starts that season. Two of those races were in close proximity to MIS at Berlin (90 minutes west) and Toledo (60 minutes southeast). Sauter dominated both races, winning at Toledo and finishing third at Berlin after racing from the tail of the lead lap due to a problem on pit road.

EZ Grill On-board at MIS: EZ Grill, the ultimate portable, disposable and mess-free ready-to-use grill, will sponsor Johnny Sauter at Michigan International Speedway. EZ Grill, complete with all natural charcoal, lights easily with one match and provides at least and hour and a half of cooking time. It is environmentally friendly using plant material versus wood and is 100 percent recyclable. EZ Grill is available at over 49,000 retailers across the United States including Menards, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Safeway, and through EZGrill.com.

06-05-10

EZ Grill to Sponsor Sauter at Michigan

EZ Grill, the ultimate portable, disposable and mess-free ready-to-use grill, will sponsor ThorSport Racing driver Johnny Sauter in the upcoming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

“It’s really cool to have EZ Grill on board the No. 13 Chevy for the Michigan race,” Sauter said. “I think we have two sponsors that reach out to NASCAR fans the best with EZ Grill and Tim McGraw on board with us. Everyone knows that country music and NASCAR go hand-in-hand and there isn’t a larger cookout anywhere in the world than at a NASCAR race. Since so many people are camping and tailgating and traveling long distances to the races makes EZ Grill a perfect fit for NASCAR fans. They can bring the grill with them and drop it off in the trash on the way out and not have to worry about carrying it home. Like they say, you can grill anytime, anywhere with it. It’s an awesome product and we’re glad to have them on board with us.”

EZ Grill, complete with all natural charcoal, lights easily with one match and provides at least and hour and a half of cooking time. It is environmentally friendly using plant material versus wood and is 100 percent recyclable. EZ Grill is available at over 49,000 retailers across the United States including Menards, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Safeway, and through EZGrill.com.

Sauter is currently fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings with one win (Kansas) so far in 2010 and finished second in the last series event at Texas Motor Speedway.

06-05-10

Sauter Races to Second in Texas

After struggling with the handling of the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet in the early stages of the race, Johnny Sauter and the ThorSport Racing crew made the right adjustments which allowed Sauter to get back into the fight and race his way to second place in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Sauter had been trapped a lap down during a round of green flag pitstops, but a caution flag waved on lap 77 before the entire field had completed their work on pit road and Sauter received the free pass to rejoin the lead lap. Once back on the lead lap, and with the handling issues rectified, Sauter steadily worked his way to the front.

“Joe and the guys did a great job getting us loosened up so we could be competitive at the end,” Sauter said. “On the last restart I knew with Todd (Bodine) and Ron (Hornaday) being side by side there was a good chance they would get together and wreck. I could have made it three wide and pushed it but I figured if they did get together we’d get by both of them without having to fight them for it. Somehow Hornaday got loose going into turn three and we didn’t have to fight for second with him. It stinks to be that close to winning and not getting it done. We’re all pretty competitive and we’re here to win races. But it was a good points night for the In Country Television/Curb Records Chevy so we’ll look at the big picture and head to Michigan and try to get us another win.”

Sauter moves up to fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 205 points behind Texas winner and current leader Todd Bodine and just 50 points behind Ron Hornaday for fourth.

Next up for Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Curb Records Chevrolet is the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday June 12. The race is scheduled for a 2 P.M. Eastern start and will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide as well as on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

06-02-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas

Johnny Sauter has had success in his previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Texas Motor Speedway. With two sixth-place finishes last season Sauter knows how get around the fast 1.5-mile quad-oval. But sixth isn’t good enough for Sauter; he’s headed back to Texas with one goal in mind, wearing the famous TMS cowboy hat and firing off the commemorative pistols in victory lane.

What’s your game plan to get into victory lane at Texas? “It seems like it’s been feast or famine for the No. 13 team this year so we’re headed to Texas thinking it’s time for another feast. We’ve tried some things that we thought should work but didn’t so we’re going down with what we know. We ran really good at Texas last year and we’ll have the same truck so we have a good baseline to start from. We’ve been so up-and-down this year that a sixth-place finish might be good, but really we’re looking for a lot more than that. We’d like to come out of Texas with a good solid top-five finish and work on building our consistency for the rest of the summer. But the main goal is what it is every week and that’s to come out with a win.”

How does Texas compare now versus when you started racing there in 2001? “It has aged like a lot of the other tracks we race at and it’s made it a lot more competitive. When you lose grip it makes the trucks slip and slide and the driver can really pick it up against the competition. There are a lot of little bumps in the asphalt and the track has a lot of character to it now and that leads to more side by side racing.”

There is a big bump in turn one over the tunnel at Texas; how do you work on your setup with coil-binding to make it work over the bumps? “That’s the key to the whole thing at Texas. If you can keep on the gas over the bump in turn one that’s a tenth of a second a lap. That’s what separates the guys running first and second from the guys running sixth and seventh. Joe (Shear) and the guys spend a lot of time working on perfecting that setup so we can stay wide open over that bump and get that advantage over the competition.”

05-25-10

“Science Project” Doesn’t Give Sauter Results at Charlotte

Johnny Sauter and crew chief Joe Shear, Jr. tried something a little different with the setup of the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but their science project left Sauter with an ill-handling truck and a twelfth-place finish.

“We had our best truck at Charlotte, No. 23, and we tried something to make it run even better,” Sauter said. “We know to run against the competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series we need to be looking for ways to make ourselves better because if we stay where we are we’re actually moving backwards compared to the other teams. We tried something and it didn’t work the way we thought it would. The downside is we finished twelfth but the upside is we learned what not to do in the future. It’s just like when you go test somewhere; learning what doesn’t work is almost as important as learning what does work.”

Sauter remains sixth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 180 points behind leader Todd Bodine and 14 points behind teammate Matt Crafton for fifth.

The next race for Sauter and the No. 13 Curb Records Chevrolet is the Winstar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 4. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 8:30 P.M. Eastern. The race will also be broadcast live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

05-18-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Johnny Sauter heads to Charlotte on a mile-and-a-half hot streak. Since teaming with crew chief Joe Shear, Jr. at Chicagoland Speedway last August, Sauter has scored two wins (Las Vegas, 2009; Kansas 2010), three top-five finishes, and six top ten finishes on the 1.5-mile tracks. In the sixteen races in which the duo have been paired together they have racked up an impressive 8.9 average finish, including seven top-five finishes and ten top-ten finishes. If not for events out of their control at Martinsville and Dover, where trouble not of their own doing took them out of the top-five within sight of the checkered flag, they would almost certainly have added to both of those totals.

What’s the most challenging part of racing at Charlotte? “The biggest challenge is the mechanical side. It’s getting the nose down and getting the truck over the bumps. From a driver’s perspective it’s a great place to go race. It’s fast and it has a ton of grip and it’s one of those races we all look forward too all year long. I’d give anything to win at Charlotte.”

How much of your previous experience in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series carries over to racing at Charlotte in a Truck? “There really isn’t much that carries over at all. When you’re driving a Cup or a Nationwide car you have to get out of the gas for so long, but with a Truck you’re on the throttle wide open for a real long time. I heard Elliott Sadler talk about driving a Truck compared to a Sprint Cup car and he couldn’t believe how fast these Trucks go through the center of the corner. So even though I’ve been to Charlotte a lot and had a lot of Sprint Cup and Nationwide races there, there really isn’t any of that previous experience that carries over.”

05-15-10

Tire troubles leave Sauter 15th at Dover

Johnny Sauter was just six laps away from slaying the Monster Mile, but a flat right front tire on lap 194 sent the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet into the turn four wall and out of contention for a top-five finish in the Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway. Thanks to some good work behind the wheel and then some quick work to make repairs on pit road, the damage was minimized and repaired giving Sauter a chance to recover to 15th at the finish.

“We had a great truck today and we were in a great position to get another top-five finish but the right front went down and we got up into the wall,” Sauter said. “There were a few other right front tire failures today and those guys weren’t as fortunate as we were. We just barely bounced off the fence and the guys did a good job of getting it repaired enough to get back out and get us to the end.

“That’s the second top-five finish this year that slipped away from us within the last few laps, so we’re a little frustrated right now. But the flip side of that coin is that these guys have built awesome trucks this year and we’re in contention every week. I don’t know what we could have done differently in either of those races, Martinsville and here, to change what happened. Those things are out of your control so we’re going to concentrate on what we can control and keep building fast race trucks and let the chips fall where they may. We aren’t letting this get us down though, we have a lot of momentum and we’re going to get us a lot more wins this season.”

With the misfortune at Dover, Sauter dropped a couple of positions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings to seventh but he remains in the thick of the championship hunt. He’s just four points behind sixth-place Ricky Carmichael and eleven points out of fifth. Sauter is now 159 points behind championship leader Aric Almirola with 18 races yet to go in the 2010 season.

Next up for Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport Racing/Curb Records Chevrolet is the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday May 21. The race will be televised live on SPEED at starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 7:30 P.M. Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

05-13-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway

Johnny Sauter is anxious to return to Dover International Speedway – but not necessarily because he is coming off a victory in the last NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and finished fourth at Dover last season. Sauter will pull out all the stops to score back-to-back wins and he’s optimistic of his chances, but he’s also looking forward to getting back on the Monster Mile for the thrill of barreling into the 24-degree corners and leaving his foot planted firmly on the floor.

You’re coming off your first win of the season at Kansas and coming to Dover where you finished fourth last season. Can you make it two in a row? “We’re going to give it everything we’ve got. We are taking a newer-style chassis and it blew really good numbers in the wind tunnel. Right now my guys are so focused and so confident, we just know we’re going to get ourselves a bunch of wins this year and we have a great shot at getting another one at Dover.”

Is Dover a fun track to drive or does it live up to its reputation as the Monster Mile? “It’s a really fun track to drive. Last year I am almost positive I kept it planted to the mat the whole way around in qualifying. That’s hard to do because you see those corners coming up and you’re brain is telling you that you need to lift, even just the slightest little bit, but you know you need to keep the hammer down. It is exhilarating for sure and it takes your breath away. It’s almost impossible to describe in words.”

It’s fast, narrow and high banked. Dover can be treacherous, how do you prepare for the unknown? “I think the best way to deal with Dover is to understand you have to give and take. You can’t just drive down into the corner and whack someone in the bumper because you’ll send them into the wall and it will be a big wreck. This just isn’t a place where you can play rough and beat and bang.”

Johnny at Dover: Johnny Sauter made his Dover Truck Series debut in 2009 recording a fifth-place finish after starting fourth. He has eleven career Nationwide Series starts at Dover with one top-five (fifth, Sept. 2004) and two top-ten finishes. He led 31 laps in June 2005 before being eliminated in an accident. He has three career Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover recording a best finish of 20th in June 2004.

Johnny’s Dover Truck: Johnny will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 30 at Dover this week.

05-02-10

Sauter Drives to Impressive Victory in Kansas

Despite contact from another truck and bouncing off the retaining wall with 12 laps to go, Johnny Sauter drove the ThorSport Racing No. 13 In Country Television/What A Horse/Curb Records Chevrolet to victory in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway. Even with the late-race drama Sauter dominated the race, leading four times for a race-high 101 laps before gliding under the checkered flag 5.032 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Ron Hornaday. The jubilant ThorSport Racing crew greeted Sauter with a cake to the face in victory lane as the win comes the day after his 32nd birthday.

The excitement started when Sauter was leading into turn three on lap 155. Hornaday looked to the inside in a battle for the lead. As the duo approached the turn, the lapped truck of Mario Gosselin was in the low groove and Hornaday attempted to make it three wide. Hornaday wiggled and slipped up the track, barely touching Sauter in the left rear quarter panel. Both trucks went sliding sideways, with Sauter making slight contact against the wall with the right rear bumper. Both drivers were able to maintain control and the incident did not draw a caution flag. Once back under control, Sauter calmly drove away from Hornaday to claim his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. He also won last September at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“That’s just incredible,” Sauter said in victory lane. “I was a little upset when it happened, thinking Hornaday got us again. But we were able to keep it pointed in the right direction and thankfully we didn’t do any damage to the truck or burn up the tires. I think that’s what happened to Ron when he slid down the banking he gassed it up and burned the tires up. After that he couldn’t run with us. I am so proud of this team – we’ve had a little bad luck to start the season but they never got down and they never gave up. We worked hard to get this truck right after Nashville. We were so bad there that you wouldn’t have even known we were in the race, and with all the hard work by Joe Shear and the guys here we are in victory lane.”

The win puts Sauter back into the thick of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship battle. He’s now fifth, just 117 points behind leader Timothy Peters and just 20 points behind fourth-place Hornaday.

“Right now I’m not even thinking about points,” Sauter said. “Joe thinks about it but I am here to win races. If we can get a few more of these this season like I think we can, the points will take care of themselves.”

Next up for Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet is the Dover 200 at Dover International Raceway. The race will be televised on a same-day tape-delayed basis on Friday May 14 at 8 P.M. Eastern. It will be broadcast live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

04-28-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Preview: O’Reilly 250 at Kansas Speedway

Johnny Sauter heads into the fifth race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season looking to build some consistency. Sauter’s team has performed well throughout the season but racing luck hasn’t allowed the team to score finishes that reflect their performance. Returning to a 1.5-mile speedway, where Sauter and crew chief Joe Shear, Jr. performed so well throughout the final half of 2009, should allow Sauter to get back on the right track.

It’s been a while since the Trucks raced; how ready are you to get back on track and start racing on a more regular basis? “We’ve had great trucks this season but we haven’t had any luck to get the finishes we need. So we’re really ready to get back on track and start racing every week. We need to build some momentum and some consistency and get things turned around. This team is capable of winning and we’ve learned some things about our trucks during the time off and we can’t wait to get back on the track and go racing.”

How similar is Kansas to some of the other intermediate tracks? “There are some similarities to some of the other tracks. I really like racing at Kansas and I’ve had some really good runs there. There’s some similarity to Las Vegas so we’ll put a setup that has a lot of what we used at Las Vegas and we expect to be really good right off the trailer. Kansas Speedway has started to age a little and it’s lost some of its grip and that makes it more fun for the drivers. We’ll slip and slide a little more and it puts it more in the driver’s hands. I can’t wait to get there and I think you’ll see us have a good chance at winning.”

What do you need to do at Kansas to get to victory lane? “The guys have worked non-stop on our trucks over this break. We’ve learned some things we were doing that we probably shouldn’t have been doing and we learned some things we should be doing. The guys have been working really hard on their pit stops too. The team as a whole has run really well on the mile-and-a-half tracks over the last three or four years and the 13 did last year too. With all that’s happened over the past four weeks I am even more confident than I was last year at this time.”

In Country Television and What A Horse Partner for Kansas: For the second consecutive race, In Country Television will appear on the hood and quarter panels of the ThorSport Racing No. 13 Chevrolet. In Country Television is available on DirecTV (Channel 344) and Dish Network (Channel 208), as well as online at www.incountrytelevision.com, and features hunting, fishing, equine, motorsports, and other outdoor programming. What A Horse, a featuring the Tennessee Walking Horse, will also appear on the hood. What A Horse will appear on In Country Television starting May 3 at 9 P.M. Eastern. It’s also available by subscription at www.whatahorse.com.

Johnny at Ronald McDonald House: Along with his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter will visit the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City on Friday April 30. Sauter will tour the facility and playground being built in memory of former Sprint marketing exec Tom Murphy. “Tom was a great guy and did a lot for our sport,” Sauter said. “It’s cool to have this playground built in his honor through the NASCAR Foundation. We’re going to donate a lot of Fun Sand for a sandbox. It will be fun to go visit the kids and their families and talk racing for a while and take their minds off some of the things they’re going through in their lives.”

Johnny’s Kansas Truck: Johnny will race ThorSport Chassis No. 23. He raced it earlier this season at Atlanta and drove it to victory last September at Las Vegas.

Johnny at Kansas: Johnny has one Sprint Cup start (finished 23rd in 2007), six Nationwide Series starts (best finish third in 2005), and one previous Camping World Truck Series start at Kansas Speedway. Last season Sauter finished ninth after starting 12th. He completed all 132 laps after the race was shortened due to rain.

04-23-10

ThorSport Racing Drivers to Visit the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City

ThorSport Racing drivers Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter will make an appearance at the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City on Friday April 30. The NASCAR Foundation is partnering with Sprint and Turner Construction to build a playground in honor of Tom Murphy, the Sprint vice president who passed away in an accident one year ago. ThorSport Racing is assisting with the build by donating over two tons of FunSand colored play sand.

Crafton and Sauter will tour the Ronald McDonald House and the playground site then meet with the children and their families.

“This is a really great cause and we’re happy to be a part of it,” said Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet. “Tom was a great guy and he did a lot to help move NASCAR racing forward. We were all shocked when we heard the news last spring about his accident, but this is a great way for the sport to honor his memory and all he did. I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing the kids and meeting their families. I’m sure there will be some NASCAR fans among them so it will be fun to talk racing with them and give them a chance to think about something fun for a while.”

Fun Sand colored play sand can be used both indoors and outdoors, and thanks to the Dust Lock Formula additive provides a clean, dustless play environment. It can be molded into shapes without water and its brilliant blue or purple color will not run or stain. Its lifelike textural experience is ideal for childhood development and it is also perfect for non-traditional uses such as in reptile enclosures.

“We’re honored the NASCAR Foundation thought high enough about us to reach out and ask us to participate,” said Rick Noon, director of research and development for ThorWorks, manufacturer of Fun Sand. “It’s a great product that allows families and businesses the chance to have a traditional sandbox for kids to play in without all of the mess that goes along with it. It will be a great fit on the playground at the Ronald McDonald House and we hope it helps bring a little enjoyment to some families that are going through a rough time.”

Fun Sand is available at stores nationwide. For more information, log on to www.funsand.net.

04-03-10

Sauter Charges From the Back to Eleventh in Nashville

Johnny Sauter was forced to start at the tail of the 36-truck starting field for Friday night’s Nashville 200, but that didn’t stop him from charging through the field and challenging for a top-ten finish in the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet.

Sauter made quick work of the field, charging past 17 other drivers in the first ten laps of the 150-lap race. Sauter eventually broke into the top dozen, but an extended run of green flag racing left him a lap behind the leader and didn’t allow for an opportunity to make one final adjustment to make a charge into the top ten. Sauter eventually crossed the finish line in eleventh.

“We could have used one more adjustment to the In Country Television Chevy,” Sauter said. “It just plowed like a dump truck that final run. I really thought we were about a sixth or seventh place truck but we changed a shock after qualifying and had to go to the back for an unapproved adjustment. Then we had a 70 lap run without a caution. I can’t ever remember a Truck race at Nashville running that long under green. But we had a good truck, Joe Shear and the guys did a great job – we just couldn’t get track position.”

Sauter is 14th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, just 19 points out of the top ten.

The next race for Sauter and the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet is the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 2. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 12:30 P.M. Eastern with the green flag scheduled for shortly after 1 P.M. The race will also be broadcast on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

03-31-10

In Country Television to Sponsor Johnny Sauter and ThorSport Racing No. 13 at Nashville

In Country Television, a full spectrum network with programming directed towards the outdoors enthusiast, will sponsor Johnny Sauter and the ThorSport Racing No. 13 team this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. ICTV is fully owned and operated by Rob Sigg of Performance One Media.

ICTV is currently available to over 33 million Dish Network (Channel 230) and DirectTV (Channel 344) subscribers. Millions more have access to its content via live streaming on www.incountrytelevision.com. Current programming focuses on hunting, fishing, motorsports, equine, and other outdoor recreational activities.

“Partnering with ThorSport is perfect for us,” said Rob Sigg, president and CEO of In Country Television. “ThorSport is deeply involved in two activities that we carry on ICTV, motorsports and equestrian. ThorSport Racing is one of the top teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ThorSport Farms has built a very strong reputation in just a few short years in the equestrian world. We look forward to our partnership with ThorSport blossoming and getting the In Country Television brand out there to the NASCAR fans. We hope they all check us out either on Channel 230 on Dish Network, Channel 344 on DirecTV, or on the web.”

With over 80 years of combined television experience, Sigg and the staff at Performance One Media are experts in national television programming, advertising, and distribution.

The Nashville 200 at Nashville Superspeedway is set for Friday April 2 with the green flag scheduled for shortly after 8 P.M. Eastern. The race will be televised live on SPEED and on select affiliates of MRN Radio nationwide as well as Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

03-31-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Nashville 200 at Nashville Superspeedway

It takes an ultra-competitive personality to succeed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. That intense desire to win means every race is important to Johnny Sauter, but whenever he races in Nashville there is added significance as his benefactor Mike Curb is a major force in the Nashville music scene. Curb, the former Lieutenant Governor of California, is the founder and president of Curb Records and for the past 45 years has produced, written, and composed hundreds of songs, earned countless industry awards, and in 2007 was named Nashvillian of the Year. His motorsports background is equally rich, earning numerous victories – including as team owner for Richard Petty’s historic 200th victory at Daytona in 1984 – and top-10 points finishes in 15 different motorsports series over the past 30 years.

Does racing at Nashville mean any added pressure to perform with Mike Curb’s ties to the Nashville music community? “I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to want to win any more than I already do. So there’s no more added pressure there because I already put that pressure on myself. So in that way it’s just like any other race. The Nashville track is right in Mike’s back yard and he certainly has meant a lot for my racing career over the past several years, so whenever we race in Nashville going there and performing well is an added bonus.”

Do you like racing at Nashville? “It’s a fun track because it reminds me of a short track but it still has some big track elements to it. I think we all have those tracks that you go to and you don’t run well so you don’t like them. Atlanta is like that for me. But we also have tracks that you run really well at, and that makes you like them even more. Nashville has always been a good track for me and it’s been one of my favorites for a long time.”

How is the surface at Nashville and do you expect it to be different than when you last raced there in August?
“The track at Nashville doesn’t change much between April and August. Concrete is a lot more consistent than asphalt is. It has a lot of grip. Other tracks, like Charlotte, change tremendously even with a couple degrees of air temperature or when the sun goes behind a cloud. The biggest difference at Nashville is the air temperature. It’s a lot hotter in August there than it is in April. As a driver you make sure you have your fluids so you don’t get dehydrated, but on the track there’s really not much difference in track conditions.”

Sauter at Nashville: Johnny Sauter has eleven previous NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Nashville Superspeedway, with two runner-up finishes (April, 2003 and April, 2004) and one pole position (July, 2003). His only previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start resulted in a sixth-place finish in August, 2009.

In Country Television On Board: Sauter will carry new colors this weekend as In Country Television is sponsoring the No. 13 Chevrolet this weekend. ICTV specializes in hunting, fishing, motorsports, equine, and other outdoor programming and is available to 33 million Dish Network (Channel 230) and DirecTV (Channel 344) subscribers. ICTV content is available via live streaming on www.incountrytelevision.com. Curb Records’ recording artists Bomshel and their newest album “Fight Like a Girl” will be on the bed cover.

03-27-10

Sauter Unhappy with 15th at Martinsville

Johnny Sauter left Martinsville Speedway happy with the performance of the No. 13 SealMaster/Try13.com Chevrolet but unhappy with his finish position after late-race contact with Ron Hornaday sent Sauter spinning out of the second position and relegating him to 15th finishing position.
 
Sauter had perhaps the only truck in the field capable of running with eventual winner Kevin Harvick, and spent most of the first half of the race charging through the top five to the second position. Misfortune struck on a pit stop on lap 120 when the jack dropped before the lugnuts on the left rear tire were properly tightened. The team quickly lifted the truck and reaffixed the wheel, patched up some minor body damage and sent Sauter back on track. But the time lost on pit road dropped Sauter from second to 21st.
 
Sauter quickly knifed through the field once back under green. Within twenty laps he was back among the top ten, and within 40 laps he was third. He eventually made it back up to second and was chasing down the leader when contact from Hornaday coming off turn four on lap 222 sent Sauter sideways. Mike Skinner had no where to go and connected with the left front of the No. 13 SealMaster/Try13.com Chevrolet and when it was all over Sauter had dropped to 17th. Even with considerable damage, Sauter was able to make up a couple of positions on the track and finish 15th.
 
“We’re obviously disappointed with the way the day ended for the SealMaster/Try13.com Chevy,” Sauter said. “There’s no question we were one of the best two trucks here, and I really thought we had a chance to get up and race Harvick for the win. Unfortunately we got taken out. That’s part of short track racing I guess. It’s discouraging because the guys built an awesome truck and we deserved a lot better than that.”

Sauter’s impressive run from deep in the field gave him confidence to chase down the leader with less than 25 laps to go prior to the incident with Hornaday.
 
“I don’t know what happened on that pit stop,” Sauter said. “The jack dropped and I took off. The lugs weren’t tight so we had to get the tire on there and lost a bunch of track position. We went back out and the truck was absolutely awesome. Joe Shear and the rest of the ThorSport guys did a great job with this truck. It did whatever I wanted it to and we ran right back up to second spot without any trouble at all. It’s just a shame we didn’t get a chance to get up there and race for the win but everyone knows how well we ran. We’re going to Nashville and we’ll run just as good there too, and every race on down the line.”
 
Even owing to the late-race misfortune, Sauter still climbed five positions to 14th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings. He’s just 183 points behind leader Timothy Peters and just 15 points behind David Starr in the tenth position.
 
Next up for Sauter and the ThorSport Racing No. 13 Chevrolet is the Nashville 200 on Friday April 2 at Nashville Superspeedway. The fourth event of the 2010 NCWTS season is a one-day show with practice slated from 11 A.M. through 1:30 P.M Eastern. Qualifying will follow at 5 P.M. with the 150-lap/200-mile race scheduled for 8 P.M. Eastern. The race will be televised live flag-to-flag on SPEED and can be heard on select affiliates of MRN Radio nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

03-25-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 SealMaster Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Kroger 250 at Martinsville

Johnny Sauter returns to Martinsville Speedway looking for revenge…not against a fellow driver, nor against the track itself, but to set the record straight with “Lady Luck” – and to prove his mettle. Sauter and the ThorSport Racing team kept digging at the 0.526-mile paperclip-shaped oval last season, complete with truck capable of scoring a top-five finish in both races.

Martinsville is one of the most challenging tracks for a variety of reasons – mechanical, mental, emotional – is it hard to get into the right frame of mind for racing there? “The biggest challenge as a driver is to remind yourself to stay patiently aggressive. You don’t want to give up that hard earned track position, but you have to keep your head on straight and look at the big picture too. You can have someone beating on your back bumper for 20 laps who is on fresher tires and instead of letting that get to you sometimes it’s better to move over and let him go and remind yourself that roles will probably be reversed later on in the race when you’re on fresher tires.”

As a stand-out performer on the short tracks during your ascendancy to the upper levels of stock car racing, are you looking forward to getting back to some short track racing this weekend? “Oh man, I can’t wait to get to Martinsville. Getting back to short track racing is what this is all about, it’s where most of us got our start, and it’s what we grew up doing. It’s why we do this. I love racing at Martinsville and I always look forward to going there.”

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Johnny at Martinsville: Johnny has four career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts and one NASCAR Nationwide start at Martinsville, in which he scored a fifth-place finish. He has four previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Martinsville with his best finish, 16th, 10/2009. Johnny will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 11 at Martinsville Speedway.

03-06-10

Sauter Scores First Top-10 of 2010 at Atlanta

Johnny Sauter rebounded from disappointment in the season-opener at Daytona by driving the ThorSport Racing No. 13 etc. EasytoInstall.com/Curb Records Chevrolet to a solid eighth-place finish in the E-Z-Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Sauter stayed in the lead pack throughout the entire 130-lap distance, never dropping outside of the top 15 and rarely running outside the top ten. Over the final quarter of the race Sauter raced from tenth to his eventual eighth-place finishing position.

“The truck is a lot better than it was yesterday and that’s good,” Sauter said. “We’re a little mystified why we weren’t as good here as we should have been. We had it in the wind tunnel this week and I know Joe (Shear) and the guys have worked their tails off on it over the winter. We’ll get the truck back to the shop and go through it with a fine tooth comb. It’s great to have teammates like the guys on the 88 truck because we worked with them last night to get our truck better. It’s awesome to have everyone working together as a team and trying to get both ThorSport trucks in the top five. But we’re racers man, we’re here to get wins and we’re not happy unless we get this team into victory lane. We finally have a race under our belts this year and we’ll get to work on getting us a win at Martinsville.”

Sauter improved 16 positions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, jumping to 19th. He is just 29 points out of the top-10 in the standings entering the third race of the 2010 season.

Next up for Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 etc. EasytoInstall.com/Curb Records Chevrolet is the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday March 27. There will be two rounds of practice on Friday March 26, the first at 10 A.M. Eastern and the second at 1:10 P.M. The 36-truck starting field will be set immediately following Sprint Cup Series qualifying. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 1:30 P.M. Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

03-02-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 etc. EasytoInstall.com/Curb Records Chevrolet Preview: Atlanta

Johnny Sauter is ready to finally get his chance to race in 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Sauter was swept up in a multi-truck crash on the opening lap of the season-opening race at Daytona and was unable to complete a lap as a result. After a couple of off-weeks to regroup, Sauter and his Joe Shear, Jr.-led crew are ready to return with a vengeance. In the final four races on 1.5-mile speedways during the 2009 season, Sauter racked up four top-ten finishes including a dominant win at Las Vegas.
 
For the second consecutive race, ThorSport Racing will partner with Easy Transitional Cabinetry’s etc. brand cabinets and Southern Candle, Inc. Both companies will be featuring their websites, EasytoInstall.com and southerncandle.com. etc will be on the hood and quarter panels of the No. 13 Chevrolet, while SouthernCandle.com will be displayed on the tailgate. Curb Records recording artist Tim McGraw and his new album Southern Voice, as well as 94.9 “The Bull,” will be displayed on the bed cover.
 
How anxious are you to finally get a chance to go race the No. 13 truck after what happened in Daytona? “You’re only as good as your last race in this business, so I am really anxious to get there. We all look at restrictor plate-style racing knowing it can either be really good for you or really bad, and unfortunately we got the raw end of the deal down there. But I like racing at Atlanta and I know we have a good truck. It’s the same truck we had at Las Vegas when we won last year and the guys have worked all winter and have made it even better. It went to the wind tunnel on Monday so we should be ready to go as soon as practice starts.”
 
You and your team performed extremely well at the intermediate tracks in the second half of 2009; what type of advantage does that give you heading into Atlanta this weekend? “It’s a big boost knowing we have a truck that’s capable of winning. The guys worked all winter on making it even better too. We know what shocks and springs we want to try, and the only real variable is the tire Goodyear is bringing is a little different. We’ll work on getting the tire data we need during practice and I think we’ll be as competitive during the race as we were on the mile and a half tracks last season. After the way we started the season I can’t wait to get back in the truck and go show what the No. 13 team is capable of.”
 
Sauter at Atlanta: Johnny Sauter has eleven previous NASCAR starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway: three in the Sprint Cup Series, seven in the Nationwide Series, and one in the Camping World Truck Series. His best finish was in the NNS, a tenth-place finish in March 2002. Last year he finished 18th in his Camping World Truck Series debut at the 1.54-mile quad-oval.
 
Johnny’s Atlanta Truck: Johnny will be racing ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 23 at Atlanta; it is the same truck Johnny drove to victory at Las Vegas in September, 2009 and used to score three other top-five finishes over the final third of the 2009 season. It is the first time Sauter has raced this chassis in 2010.

 
Atlanta On-track: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes to the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway for their first practice at 1 P.M. on Friday, March 5, with final practice scheduled for 4:10 P.M. The 36-truck starting field will be determined in two-lap qualifying runs at 9:35 A.M. on Saturday, March 6. The second round of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Series, the Atlanta 200 (130 laps/200 miles) is scheduled for 1:30 P.M. Eastern on Saturday, March 6. The race will be televised live on SPEED, starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 1 P.M. Eastern. The race will also be broadcast live on select radio affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide, and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

02-15-10

Sauter Frustrated with Early End to 2010 Season Opener at Daytona

To say Johnny Sauter was frustrated following the lap one crash that eliminated him from the NASCAR Camping World Series season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway may be the understatement of the year. Sauter, last year’s NCWTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year, was taken out in the rain-delayed event after another competitor made a mistake going into turn three on the first lap of the Truck Series race, doing terminal damage to Sauter’s ThorSport Racing No. 13 EasytoInstall.com/Curb Records Chevrolet and leaving him with a 35th-place finish.
 
“You can’t put into words just how frustrating it is to be taken out of the first race of the season on the first lap because someone else made a mistake,” Sauter said following the race. “My guys worked their guts out for three months to build a great truck for Daytona, and the three of us (Sauter and his ThorSport Racing teammates Matt Crafton and Landon Cassill) had planned on dropping back and letting the field thin itself out before going up and mixing it up for the win late in the race. Unfortunately, we never made it past the third turn of the first lap. It’s a real shame because we had a truck that could have been a contender, and instead of taking home a trophy we’re taking the truck home in pieces.”
 
Even with the frustration fresh in his mind, Sauter has high hopes for the remainder of the 2010 season.
 
“We knew going in this was a possibility,” Sauter said. “Getting taken out by someone else at Daytona is a 50-50 proposition, and it got us this time. But we know we had a good truck and we know we’ll have a good truck everywhere else we run this season. We’re going to go out and win some races – hopefully a lot of races – and make this all just a bad memory. We’re still all a little upset by it now, but like I’ve said before you can’t move forward by looking behind, so we’ll all put this behind us and look ahead to going to Atlanta and winning there.”
 
The next race for Sauter and the ThorSport Racing No. 13 FunSand/Curb Records Chevrolet is the Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 6. The 135-lap/200-mile race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 1:30 P.M. Eastern. The race will also be broadcast live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

02-09-10

Johnny Sauter No. 13 Curb Records/EasytoInstall.com Chevrolet Preview: Daytona

Johnny Sauter returns to ThorSport Racing in 2010 for his second season as driver of the No. 13 FunSand/Curb Records Chevrolet. Sauter’s performance in 2009 – one win, two poles, seven top-five finishes and 13 top-ten finishes en route to sixth in the final championship standings and the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award – has made him an early championship favorite in 2010.

Sauter teamed with ThorSport Racing in 2009 and once Joe Shear, Jr. joined the team in August the team hit its stride. Sauter scored eight of his eleven top-ten finishes over the final ten races, including five top-fives and a victory at Las Vegas. Although he’s a definite contender for the championship with Shear calling the shots from the pit box, Sauter won’t think about points until he has to; he prefers to chase after wins and let the points fall where they may. The first victory to chase is at Daytona where he finished a disappointing 27th after being collected in someone else’s mess in 2009.

ThorSport Racing has added sponsorship from Easy Transitional Cabinetry’s etc. brand cabinets and Southern Candle Inc. for the Daytona race. etc.’s website, EasytoInstall.com, will be on the quarter panels of the No. 13 Chevrolet, while Southern Candle will be displayed on the tailgate. Curb Records recording artist Tim McGraw and his new album Southern Voice will be displayed on the hood.

Your dad raced at Daytona starting in the early 1980s and your brothers Jay and Tim also both have raced there. With your family history dating back almost 30 years at Daytona, what does racing there mean to you? “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it that way until now. It’s pretty cool that my family has raced there all these years with some of the greatest drivers to have ever driven stock cars, and it’s really cool for me to have a chance to do the same thing too. I guess the way I’ve always looked at Daytona is it’s the start of a new season and you want to start off on the right foot. It’s good to get into Daytona and get back in the truck and get back into the routine, but it’s always nice to get out of Daytona with a little momentum that you can carry over to the next race.”

You were caught up in someone else’s problem last year at Daytona and it ended your night early. Is there anything you can do as a driver to put your fate in your own hands? “I look at that as a one-hundred percent question. Fifty percent of that is in your hands. That’s not doing anything on the track that’s going to compromise you or the other drivers out there and start the big wreck. The other fifty percent is it’s either going to happen or it’s not. So much of it is really out of your control, which is what happened to us last season. I guess you could say you’re just in the hands of the racing gods at that point.”

Have you and your crew chief Joe Shear talked about what the No. 13 team can do to be better than last season? “We have talked about it and we have a little different philosophy about it. I would rather go out and win 8 or 10 races and forget about worrying about the points until the end of the season, and he would rather be in a position to win the championship even without winning any races. We both agree we need to put forth our best effort every week. I guess I am a little different because I wonder how you can set a goal for yourself to come somewhere and finish sixth or seventh and have a good points day. I always look at it that you want to go out and win every race you’re in. If you do that, the points will end up taking care of themselves. I don’t want to look back at last season because I don’t think you can move forward by looking backward. I know the guys at the shop have worked extremely hard over the winter to do their jobs the best they can, and I know I am going to give it all I can on the track.”

Johnny Sauter at Daytona: Johnny has raced at Daytona in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. In the NSCS, he’s made five starts with three top-20 finishes the best of which was a 16th-place finish in the 2007 Daytona 500. He’s completed 877 of a possible 884 laps (99.2%) with a 24.4 average starting position and a 21.0 average finishing position. In the NNS, he’s made 11 starts with two top-five finishes and four top-ten finishes, including a best finish of second in February 2004. He’s completed 1,104 of a possible 1,227 laps (90.0%), with an average start of 14.7 and an average finish of 17.6. In the NCWTS he has one start, coming in 2009, in which he finished 27th after starting ninth. He was eliminated in an early accident after completing 47 of the race’s 100 laps. He was at the front of the field for three laps before the accident.

Sauter’s Daytona Truck: Johnny will pilot ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 16, known as “Patches”. It’s the truck Sauter used in competition at Daytona and Talladega in 2009. Sauter was caught up in an early crash at Daytona, resulting in a 27th-place finish. At Talladega, Sauter qualified 17th and finished 14th. Patches replaces “Miss Piggy,” ThorSport Racing’s original chassis dating back to 1996 which has been used at Daytona and Talladega each year since 2000.

Still sponsorship opportunities available: Although the No. 13 Chevrolet will carry the FunSand and Curb Records banner again throughout the 2010 Camping World Truck Series season, partnership opportunities with the team are still available. Anything from a one-race primary sponsorship to full-season primary and/or associate sponsorship is still available. “Our owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson and Mike Curb have given the No. 13 team everything they need to go after the championship in 2010, but we still have sponsorship opportunities available,” said ThorSport Racing Vice President of Motorsports Partnerships Matt LaNeve. “If there is a company out there that wants to be a part of a winning team that’s going to make a serious run at the Camping World Truck Series championship, even if it’s just for one race, they should give us a call. If there is a company out there that wants to be a part of a winning team that’s going to make a serious run at the Camping World Truck Series championship, they should give us a call. We’re always interested in talking to people and seeing what kind of unique and exciting business-driven partnerships that drive results we can create through a motorsports partnership.”

ThorSport Racing No. 13 Curb Records/EasytoInstall.com Chevrolet Pit Crew:

Crew chief: Joe Shear, Jr.
Rear tire changer: R.B. Bracken
Truck chief: Danny Lemasters
Rear tire carrier: Nate Megrow
Front tire changer: Brandon Barr
Gasman: Danny Lemasters
Front tire carrier: Kevin Gravitte
Spotter: David Pepper
Jackman: Cody Jarrett
Transport driver: Danny Bolton

Daytona Schedule: The 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicks off with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday February 12. The first practice is a 90-minute session scheduled for 6 P.M. on Wednesday February 10, with the final two-hour session slated for Thursday February 11 at 9 A.M. The 36-truck starting field will be determined in two-lap qualifying runs at 6 P.M. on Thursday evening. The eleventh annual NextEra Energy Resources 250 will go green shortly after 8 P.M. on Friday night; it can be seen live on SPEED and heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

01-15-10

Congrats to Cortney & Johnny Sauter

Congratulations go out to Cortney and Johnny Sauter on the birth of their baby boy, Penn Joseph who was born January 13, 2010 and weighed in at 8 Lbs. 5 ounces.

Johnny Sauter 2009 Headlines

11-24-09

Sauter Narrowly Misses Spot in Top-5 of Standings

Johnny Sauter raced to a ninth-place finish in the season-ending Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, falling just shy of a top-five spot in the NCWTS final standings. Sauter finished sixth in the standings, a mere seven points removed from a coveted top-five slot.

It was Sauter’s third-consecutive top-ten finish, and his thirteenth of the season. He racked up seven top-five finishes. Sauter captured a dominating win at Las Vegas, and was whisker-close to victory in at least a handful of other races this season. He won Pole Awards at Texas and Phoenix. He also won the NCWTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year title.

“I’m proud of how far this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet team came this season,” Sauter said. “We missed a spot in the top-five in the points-standings by a slim margin, and that’s something we were really shooting for, but, at the same time, we know how much progress we made this season. As we all know, it takes time for a group of new guys on a team to jell, and we really saw it happen with this team.”

Sauter and his Fun Sand bunch served notice that they’ll be a force with which to reckon in 2010.

“We did some good things this season, won a race at Las Vegas, which was big for our team, and special for ThorSport Racing as an organization,” he said. “We know we should’ve won a few others, too, and felt like we kind of let them get away from us. But it all contributes to continued growth, to knowing we’re capable of winning races and expecting to run in the top-five each time out and knowing what we need to do to be that much better. I’m thankful to (crew chief Shear Jr.) Joe and all of our guys for their great work this season. They busted their rear-ends for me, kept me in awesome race trucks all season. I appreciate the opportunity that (ThorSport Racing owners) Duke and Rhonda Thorson have given me to drive this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy, and I’m having a blast. I'm confident we’ll keep improving, and expect that we'll be hard to beat next season.”

Sauter and ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton (No. 88 Menards Chevy) raised eyebrows throughout the Truck Series garage as a formidable and consistent one-two team punch this season. Crafton finished in 2nd place in the NCWTS standings.

“I’m thankful to Matt for his help and advice,” said Sauter. “He fought hard for a championship all season, has been in this series a long time, and knows what it takes to succeed. It’s been pretty cool to be able to lean on him for his insight. ThorSport Racing is in a great spot, with two teams that have what it takes to win races and compete for championships. This No. 13 team has a ways to go yet, but we’re confident good things are around the corner for us. We’ll just keep working hard to get there.’

11-16-09

Sauter Finishes Fifth at Phoenix, Heads for Homestead Finale

Johnny Sauter charged to a fifth-place finish in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday.
The effort was Sauter’s seventh top-five finish of the season, and propelled his return to a spot in the top-five in the NCWTS standings. Sauter started the race from the pole position after capturing his second Keystone Light Pole Award of the season.

“All in all, it was a solid evening for us,” he said. “We’re looking to win races each time out, and we had a really strong truck and thought we’d have something to say about it, but we came up a little short. We started loose, got tight and ended-up just a tick free. We just missed it a little bit. But I’m thankful to the guys on this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy team for everything they’re doing for me. Hopefully, we can close out the season on a strong note with a win at Homestead.”

Sauter enters the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday seeking his second victory of the season (he won at Las Vegas), a spot in the top-five in the standings for the season, and to serve notice of his designs on a NCWTS championship in 2010.

“We’re happy with what we’ve accomplished this season, but we know that we let a few additional wins get away from us,” he said. “It’s been a learning process for me in driving these trucks this season, and it always takes time for a new group of guys to jell. We feel like we have all the pieces in place now, and I think we’ve only begun to show what we’re capable of. Our expectations are high, and, while that may not always be realistic, I think that’s the way you have to approach it. We’ve come a long way this season, but we still have a long way to go. This team is here to win races each week, and, as far as next season is concerned, there’s no reason we shouldn’t expect to battle for a championship. But we still have business to tend to at Homestead first.”

Friday will mark Sauter’s third NCWTS start at Homestead-Miami, including a previous start for ThorSport Racing there during the 2005 season. He finished tenth in a Nationwide Series race at Homestead-Miami in ’06.

“I love racing at Homestead because of the true progressive banking of the track,” Sauter said. “It allows for being able to pass other trucks, and makes for great side-by-side racing. We expect to be really strong again on Friday, and it would be awesome for our guys to finish the season in Victory Lane.”

11-13-09

Sauter Scores Second Pole

Johnny Sauter scored his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole on Friday after he grabbed the top spot for tonight's Lucas Oil 150. Sauter turned a lap of 131.019 mph in his Chevrolet. Source: RacingOne Staff (RacingOne.com)

11-10-09

Sauter Says Phoenix One of Favorites

Johnny Sauter enters the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday seeking a return to Victory Lane and a spot in the top-five in the NCWTS standings.

Sauter, who scored a sixth-place finish last week at Texas, is in seventh-place in the standings and less than sixty points from reclaiming a top-five spot with two races remaining this season.

“Phoenix is one of my favorite tracks,” said Sauter, who owns four top-ten finishes in Cup and Nationwide Series competition at the one-miler. “It’s flat, fun and just great racing. Hopefully, we can take our No. 13 Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevrolet to Victory Lane on Friday.”

Sauter has collected six top-five and eleven top-ten finishes this season, but has finished outside the top-five in each of the last three races following a streak of five-consecutive top-five finishes highlighted by a win at Las Vegas.

“We felt like we had a better truck last week than what we showed,” Sauter said of his effort at Texas. “It was a solid night, but we felt like the potential was there for a great night. We felt like we kinda let one get away from us a little bit. Hopefully, we can show our strength at Phoenix and in the season-finale at Miami next week, and put ourselves back in the top-five in the points for the season. This group has done a heck of a job for me, and we’ve come a long way. There’d be nothing better right now than to finish the season with another win and in the top-five in points. We’ll give it all we have at Phoenix, and hope that things fall the right way for us.”

11-04-09

Sauter Finishes 14th at Talladega

Johnny Sauter returns to Texas Motor Speedway for the WinStar World Casino 350 on Friday looking to top his strong effort at the track in June, when he captured the Keystone Light Pole Award and finished sixth in the race.
“Texas is an awesome place to race,” Sauter said. “It’s just a great atmosphere there. We sat on the Pole for the June race, led the first fifty laps and felt that we had the truck to win, but had a hiccup or two that cost us track-position. We’re bringing back the same truck, so we feel good about it. Texas is a place where it takes the total package to get it done; you’ve gotta have the aero, horsepower, track-position…all the elements have to be there. When your truck is right at Texas, you can hold it wide-open all night, and, hopefully, that will be the case for us on Friday.”

Sauter looks to recapture the momentum that took him to five-consecutive top-5 finishes and a spot in the top-5 in the NCWTS points-standings recently. He leads the series’ Raybestos Rookie of the Year race.

“The guys on this No. 13 Advance Auto Parts/Rio Grande/Curb Records Chevy team have built great trucks all season for me, and I’m really thankful for all of their hard work,” Sauter said. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and the way this team has come together, and we’re at a point where, frankly, we expect to win races each time out. We just keep looking for ways to get better. We’ll be disappointed if we’re not right there in contention for a win on Friday.”

11-02-09

Sauter Finishes 14th at Talladega

Johnny Sauter raced inside the top-ten for much of the afternoon and appeared primed for a possible victory push, but suffered truck damage in a wreck with four laps remaining and fell to a 14th place finish in the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.

“A couple of the usual suspects swung wide coming up off the corner, and one of them tried to squeeze his way back in line,” said Sauter of the wreck which took him out of victory-contention. “I was already there, and, in that position, there’s no way you can lift. If you roll out of the throttle there, you stand a good chance of taking yourself out. But it just wasn’t meant to be for us today.”

Sauter had jumped to the high-line in front of ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton a few laps prior to the accident in hopes of making a push to the front.

“I saw Matt coming on the outside, and felt like it was the right move at the time to try to win the race,” Sauter said. “I took a chance, but probably ended-up costing him a win. That was a problem for me all day. I just wasn’t fast-enough, and whenever I got out in front of somebody, whether it was Matt or anyone else, I just seemed to slow ‘em down.”

Sauter is in eighth-place in the NCWTS standings, with three races remaining this season, including Friday’s visit to Texas, where Sauter won the Keystone Light Pole Award earlier this season. He is within fifty points of a spot in the top-five in the standings. Sauter leads the series race for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title.

10-28-09

Sauter Expects Typical Wild Affair at Talladega

Johnny Sauter enters the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday looking to regain the rhythm that led him to five consecutive top-five finishes and victory at Las Vegas prior to last week’s 16th place finish at Martinsville.

Sauter suffered a flat-tire at Martinsville, and fell out of contention for possible back-to-back NCWTS victories. He is in eighth place in the NCWTS points-standings with four races remaining this season, but is within easy striking distance of reclaiming a spot in the top-five.

“We didn’t have the day we wanted at Martinsville, obviously, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Sauter said. “All you can do is to look ahead and be ready for Talladega, hope to give ourselves the best possible shot to win the race there, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Saturday will mark Sauter’s first NCWTS start at Talladega, but he has made numerous starts at the track in Cup and Nationwide Series competition. He started from the Pole in a Nationwide Series race there in ’02. He claimed
his lone top-10 finish at Talladega in a Nationwide Series race in ’06.

“Talladega is one of those ‘all or nothin’ tracks,” he said. “The bottom line there is, you can be running great all afternoon, having a flawless day, and someone can get in trouble and ruin that good day in a hurry. Things just happen so fast at Talladega. I started a race from the Pole there in ’02, was feeling pretty good, and within fifteen laps someone had clipped my right-rear quarter-panel and sent me barrel-rolling across the track. You just never know.”

One thing Sauter knows, however, is that patience is a must where Talladega is concerned.

“It’s a place where you have to almost drive defensively,” said Sauter. “You have to take your chances when you get ‘em, but, at the same time, you can force yourself into a big pack of trucks and then someone has trouble and there’s just nothing you can do. I think most drivers have a love/hate relationship with Talladega, and the excitement you love about the place is the same thing that makes you cringe sometimes. Drafting at Talladega is a blast. I love racing there. It’s a heck of a show, that’s for sure, especially when we get down to those last few laps. Hopefully, we’ll be able to avoid any real trouble, and be there in the last few laps with a shot to put our No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy in Victory Lane."

Sauter remains the leader in the NCWTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

10-23-09

Johnny is on Trackside Live Tonight!

Johnny Sauter will be on Trackside Live on SPEED Channel tonight. The show airs from 7:00-8:00pm Eastern.

10-21-09

Sauter Has Sights Set on Victory at Martinsville

Johnny Sauter enters Saturday’s Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on a tear that has taken him to five consecutive top-5 finishes and a dominant victory at Las Vegas last time out.

Sauter has surged to 5th place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, and says he expects the race on Saturday to be more front-running business-as-usual.

“There’s no reason to believe we can’t win the race,” he said. “I’ll be disappointed if we’re not right there at the end, with a strong shot to win it. I love racing at Martinsville. This track will test a driver’s patience in a major way, and you never really know what’s gonna happen. There’s a tendency for drivers to get impatient at Martinsville, and that can get you into trouble in a hurry. It’s a fine line between aggression and impatience. You have to be aggressive, because track position is so important, but you have to be smart, too. You have to have the whole package to win at Martinsville. Brakes are key as you get into the corners, and your truck has to turn well thru the center of the corner and have strong forward bite. Pit stops take on added importance here, because track position is such a key. Our guys on this No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevrolet have just been awesome in the pits, and I expect that to continue this weekend.”

Sauter is plenty familiar with Martinsville. He has numerous starts at the track in Cup, Nationwide and Truck series races. He nabbed a top-5 finish at Martinsville in a Nationwide Series race in ’06.

“We’re always confident coming to Martinsville,” he said. “As we look at Martinsville and the remaining races (five) this season, there’s no reason to think we shouldn’t be challenging for wins at each of the tracks. This team is in a great place right now, as far as putting the pieces together and continuing to find ways to get better. I’m so proud of our guys for their effort, and we saw it pay off with our win at Las Vegas a few weeks ago. That was huge for us, because we've been in position for it to happen numerous times this season. Hopefully, we can keep this thing rolling, and make it pay off again on Saturday.”

09-27-09

Sauter Rolls to Victory in Vegas

Johnny Sauter has been hotter than Las Vegas nightlife for a couple of months, and the driver of the No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet sealed the winning deal as he stormed to victory in the Qwik Liner 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Sauter, who came within a whisker of a win at New Hampshire last week, started on the outside of the front row and dominated the field this time around en route to his first Truck Series victory and a spot in the top-5 in the NCWTS standings. Sauter is on a streak of five consecutive top-5 finishes. His last finish outside the top-5 came at Bristol in mid-August.

“I’m just thrilled to be able to take our No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy to Victory Lane,” Sauter said. “I’m so thankful to Joe (crew chief Shear Jr.) and the guys on this No. 13 team for their efforts. Itmeans so much to me, because I know how much it means to them. They’re doing a heckuva job for me all the way around. We had a bad-fast truck tonight, and, truthfully, we just weren’t gonna be denied. We felt like we should’ve won the race last week, but we just didn’t close the deal. We felt like should’ve won a few races earlier this season, too. But it’s been a learning situation for us, and this Fun Sand Chevy team has really started to jell. It takes time for a new group of guys to come together, to realistically expect to run up front consistently and win races, and that’s been our goal since the season started. The pieces are in place now, and there’s no telling how good this team can be.”

If recent races are any indication, the answer would appear to be ‘quite’. Adding to Sauter’s enjoyment of victory on Saturday was ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton’s 2nd place finish, the organization’s first one/two finish in NCWTS competition.

Crafton is in 2nd place in the NCWTS standings and battling for his first championship.

“It’s just really cool for ThorSport Racing to show our strength across the board,” said Sauter. “It’s a testament to what (ThorSport Racing owners) Duke and Rhonda Thorson are doing. Matt and Bud (crew chief Haefele) and the guys on that No. 88 Menards team have been really good for a long time, and have helped us in a variety of ways this season. It’s been invaluable for me to be able to lean on Matt as a teammate. He’s obviously one of the top drivers in this series, and I’m grateful for the knowledge he continues to share with me.”

Sauter owns six top-five and ten top-10 finishes this season. His on-track effort to stay on a hot streak will temporarily move to the backburner, however, as the next NCWTS race is October 24 at Martinsville.

“It’s huge for us to go into this break with a win,” Sauter said. “After several races in a row, it gives the guys a chance to catch their breath a little. We’ll do some fine-tuning, tweak some things and be ready to go at Martinsville. As we look at the final five races of the season, we feel like we should have a legitimate shot to win in each of them. We’ll prepare hard and be ready, and, hopefully, things will continue to go our way."

09-26-09

Sauter wins at Vegas for first Truck Series victory

By Sporting News Wire Service

Getty Images

LAS VEGAS -- Johnny Sauter drove to his first victory Saturday in the Camping World Truck Series and ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton was second in the Las Vegas 350.

Sauter, a rookie in the Trucks who has three wins in the Nationwide Series, passed Crafton for the lead on the outside exiting Turn 2 on the 130th of 146 laps on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway and steadily pulled away to win by 2.47 seconds.

"It's unbelievable, man," Sauter said. "This is a big deal for me. Last year at this time, all I was doing was start-and-parks in the Nationwide Series. We've had speed all year, but we haven't been able to close the deal. Our truck has been phenomenal for the last two months."

Sauter, driving a Chevrolet, became the first rookie to win in the Truck Series since Scott Speed on May 30, 2008, at Dover.

It was Sauter's fifth consecutive top-five finish and lifted him two spots to fifth in the points. Sauter's best finish in the opening 15 races was fifth at Dover. His newfound competitiveness in the past five races began with the arrival of crew chief Joe Shear, who Sauter had worked with earlier in his career.

"I believe in him and I trust him 100 percent," Sauter said.

Sauter's win was the third victory in the series for ThorSport, owned by Duke and Rhonda Thorson and based in Sandusky, Ohio. ThorSport is one of the few Truck teams not based in the Charlotte, N.C. area.

"My truck just didn't have the speed that Johnny Sauter's did," Crafton said. "Wow, that truck was fast."

Crafton, who gave the team its second victory last season, cut 20 points from leader Ron Hornaday, but still trails by 197 with five races remaining. Hornaday finished sixth.

"It was a decent points day, but the thing that makes me happy is finishing 1-2 for Duke and Rhonda Thorson," Crafton said. "It's the first time we've finished 1-2."

Jason White finished third, a career-best in the series. Todd Bodine was fourth and Timothy Peters fifth.

Sauter led a race-high 62 laps. He surrendered the lead to pit under caution on Lap 120 to take right-side tires and emerged in fourth behind Crafton, White and Peters, who all stayed out. Following the restart, Sauter climbed into the lead in eight laps and led the final 17, all run under green.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

09-24-09

Sauter Opening Eyes in His First Season Driving a Truck

By Bill Kimm, NASCAR.COM

Rookie sitting seventh in points, close to first CWTS win

It's hard to call Johnny Sauter a rookie. The 31-year-old, who has seen extensive time in the Cup and Nationwide series, even laughs when he thinks about it. But the fact is, this is Sauter's first full year in a truck and he is making the most of it.

Sauter has been nothing but impressive in 19 Truck Series races this season, and this weekend he heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Saturday's running of the Las Vegas 350 (9 p.m. ET, SPEED) looking for his first Truck victory.

Currently, Sauter leads the rookie of the year standings by 24 points on Tayler Malsam and is sitting seventh in the overall point standings thanks to five top-fives and nine top-10s, including his current stretch of four consecutive top-five finishes.

Sauter has some experience on the 1.5-mile track just off The Strip in Las Vegas and even though the results have been mixed, the knowledge could give him a leg up on most of the competition. He has two Cup starts at LVMS with finishes of 24th and 39th. In the Nationwide Series he has six starts with an average finish of 18.2 and a best finish of third in 2002.

If Sauter can maintain his top-10 spot in the points, he will be the first rookie since Carl Edwards in 2003 to finish the Truck Series season in the top 10.

09-24-09

Sauter Hopes to Stay Hot at Vegas

Johnny Sauter enters Saturday’s Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on a roll that has swept him to four consecutive top-5 finishes and within striking distance of a spot in the top-5 in the NCWTS standings.
While Sauter’s stellar string of performances has raised eyebrows in the NCWTS garage, he sees the results in matter-of-fact fashion.

“I’ve said all along that we expect to run up front and win races, so to us, it’s kind of ‘business as usual’,” Sauter said. “We’re excited, don’t get me wrong, but it’s more from a perspective of having known that this was possible. It’s just been a matter of time. We had a new group of guys to start the season, and, like anything, there’s an adjustment process involved. We’ve had great trucks all season, and we feel like we should already have a few wins. We’ve been right there a number of times, but have had some things happen to let a few get away from us. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. We keep learning, and we continue to improve in all phases. The sky really is the limit for this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy team right now.”

While Saturday will mark Sauter’s first NCWTS start at Vegas, he is no stranger to the track. He has made several starts at LVMS in Cup and Nationwide Series competition, and owns a top-three Nationwide Series finish here.
“I love racing at Las Vegas,” he said. “The track is really fast, and seems to be coming in well since they reconfigured it. Vegas is a great town to visit, and the people just love their Truck Series racing here. We’ve made up some serious ground in the points-race in a fairly short period of time (Sauter has moved to 7th in the NCWTS standings), and we expect to put ourselves in the top-5 in the standings. We’ll be disappointed if we don’t win a race or two yet this season."

Though it might appear Sauter's momentum will be tested by the four-week break in the NCWTS schedule following Saturday's race, he sees the break as a positive.

"Ideally, we'd like to be at the track, but the break gives us a chance to tweak some things," he said. "We see it as an opportunity to continue to fine-tune some stuff, and hopefully, we'll just be that much better when we get to Martinsville after the break. I'm proud of our guys. We'll be ready to go on Saturday, and hopefully, we can contend for the win."

09-21-09

Sauter Storms to 4th Consecutive Top-5 Finish at New Hampshire

Johnny Sauter overcame late-race issues and stormed to his 4th consecutive top-5 finish in the Heluva Good! 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.

The finish was bittersweet at best for Sauter, however. He was about to take the race lead with thirty laps to go in his wicked-fast No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet when he ran out of fuel a lap prior to a planned pit stop, effectively ending any shot at victory. Sauter tumbled well outside the top-10 when he was forced to the pits, then resumed his hard-charging business as usual, picking off several trucks and storming back to claim a 5th place finish.

“In one respect, we’re disappointed, because we had the fastest truck on the track and feel like we should’ve won the race,” he said. “At the same time, the fuel issue could’ve been a crusher, but we hung in there and fought back to finish in the top-5 again. Joe (crew chief Shear Jr.) and the guys just keep building awesome race trucks for me, and we’re proving that we have the ingredients to run up front and fight for wins each week. We should’ve had this one, but I don’t have any doubt that wins are coming. This No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy team has really come together, just keeps getting better every week, and the results show it. We’re showing our strength on all types of tracks. I’m thankful to our guys for everything they’re doing for me. We’re working hard and having a lot of fun right now, and we’ll just keep looking to improve.”

Sauter has blasted to 7th place in the NCWTS standings, with an eye on, and within easy striking-distance of, a spot in the top-5.

“We’ve made up a lot of ground in the standings during the last four or five races, and, hopefully, we’re not done yet,” he said. “If we keep doing what we’re capable of, there’s no reason we can’t finish in the top-5. As I’ve said all along, we expect to win races and finish in the top-5 every week, and we’re putting ourselves in position to do it. We can’t wait to get to Las Vegas next weekend.”

Coverage of Saturday’s Qwik Liner 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins at 9pm EST on SPEED TV.

09-17-09

Sauter Looks to Stay on Roll at New Hampshire

Johnny Sauter is on a roll, and looks to continue his hot streak in the Heluva! Goood 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Sauter owns top-5 finishes in his last three races, including a 2nd place finish at Gateway last week, and has blasted into the top-10 in the NCWTS standings. With seven races remaining this season, he is within striking distance of a spot in the top-5.

“We’re a confident bunch right now, and the results have shown it,” Sauter said. “I’m so proud of the guys on this No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy team for their efforts. They continue to work their tails off for me, and it has begun to pay off for us. We’ve always known what we’re capable of, and thought it was only a matter of time for things to come together. We show up each week with strong trucks, expecting to run up front and win races. There’s no reason to think we can’t win a couple of ‘em yet this season.”

Sauter is bullish on New Hampshire.

“I love the place,” said Sauter, who started on the front row and finished in the top-10 in Nationwide Series competition at the track a few years ago. “I’ve always had solid runs at New Hampshire. With the characteristics of the track, having a truck that will turn well is key, and obviously brakes are important here. Hopefully, we can unload strong again, and be a contender for the win on Saturday.”

09-14-09

Sauter Roars to 2nd Place Finish at Gateway

Johnny Sauter roared to a 2nd place finish in the Copart 200 at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday, his third consecutive top-5 finish.

With the effort, Sauter blasted into the top-10 in the NCWTS standings, and is focused on a spot in the top-5.
“It was another strong performance by our No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet team,” Sauter said. “We were fast when we unloaded at Gateway, and fast throughout the weekend. This team is dialed-in right now, and we’re expecting to win races. Obviously, you hope to run in the top-5 each week, and we’re doing that, but we’ll be surprised if we don’t get a win or two yet.”

Despite Sauter’s sterling effort, his mind was on the strange hand dealt to ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton, who was headed for victory at Gateway before being black-flagged with a few laps remaining under circumstances that could only be described as curious at best.

“Matt won the race today,” Sauter said matter-of-factly. “Anyone who saw what happened out there knows what the deal was, and I feel badly for him. But at the same time, he’s such a competitor that he won’t let it keep him from focusing on New Hampshire. He’ll be focused there, just like he always is, and will hopefully be in position again to win the race.”

Sauter was also the victim of peculiar circumstances which may have cost him a possible win during a late-race caution. When the caution flag flew, Sauter lifted, as is expected of drivers, and the No. 5 truck passed him to move into third-place at the time. When Crafton was forced to the back, the No. 5 assumed the front position and went on to win the race.

"I wasn't aware that you could pass someone under caution, but the No. 5 did it and eventually got the win," said Sauter.

According to Sauter, his No. 13 Fun Sand crew continues to come together. “I’m proud of our guys and the way everybody has the same mission,” he said. “Joe (crew chief Shear Jr.) and the guys are building me some great trucks, and I’m doing my best to drive the hell out of ‘em. We keep getting better, and right now, there’s no telling what this team can accomplish. We’ll go to New Hampshire looking to win the race, and see what happens.”

09-11-09

Sauter Beginning to Make a Move in Truck Series - Up to 12th in Points, Leads Rookie of the Year Standings

By Sporting News Wire Service

Johnny Sauter, a veteran of the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series, recognized there would be an adjustment period in his first full season in the Camping World Truck Series. What he didn't completely grasp was its degree of difficulty.

"You don't realize how competitive it is until you get here," Sauter said. "It's opened my eyes."

Back-to-back fifth-place finishes going into Saturday's Copart 200 at Gateway International Raceway, show the significant progress Sauter and his No. 13 ThorSport Racing team have made in understanding what it takes to run at the front.

Purchase your race tickets!
"We're starting to round the corner week in and week out and I'm pretty excited about that," Sauter said. "We're making a push to finish the season pretty damn strong."

Joe Shear Jr. has been Sauter's crew chief for the past two races and he has made a contribution, but Sauter says there are "a million reasons" he's running stronger on a more consistent basis. Sauter has seven top-10s this season and three have been in the past four races.

"We finally got the trucks where we want them for a lot of places," Sauter said. "We've jelled as a team, the guys, myself, our pit stops. The whole package came together. The crew chief change has helped a little, too."

Sauter has moved up to a season-high 12th in points and is only 68 behind seventh-place David Starr.

"The top-10 [season finish] is definitely our goal, and I've been watching it pretty closely. We can get there," Sauter said. "The way we're running, I'll be disappointed if we don't end up sixth or seventh in points."

Sauter made his NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series in 2001 and was a regular in the series from 2002 through 2006. He has three victories and was eighth in the points standings in 2003 and 2006. Sauter also has 76 starts in Cup, including a full season in 2007 when he finished 30th in points with Haas CNC Racing.

Without a full-time ride last season, Sauter drove in one truck, nine Cup and 12 Nationwide races.

"I was beating the pavement last winter to find something to drive, and there was an opportunity with [ThorSport owner] Duke Thorson," Sauter said. "I'd run some truck races in the past [11 spread through five seasons] and had always enjoyed it. When somebody gave me an opportunity to race full time again, I was all about it."

Sauter, 31, leads the rookie of the year standings on Tayler Malsam 176-163. If Sauter wins, it would become his first rookie-of-the-year award in NASCAR.

"Without a doubt, I'd like to win it," Sauter said. "I had mixed emotions about being eligible for it starting out the year. But rules are rules, and hey, I'm a rookie. Anytime you set out for something and you accomplish it, it's good. And if I win it, that's all more positive for my guys."

Sauter would like to continue to race for ThorSport in the Truck Series next year.

"I'm totally happy and would love to be back where I'm at," he said. "I'd like to keep doing what we're doing. I feel like we're on the verge of doing something great here."

09-10-09

Sauter Seeks 3rd Straight Top-5 Finish at Gateway

Johnny Sauter enters the Copart 200 at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday looking to add to consecutive top-5 finishes.

Sauter, who leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, finished in the top-5 at Chicagoland and Iowa, respectively. He hopes to drive the No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet to similar territory on Saturday.

“This team is brimming with confidence right now, and there’s no telling what is possible,” Sauter said. “When a team has that confidence, and has the momentum we have, good things happen. There’s no reason to think we can’t win the race on Saturday. We’re taking the truck we raced at Iowa. Joe Shear Jr. (crew chief) and the guys are working their tails off for me, and the results have been a nice reward for their effort. Things are starting to come together for us. But we’re far from satisfied. We want to win races.”

While Saturday will mark Sauter’s first visit to Gateway in NCWTS competition, he is plenty familiar with the track. He owns a pair of top-10 finishes in 5 Nationwide Series starts there.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Gateway,” he said. “It’s one of those tracks where I’ve usually run well, but, for whatever reason, maybe haven’t had the finishes to reflect it. Gateway is a big ‘momentum’ track, especially with these trucks. You have the two distinct corners. I think turns one and two are the key to running good laps at Gateway. You have to be on the gas and committed from turn two down that straightaway. We’re excited to see what Saturday has in store for us. Hopefully, we can fight for a win, and at least come out of there with another top-5 finish and keep rolling.”

09-08-09

Sauter: Top-5 Finish at Iowa

Johnny Sauter charged to his 2nd consecutive top-5 finish in the Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday.
Sauter has finished 6th or better in 3 of his last 4 races, including Saturday’s 5th place effort.

“Our No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet was really good tonight,” said Sauter, who qualified 6th for the race. “I’m proud of our guys for hanging in there and making the adjustments we needed to make to keep our truck near the front all night. These guys have been working their tails off for me, and their efforts have started to pay off. We know what we’re capable of, and, frankly, we expect to battle for wins and top-5 finishes each time out. We just keep looking to improve, and, hopefully, we can win a race or two yet this season.”

Sauter has collected 3 top-5 and 7 top-10 finishes thus far this season.

09-03-09

Sauter Looks to Build Momentum at Iowa

Johnny Sauter looks to follow-up last week’s top-5 finish at Chicagoland with similar results in the Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday.

Sauter’s effort at Chicagoland was his 2nd top-5 and 6th top-10 finish this season. He enters this weekend’s action as the leader in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

“We’re really looking forward to our first race at Iowa,” Sauter said. “We’ve heard great things about the track, and it’s obvious the people in that area love their racing. It’s always cool to have an opportunity to race at different tracks, and to have Chicagoland and Iowa on back-to-back weekends is great for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I expect it to be a heckuva race for the fans.”

While the NCWTS jury is still out on racing at Iowa, Sauter suspects the speedway will yield a combination of short-and-intermediate-track action.

“From what I’ve heard, Iowa races like a short-track in some respects, but is also a big momentum track, which means speed,” said Sauter. “We’ll use more of a typical 1.5 mi. package, and we’re taking a new piece. The bottom line is, there’s still a bit of guesswork involved for everybody.”

It is clear to Sauter that NASCAR events at Iowa Speedway are supported in feverish fashion.

“The fans out there are incredible,” he said. “Like pretty much everyone else, I’ve just heard great things about the fan support and the tremendous facility at Iowa. I’m looking forward to racing there, especially under the lights. Hopefully, we can put our No. 13 Fun Sand Chevrolet in contention for the first Truck Series win at Iowa.”

08-31-09

Sauter Charges to Top-5 Finish at Chicagoland

Johnny Sauter charged to a 5th place finish in the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday.

The finish was Sauter’s 2nd top-5 and 6th top-10 of the season. “It was a solid night for us,” Sauter said. “We were good on the long runs, but just a little too free on the short runs. We’ll take it. I’m happy for the guys on this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy team; we just keep trying to find ways to get better, and I feel like things are coming together for us.”

Sauter and his fellow NCWTS competitors make their first race visit to Iowa Speedway for the Lucas Oil 200 on Saturday. “It was great for us to take the trucks to Chicago, and it’s cool that we follow it up with a visit to Iowa,” said Sauter.

“From everything I’ve heard, the race at Iowa should be a blast for the drivers and fans. We’ll give it all we have, and hopefully we can come out of Iowa with another top-5 finish.”

08-26-09

Sauter Familiar with Victory Lane at Chicagoland

Johnny Sauter returns to the site of sweet NASCAR victory for the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday.

Though this is the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visit to Chicagoland, Sauter is familiar with the track, including Victory Lane. He won his first Nationwide (Busch) Series race at Chicagoland in ’02.

“I love racing at Chicagoland,” Sauter said. “In a way, it’s like a home-away-from-home for me (Sauter is a Necedah, WI native), because I’ll have a whole bunch of family and friends come out to support me. That’s always special, and of course, we want to put on a good show for them. It’s cool that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is coming to Chicago, because those fans love racing and they support the heck out of it.”

Sauter expects a wide-open affair on Friday. “The track has a ton of grip, and it’s obviously a fast place to race,” said Sauter. “And the track, especially the back straightaway, is a bit different from how it might appear on television, because you’re constantly turning. It’s a great facility, and I expect an outstanding race. I think the fans are in for a treat. Hopefully, we can put all the pieces into place at Chicagoland, and take our No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy to Victory Lane on Friday.”

08-17-09

Sauter Ready to Rumble at Bristol

Johnny Sauter takes to the familiar high-banks of Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday with his hopes and sights set on a visit to Victory Lane.

Sauter has made numerous starts at Bristol in Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series competition. He owns a top-5 and three top-10 finishes there.

“I think Bristol is the most exciting race of the season,” Sauter said. “It’s just a place where it would be extra special for any driver to win. There’s so much tradition at Bristol, and guys are just gunning that much harder. It’s just a really cool environment, and the fans are incredible. With the newer configuration, you can run from top to bottom, and there’s a ton of grip with the concrete. As much as you’re competing against other drivers, at Bristol, you’re also kind of racing against the track itself. To succeed at Bristol and have a chance to win the race, you first have to survive the messes, because you know there will be some. It can change your night in a hurry. You have to pick your spots as much as possible, and try to stay aware of everything happening around you. You just hope to stay out of someone else’s trouble, and put yourself in position to be there when it matters most.”

Sauter enters Bristol on the strength of a 6th place finish at Nashville, his 5th top-10 finish this season.

“Each guy on this team is committed to getting better, and we keep looking for ways to do that,” said Sauter. “It’s a matter of consistency, and we feel like things are coming together for this No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records team. We know what we’re capable of, and we’re confident we can win a race or two before the season is said and done. We’re on the right track. There’d be no better place to break thru than at Bristol. Our guys are working their tails off for me, and they just keep getting better. We’ll give it everything we have at Bristol, and hopefully we’ll be there at the end with a shot to win the race.”

08-07-09

Sauter Nabs 6th place Finish at Nashville

Johnny Sauter battled to a 6th place finish in the Toyota 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday. It was Sauter’s fifth top-5 finish of the season.

“I’m real happy for the guys,” Sauter said of the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records crew. “We had one of the fastest trucks out there, a top-three truck for sure. We knew in practice we had a strong truck, and we qualified in the top-ten. Unfortunately, we had a brake issue that bit us during the race. But all in all, it was a decent night for us. We’re looking forward to Bristol in a couple of weeks.”

Sauter has been in the thick of victory-contention several times this season, and says the No. 13 team continues to draw a bead on Victory Lane.

“This team continues to make progress, and our trucks keep getting better,” he said. “Our pit stops have been really strong. I’m proud of the guys, and we’ll keep looking for ways to improve. We’re confident we can win races yet this season.”

08-06-09

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07-30-09

Sauter Confident on Nashville Concrete

Johnny Sauter has been close to victory at Nashville Superspeedway before, and hopes to break thru in the Toyota Tundra 200 on Saturday. While this will be Sauter’s first NCWTS start at the track, he owns a pair of 2nd place finishes in 11 Nationwide Series starts there.

“Nashville is a track where I’ve just always felt comfortable, feel like I adapted to it right out of the gate,” he said. “It's a really cool place to race. It’s interesting to me how the track seems to have evolved over the years. We used to burn the brakes up, were on them hard during a race, almost like you would at a short-track. Now, it’s become more of a ‘momentum’ track. It’s a fun place to drive, and the concrete surface definitely provides more grip. Hopefully, we can put our No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy right in the thick of contention for a win on Saturday.”

Sauter foresees good things for the No. 13 team. “There’s a lot of racing left this season, and I’m proud of the progress this team has made,” said Sauter, who owns four top-10 finishes. “We continue to get better in the pits, and that’s a testament to how hard the guys are working. We’ve just been a bit off on our handling recently, but we’re getting that squared away. There’s no doubt in my mind that this team is capable of winning a race or two before the season is over, and hopefully we can get it done. We’ll keep working hard, and hopefully it will pay off in strong finishes for us."

07-22-09

Sauter Hopes For Fitting Finish at ORP

Johnny Sauter returns to ORP for Friday’s AAA Insurance 200 presented by JD Byrider looking to capture the victory to which he was oh-so-close in his only previous Truck Series start at the track.

Sauter is no stranger to success at ORP, as he won a Pole Award and owns a pair of top-5 finishes in 5 Nationwide Series starts here.

His Truck Series start at ORP in ’04, however, was the stuff of dreams, minus the storybook ending.
“’I built the truck for that race in my garage, with a couple of buddies,” recalled Sauter. “There was no pressure. We built it on a whim, and took it to the race with no expectations.”

Sauter qualified 6th for the race, and had some kind of fun for much of the evening, leading 139 laps of the race before caution erased a dominant lead. He was a mark without fresh tires, got tangled on a restart, and finished 2nd. “We had a blast, but it was tough to dominate the race like that and not win it,” he said.

Fast-forward to 2009, and Sauter enters the race at ORP confident (four top-10 finishes in the season's first half) and comfortable with his surroundings at the short-track.

“ORP is action-packed, a unique track that is lots of fun to drive, so long as your truck or car handles well,” he said. “ORP has that awesome short-track atmosphere, with big-track characteristics. I’ve always felt at home at this track, and have been fortunate to run well here. You don’t necessarily have to have the best truck to win here. You can pick people off in traffic. There’s just lots of action, and it’s a blast for the drivers. You can race in the middle or up-top here. It’s always exciting to race at ORP, and hopefully we can take our No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy to Victory Lane on Friday."

07-14-09

Sauter Seeks Breakthrough at Kentucky

Johnny Sauter enters the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night looking to build on momentum established prior to the recent NCWTS schedule break.
Sauter has driven the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy to top-10 finishes in four of the last seven races, including an 8th place finish a few weeks ago at Memphis. He has challenged for victory in multiple races, and won the Keystone Light Pole Award at Texas. According to Sauter, however, the No. 13 team is just beginning to come into its own.

“We’re starting to find our stride a little bit, and it’s nice to see things coming together,” Sauter said. “We had our best pit stops of the year so far at Memphis. The guys have been working their tails off, practicing like crazy, and it has begun to show. We’re only eleven races into this deal, and we’re finding our rhythm.”

Sauter hopes that rhythm includes Kentucky, where he’s had his share of problems over the years. In five career starts at Kentucky, all in Nationwide Series competition, Sauter hasn’t come close to a top-ten finish. This will be his first NCWTS start at the track, and Sauter is confident it will be a ‘new beginning’ of sorts.

“Kentucky has been a place where, for whatever reason, I haven’t run well,” he said. “I love the track, in terms of the great side-by-side racing it provides. I always look forward to racing there, especially with the race being at night and the cool atmosphere that comes with it. It’s a lot of fun, and hopefully we can give ourselves a strong shot to win the race.”

Sauter says the requisite education that accompanies his status as a first-year, fulltime driver in the NCWTS continues.

“I feel like I’m making progress as a driver in this series, and that brings added confidence,” he said. “I’m learning a lot about these trucks each time out. And again, the team is making progress, and the guys can feel it. This series has such an intense, great ‘grass-roots’ feel that you can’t duplicate. Guys don’t give an inch, and that’s the way it should be. I’m enjoying the heck out of it, and just trying to get better. I’m confident we can win some races before the season is over.

06-29-09

Sauter Races to Top-10 Finish at Memphis

Johnny Sauter raced back into top-10 territory in the steamy MemphisTravel.com 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on Saturday.

Memphis typically brings the early-summer heat to NCWTS competition, and Saturday was no exception. Nor was an exception Sauter’s 8th place finish in the race, his fifth top-10 finish at Memphis in eight career starts. He owns a pair of top-5 finishes at the track, and captured a Pole Award there in Nationwide Series competition in ’06.

“We’re happy to come out of Memphis with a top-10 finish, but, at the same time, we felt like we had a strong top-5 truck, you know what I mean?” Sauter said. “So it was a little disappointing from that aspect. I love the short-track racing, and I’ve always felt comfortable at Memphis. The guys just keep building great trucks for me, and we expect to be good every week. I feel like we’re closing in on taking this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy to Victory Lane. All in all, it was a decent day for us, and we’ll bring our best at Kentucky in a couple of weeks.”

Sauter has now raced to four top-10 finishes in his last seven races. He was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race, and is a point from the lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

06-26-09

Sauter Looks to Get Back on Track at Memphis

Johnny Sauter hopes to get back on the top-10 track in the MemphisTravel.com 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on Saturday.

Sauter has finished 16th and 14th in his last couple of races, following a streak of three top-10 finishes in his previous four races.

Racing at Memphis would appear to be the perfect turnaround tonic for Sauter. He won the Pole Award for a Nationwide Series race at the track in ’06, and finished 4th. In 7 career starts at Memphis, Sauter owns a pair of top-5 finishes. He has finished in the top-10 four times.

“Memphis is just one of those tracks where I’ve always felt comfortable,” he said. “It’s short-track racing, and I love it. It’s a unique track, and especially with the race under the lights, it just adds a really cool element. With the heat there, the track can get really slick, so obviously grip will play a big part in the race. Racing at Memphis is always a great show for the fans.”

Sauter and the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Silverado are headed in the right direction, he says.
“We’re disappointed with our results the last couple of races, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” he said. “We expect to finish in the top-10 every week, and to be fighting for wins. These guys are building great trucks for me and this team continues to jell. It’s a process, and we’re making strides. Hopefully, we can take this No. 13 Fun Sand Chevy to Victory Lane on Saturday.”

06-25-09

Johnny Sauter Does a Curb Museum Walk Through with Rodney Atkins

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06-17-09

Sauter Brings Stellar Track Record to Milwaukee

The relationship between driver and track is often fickle, at best. In rare cases, however, that partnership may seem hand-in-glove smooth, for reasons difficult to determine. Such has been the case with Johnny Sauter and The Milwaukee Mile thru the years.

After a separation of a few seasons, Sauter and the track get together again for Friday’s NCWTS Copart 200. Sauter hopes his stellar record at the track bodes well for a repeat performance. “Milwaukee is just one of those places where I seemed to adapt quickly to the track, and I’ve always felt comfortable here,” he said. “I can’t really pinpoint why, but hopefully we can have the same kind of results here on Friday that I’ve been fortunate to have previously.”

Sauter’s history at Milwaukee includes a trip to Victory Lane (he won a Nationwide Series race here in ’05, leading 162 of the race’s 200 laps), a pair of Pole Awards (in ’03 and ’05) and qualifying efforts that put him in the front row in four consecutive races.

Some might assume the Necedah, WI native grew up at the track and turned countless laps here as a youngster. Not so, he says. “The first start I made at Milwaukee came in an ASA race,” Sauter said. “As far as a homecoming, it’s always been special to me to race here, because lots of friends and family come out to support me. All races are important to me, but this one definitely brings some extra emotion.”

Milwaukee’s flat one-mile track is a shift from recent wide-open outings at Texas and Michigan. Sauter welcomes the change. “It brings a whole different rhythm,” he says. “It’s a rhythm race track. It’s a huge help to qualify well and stay up front here, out of potential trouble. It’s one of the few places where brakes are a big factor, and that adds a whole different element. Being able to lean on that brake package for a couple-hundred laps is critical. It’s all about the mechanical package here instead of the aero. Hopefully, we can put our No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Silverado on the pole, and finish the race up front.”

Sauter remains in a heated battle for NCWTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year status. He is within two points of the lead. Sauter appeared headed for another top-5 finish at Michigan last week, but suffered a blown-tire late in the race and finished 16th. "We were really strong again, like we have been pretty much each time out," he said of his finish at MIS. "That's the way this sport goes sometimes. You put it behind you quickly. We know what we have for Milwaukee, and we expect to be really good."

06-09-09

Sauter Finding Groove as MIS Awaits

Johnny Sauter enters the Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday riding a wave of momentum that has swept him to three 3 top-10 finishes in the last four races.

Sauter won the Keystone Light Pole Award, led for a huge chunk of the race and finished 6th at Texas last week, another key building block in the foundation of success that is taking shape for the No. 13 Fun Sand/Star De Azlan-Curb Records Silverado team.

Sauter is no stranger to NASCAR success, and isn’t surprised by what he sees from his team.
“This team hasn’t been together long, and it takes some time to figure things out,” he said. “We’re doing that now. We’re still a work-in-progress, and whether it’s the crew working on pit stops or looking for ways to make our trucks better or me in the driver’s seat, we’re all constantly looking to improve.”

As witnessed at Texas, and as has largely been the case thus far this season, Sauter and crew are steadily dialing in a recipe for NCWTS success. The No. 13 trucks have been in the thick of victory-contention several times, and are making their on-track presence felt.

“We’ve been really close, and frankly, we’ve been disappointed that we haven’t been able to close the deal,” Sauter said. “But we win and lose as a team, and we’re all working together to make it happen. I thought from day one that we had the potential to be a really strong team, so it’s been somewhat rewarding in recent weeks to show what we’re capable of. We’ve shown it in qualifying by winning the Pole Award, and by leading laps in races and with some decent finishes. Once you get a taste of it, anything less is not satisfying, so we’ll keep pushing. We’re still figuring this thing out. We’re getting closer.”

Sauter looks forward to the multi-grooved action at MIS. “Michigan is a fun race track,” said Sauter, who has made eight previous starts at MIS in Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series action. His lone top-10 finish there came in a Nationwide Series race in '05. This will be his first NCWTS start at Michigan.

“I think everybody enjoys racing there, because you can move around quite a bit," he said. "We may be wide-open from the first lap. The emphasis is on handling, because the corners are so long and make up a large percentage of the speedway. The draft should play a big part there, also. We’re taking the truck we had at Dover and Texas, so hopefully, we’ll see the results we expect.”

06-05-09

Johnny Sauter Puts Silverado on the Pole at Texas

Ft. Worth, TX - Chevrolet Silverado drivers swept the top three starting positions at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) for the Winstar World Casino 400 and four of the top-five starting spots.

Johnny Sauter captured his first career NASCAR Camping World Series (NCWTS) pole position with a lap of 30.086 seconds and average speed of 179.485 m.p.h. He was followed by fellow Silverado driver and winner of the last two NCWTS races at TMS, Ron Hornaday, Jr. The runner-up position will be the best career start for Hornaday at TMS.

Johnny becomes the first rookie to sit on the pole in the Camping World Truck Series since Scott Speed at Bristol last fall.

Sauter's ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton, No. 88 Australian Gold Silverado qualified third and Dennis Setzer, fresh off a runner-up finish at Dover, put the No. 8 Malcolmson Silverado in the fifth starting position.

Johnny Sauter, FUN SAND/CURB RECORDS/STAR DE AZLAN CHEVROLET, Qualified 1st

Johnny you are coming off a fifth place finish at Dover, your best finish of the season. Talk to us about any momentum that might have carried over from last week to this week.

“Yeah, we struggled the first part of the year. We came out of the box really fast at Daytona and went to California and we were mediocre. We got totally embarrassed and got lapped twice in a one-hundred lap truck race. So we worked really hard and last week we took a new truck to Dover and did great there and the guys have been working really hard with me and we brought the same truck this week as we had last week at Dover and pretty much just changed a few things and it came super-fast off the truck.

I’m stoked. This is a big deal for me and obviously a big deal for Thorsport and the guys on the thirteen truck because its their first pole. Now all we got to do is close the deal tomorrow night and have a solid day. It feels good to be on the pole at Texas.”

Talk about your grandmother, you mentioned her on the radio out there.

“Yeah, she lives right in Dallas there so I flew in early yesterday morning and actually went over to her house and she is getting ready to turn ninety years old. So every time we come to Texas I get to go over there and hang out. My brother was fortunate enough to win a truck race here a few years ago and every time I come here I seem to struggle.

We’ve got a good start and my grandmother has lived here for forty-six years so she’s been here a long time and I believe this will be the first time she has been unable to come out, but winning the pole is pretty cool.”

- Courtesy of GM Racing

06-05-09

Sauter enjoying life after Cup as full-timer in Trucks

Johnny Sauter is proof that life still goes on after racing in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.

Once a full-time driver for the team formerly known as Haas CNC Racing, Sauter was forced to redefine his role in the sport after he was let go early last season. He spent the remainder of the year watching races from home but never once thought his career was over, despite appearances to the contrary.

Fortunately for the 31-year-old, Sauter has found a comfortable home in the Camping World Truck Series driving a Chevrolet co-partnered by ThorSport Racing and Mike Curb, and he is finding that NASCAR doesn't start and stop with the Cup Series. He is finding that being competitive is rewarding no matter the series.

"Obviously, you go to Cup and get an opportunity and do the best you can but at the end of the year you're sitting in 30th [in points] and the team needs to make the program better and they look to make a change," Sauter said. "Unfortunately, some times things don't work out but at the end of the day it's all about being competitive, that's all you really want."

After struggling in the Cup Series and sometimes failing to qualify for races, Sauter finally is feeling what it is like to run up front again and contend for wins.

On Friday night Texas Motor Speedway, Sauter, who made 11 previous series starts over five seasons, will become the first rookie to sit on the pole since Scott Speed at Bristol last year and is coming off his season-best finish (fifth place) at Dover.

"We worked really hard and last week we took a new truck to Dover," Sauter said. "The guys have been working really hard with me and we brought the same truck this week as we had last week and pretty much just changed a few things and it came super-fast off the truck. I'm stoked. This is a big deal for me and obviously a big deal for Thorsport and the guys on the [No.] 13 truck because it's their first pole. Now all we got to do is close the deal [Friday] night and have a solid day."

The results are a large improvement from where the team began in Daytona.

"Yeah, we struggled the first part of the year," Sauter said. "We came out of the box really fast at Daytona and went to California and we were mediocre. We got totally embarrassed and got lapped twice in a 100-lap Truck race."

Yet, Sauter has adjusted over time, not only to the truck but also with a new crew chief.

"One thing you learn spending time in the Cup Series and coming back to the Truck Series is that rules change and so much of the equipment changes," he said. "I had to figure out some things and then nailed down a crew chief in Jason Overstreet, so we just finally established a package that I'm comfortable [with] and we unload pretty much the same every weekend."

Sauter feels like he is getting closer to Victory Lane and the truck is fitting his driving style.

The Truck Series, which is stereotypically filled with older drivers who are more than rough around the edges, also is fitting Sauter's lifestyle.

"I feel old that's for sure, and I'm definitely rough around the edges so I fit right in," Sauter said with a laugh. "You know, the Cup Series overshadows the Trucks and the Nationwide series, as it should, but I just enjoy where I'm at right now. It's more laid back with a grassroots feel and atmosphere. That is why you see a lot of Truck drivers who have been to Cup content to stay in the Truck Series."

That is not to say Sauter would turn down a Cup ride tomorrow, but he is fully invested in his new job.

"I mean, every race car driver aspires to get to Cup, but mostly you're looking to be competitive and win races and I feel like we are close to accomplishing that here in the Truck Series," Sauter said.

By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
June 5, 2009
06:25 PM EDT

06-04-09

Sauter Seeks to Add to Momentum at Texas

Johnny Sauter enters the WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday seeking to add to the momentum established by top-5 and top-10 finishes in two of the last 3 races.

Sauter claimed his first top-5 finish of the season last week at Dover. While no driver will sneeze at a top-5 finish, it was nonetheless bittersweet for Sauter. “It was good to get a top-5 finish, but we felt like we had a truck that was more than capable of winning the race, and I thought it was gonna happen,” he said. “We were just a little too tight at the end, and couldn’t make the hard charge we expected to make. But the name of the game at Dover is survival, so, from that perspective, we did what we needed to do.”

Sauter has made numerous starts at Texas Motor Speedway, including a previous Truck Series start, and expects good things for the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Silverado. “Texas is a great place to race,” Sauter said. “You can always expect strong side-by-side racing here. You have to be fast, but you have to be patient, too. It’s wide-open, and there’s a ton of grip. It’s a track that’s known for taking a toll on tires, and we’ll obviously keep an eye on that. It’s just a lot of fun to race here.”

For Sauter and the No. 13 team, confidence is on the rise. “We’ve had great trucks and speed all season,” he said. “We keep working hard, and we’re making progress. We feel more comfortable each time out, and obviously, it’s started to show. We know what we’re capable of, and we keep working on our stuff to get it where we want it to be, which just takes a little time. We’re putting it all together. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in position for a shot to win the race on Friday, but if we can come out of Texas with a top-5 finish and keep building momentum, we’ll take it.”

06-01-09

Sauter Nabs Top-5 Finish at Dover

Johnny Sauter battled to his first top-5 finish of the season in the AAA Insurance 200 at Dover on Saturday, his second finish in the top-10 in the last three races.

“It was a decent day for ThorSport Racing, with me and Matt (teammate Crafton) finishing 5th and 6th,” Sauter said. “It’s good to get a top-5 finish, but we felt like we had a truck that was capable of winning the race, and I thought it was gonna happen. With the fresh right-side tires on the last restart, I thought I’d be able to make a hard charge, but we had a little right-side damage from earlier in the race that probably made us a little too tight at the end. With the situation the way it was out there, it was tough to race real hard, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. The bottom-line at Dover is survival, so from that perspective, we did what we needed to do and we’ll take it.”

Sauter has been in the thick of contention for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win each time out thus far, and believes the No. 13 team is on the verge.

“We’ve had great trucks and speed all season,” he said. “Sometimes, drivers will say they’re better than what they’ve shown and not be sincere, but I really feel that way. We had a legitimate chance to win at Martinsville, a strong shot at Daytona, and we had a great shot at this one, too. But you take it and learn from it, and just try to get better for the next race.”

It appears Sauter and the No. 13 crew is jelling at an opportune time, as they enter the meat of the NCWTS season.
“We’re getting closer,” said Sauter. “We’re getting our truck figured out, and that’s the biggest thing. We have a great teammate in Crafton, too, and we can rely on a lot of their knowledge. At the same time, drivers are different, and sometimes I want to feel something different in the truck. We’ll just keep figuring out what that is. The guys are doing a heck of a job for me, and it’s just a matter of time.”

Sauter claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the second time this season, and is tied for the lead in the battle for NCWTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

“We’re all on the same page, in terms of knowing what we need to do, and trying to find a way to get it done each week,” Sauter said. “We’re putting things together, and we’ll keep trying to build momentum. We’ll just keep looking to get better.”

05-26-09

Sauter Welcomes Challenge of Monster Mile

Johnny Sauter looks to pilot the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy to top-5 territory in the AAA Insurance 200 at Dover on Friday. Sauter is quite familiar with the Monster Mile (he owns top-5 and top-10 finishes in Nationwide Series competition at the track) and the havoc Dover has been known to wreak with drivers.

“Needless to say, Dover is an exhilarating place to race,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed it. There’s usually good side-by-side racing here, and you have a lot of options, as far as where you want to run. You might be trimming the white line around the bottom on one lap, and running up top the next. The track is a little tricky on corner exits, though. It stands out so wide in the middle, but you run out of real estate pretty quickly trying to get out of the corner.”
According to Sauter, the track is at once accommodating and unforgiving.

“The biggest challenge at Dover is getting a clean start, so you can get spread out a bit and just go race,” he said. “Obviously, track position is important, but at the same time, it’s a place where you can make your way back to the front. If you can hook the bottom all day, and keep the truck hugging the white line in the bottom of the corner, you’ll be successful at Dover. But when someone makes a mistake here, it usually gets ugly. There’s no such thing as just scraping the wall a little here. It’s usually pretty bad, and a lot of trucks can get caught up in a mess pretty quickly.”

Sauter is confident as the No. 13 team continues to jell. “This group of guys is busting their backsides for me, and I’m thankful,” he said. “We continue to improve, and that’s what you have to do. We have strong trucks, and we’ll keep fine-tuning and bringing everything we have each time out. Hopefully, I can bring a top-5 finish home for these guys on Friday.”

05-12-09

Sauter Looks to Add to Momentum at Charlotte

Johnny Sauter looks to build on the momentum of his top-10 finish at Kansas with another in Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte.

Sauter and his No. 13 Fun Sand-Rodney Atkins/Curb Records Chevy crew have displayed strength thus far this season, with trucks in the thick of contention most weeks. Sauter expects to compete for wins and top-5 finishes each time out, and says the effort at Kansas is but a glimpse of the team’s potential. “It meant a lot to the guys to get that first top-10 finish, because we’ve had great trucks and felt it was just a matter of a little time before things came together for us,” Sauter said. “There’s no doubt the work the guys are doing will pay off for us.”

Sauter thrives on the excitement that racing at one of NASCAR’S highest-profile tracks-and under the lights, no less-provides. “I love racing at Charlotte,” he said. “This is a big race for all of these teams. There’s a lot of excitement in the air. The race is at night, which brings a certain added energy to the scene, it’s the ‘home track’ for many teams, and it brings some cool bragging rights if you’re fortunate enough to win the race. Charlotte is just one of those extra-special races that gets your blood pumping. It’s about running wide-open, from qualifying thru the race. The track will have a ton of grip, and the driver that can hold the throttle open the longest may win the race.”

Sauter’s teammate, Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards Chevy, won the race last year, and Sauter, who has made several starts at Charlotte in Cup and Nationwide Series competition, would like nothing better than to keep the winner’s trophy in the race team family. “It’s cool that Matt won this race last year, and I’m a little bit envious,” said a chuckling Sauter. “It’s a place where any driver would love to win, for all of the history and what it means. We’re bringing the same truck we had at Kansas. Hopefully, it will be fast when we unload and we can just tweak it a little and be right where we want to be, with a strong shot to win the race.”

04-27-09

Sauter Nabs Top-Ten Finish at Kansas

Johnny Sauter raced to his first top-10 finish of the season in the rain-soaked O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway on Monday.

Sauter finished 9th in a race that was delayed, postponed and ultimately shortened to 132 laps of a scheduled 167.
“As a competitor, you’re ready to go, and it’s tough waiting out the delays, especially once the race has already gotten underway,” Sauter said. “But we’ve dealt with it before, and you just realize the weather is out of your control. We unloaded fast here, and we felt good about our truck. We'd love to have seen what we could do on that last run, because we had four fresh tires and fuel, and were ready to go to the end. We felt like we would have had a great shot to win the race or be right there, but the rain just bit us again.”

Sauter has had strong trucks and impressive runs through the early season, but didn’t have the results to show for it until yesterday. “It means a lot to get that first top-10 finish, especially for the guys,” he said. “They’ve been working so hard for me, and we’ve had great runs but haven’t been able to close the deal. We’re not gonna get too excited, obviously, because we expect to finish in the top-5 or top-10 each week, but we can build on this. We’ll come home, clean up the truck, tweak it a little, and take this same piece to Charlotte. We’ll make a strong truck even better for Charlotte, and hopefully get to Victory Lane.”

04-22-09

Sauter Looks to Build Momentum at Kansas

Johnny Sauter enters the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday looking to capture his first top-5 finish of the young season.

Sauter, driver of the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevrolet, is chomping at the bit to return to the track after a few weeks off. “We’re ready to go,” he said. “We’ve had great trucks, some strong runs so far, but just haven’t had the finishes to back it up. That’s the way it goes sometimes. In three of the first four races, we’ve legitimately had at least a top-ten truck, and that’s encouraging. We know we’re right there. It’s just a matter of knocking down that first top-5 or top-10 finish, and then the others will come. You keep your focus on the race at hand, and try to make sure you do all the little things right to give yourself the best opportunity each time out. The guys are working their tails off for me, and I appreciate it. Hopefully, we can come out of Kansas with a top-5 or top-10 finish and start to build some momentum.”

According to Sauter, from a team perspective, the time off between early-season races has been a positive.
"It's allowed the guys to prepare that much more, to gain an even better feel for what we have," he said.
Though this will be Sauter’s first NCWTS start at Kansas, he has a combined 7 career starts there in Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series competition. He finished 3rd in a Nationwide series race at the track in ’05.

“I love racing at Kansas,” he said. “I always look forward to racing there. There’s lots of room to run, and it's always a good show for the fans. It’s essentially all about the grip. It’s important to be on the throttle as much as possible thru those long corners. I always have lots of friends and family who come out to watch me race at Kansas, so that makes it special for me. I’m excited to get back on the track and show what we’re capable of.”

03-25-09

Sauter Looks to Repeat Success at Martinsville

Johnny Sauter has tasted success at Martinsville Speedway, and hopes for more of it in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 250. Sauter raced to a top-5 finish in a Nationwide Series race at Martinsville in ’06. This will be his third NCWTS start at the half-mile track. “I love racing at Martinsville,” he said. “To me, it’s the essence of short-track racing. I think the fans love it because there’s lots of side-by-side racing, and you never know what’s gonna happen. And there’s so much history here. It’s a special place.”

Sauter recognizes the importance of qualifying well at Martinsville. “It’s especially important for truck races, because the races are shorter,” he said. “Things happen quickly, and you don’t want to have to spend all your laps just trying to catch up. Qualifying well is usually an important part of having a strong day here.” Sauter says the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Chevy team is taking maximum competitive advantage of the time between early-season NCWTS races. After Saturday’s race, the NCWTS is out of action again until April 25 at Kansas.
“We have a great group of guys on this team, and everyone is on the same page in terms of wanting to get better, looking for ways to improve,” said Sauter. “That means not only being aware of our weaknesses, but also realizing our strengths. We know what we’re capable of, and we saw it to some extent at Daytona. We came out of the gate well there, and it looked like we were headed for a top-10 finish at California but had an unfortunate break. That’s the way it goes. You just have to focus on the next race and come back and give it everything you have.”

Sauter realizes it takes time for newcomers on a team to jell. “With any group of guys together for the first time, it takes some time for things to click, and we’re getting closer,” he said. “There are a lot of positives on this race team right now, and I’m confident that will be reflected in our finishes. These guys are working hard for me, and I appreciate it. Hopefully, we can come out of Martinsville with a top-5 finish and build some momentum.”

03-05-09

Sauter Seeks Top-10 Finish at Atlanta

Johnny Sauter enters the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta on Saturday seeking his first top-10 finish of the season. Despite strong trucks at Daytona, where he ran near the front of the pack for much of the race, and California, Sauter caught a couple of unlucky breaks and finished 27th and 17th, respectively, in those races. He is confident Saturday will bring a different result.

“We had top-10 trucks in both races, and coming out of the box, you can’t ask for any more than that,” Sauter said. “The speed is there, and now we just have to put a whole day together.” According to Sauter, patience is vital to success. “As they say, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,” he said. “We know our trucks are strong, and we just had some misfortune. We’ll keep digging, and we’re confident our luck will turn around this weekend.”

In 10 career starts at Atlanta, Sauter has one top-10 finish. “Atlanta is a fun place to race,” he said. “From a racer’s standpoint, I look forward to the speed this track brings. It’s exhilarating, especially during qualifying. During the race, the tires seem to wear out and you start to slip around pretty quickly, which puts things in the driver’s hands a little more. It’s all about the grip here. At some tracks, you’re pinned on the bottom all day long, and if you’re truck is off a little bit, there’s nothing you can do. This place has a bunch of grooves, so you can always find a place to race. It’s exciting to race here, and I’m looking forward to showing what we’re capable of.”

Sauter is enjoying his first full-time run in the NCWTS. "This series is so competitive," he said. "It's a lot of fun. You have probably twenty trucks that can win any given race, so you don't have any margin for error. With the shorter races in this Series, there's the added emphasis on getting where you're going quicker."

Sauter believes the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins/Curb Records Chevy is right on track. “We’ve got a great bunch of guys on this team, and everybody is dedicating and working hard,” he said. “It’s just a matter of building some consistency, and we know we can get on a nice roll. Hopefully, that will start this weekend.”

02-19-09

Sauter Looks to Rebound at California

Johnny Sauter looks to rebound from a disappointing finish in last week’s season-opener at Daytona with a strong run at Auto Club Speedway in Saturday’s San Bernardino County 200.

On-track occurrences not of a driver’s making can sometimes turn a promising run to ruin in an instant, and such was the case for Sauter at Daytona. Sauter’s No. 13 Fun Sand/Curb Records/Rodney Atkins Chevy looked to be among the strongest in the race, and he seemed poised for a special evening until he was swept up in a wreck that ended his night. He finished the race 27th.

“We had a great truck at Daytona, and we felt after practice that we could win the race,” Sauter said. “But things can happen in a hurry at Daytona, and it wasn’t meant to be for us. That’s just part of racing at a track like Daytona. You realize you can't control what other drivers do, and you regroup and move on and focus on the next race, and we’re really looking forward to California.”

Sauter has made many starts at Auto Club Speedway in his career, but this will be his first in the NCWTS.
“You have lots of room to run here, but I believe the place to be is at the bottom of the track,” he said. “I always enjoy racing at California. This is a handling track. There’s a lot of corner here, so if you’re off a little bit as far as the chassis goes, it shows. We’re excited to see what we can do with our No. 13 Fun Sand/Curb Records/Rodney Atkins Chevy, and hopefully we can challenge for a win on Saturday."

02-09-09

Sauter Hopes For Early Truck Series Success At Daytona

Johnny Sauter begins his fulltime foray into NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona on Friday. Sauter will drive the No. 13 Chevrolet Silverado for ThorSport Racing this season. “I’m excited to get going, and there’s no better place than Daytona to do it,” Sauter said. “The whole Daytona experience is incredible; our season-opening race, the fans, the atmosphere, racing at night…just a combination of all of these really cool elements. I’m looking forward to it.”

While Friday will mark Sauter’s first visit to Daytona as a driver in the NCWTS, the Necedah, Wisconsin native is hardly a stranger to the track. He has made 16 career starts at Daytona, and collected top-5 Nationwide Series finishes there in ’03 and ’04. The veteran knows he still has a lot to learn, however. “As far as the draft, and superspeedway racing with these trucks, I’m trying to pick up as much information as I can from Matt (ThorSport teammate Crafton),” said Sauter. Crafton drives the No. 88 Menards Silverado. “These trucks punch such a big hole in the air. Matt has talked to me about how the closure rate in the draft is so different with the trucks. He’s been a big help to me.”

High-speeds aside, Sauter says handling at Daytona is critical for success. “I’ll definitely be cognizant of how my truck is handling, especially during the first fifty laps or so…from a driver’s perspective, you’d love to just be able to keep your foot on the gas, and not have to check up or be too tight or too loose, but that’s not the case. Daytona is a handling track. Your truck has to handle well for you to have a shot.” According to Sauter, Daytona’s unpredictable nature calls for a cool head. “I think a big part of being able to run well at Daytona is just common sense,” he said. “You have to be aggressive, of course, but there’s a fine line between being aggressive and doing something foolish, and creating a mess around you. There’s really no safe place at Daytona. The wrecks can happen anywhere. We'd like to try to run up front as much as we can, but you try to balance it and stay aggressive and be as smart as you can, so you can be in it at the end and give yourself a shot to win.”

Sauter would relish the momentum a strong finish at Daytona would provide. “The competitor in me would love to win the race,” he said. “It’s Daytona, and that speaks for itself. But at the same time, it’ll be hard to complain if I can come out with a top-5 or top-10 finish and the truck in one piece. It’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds.”

01-06-09

Thorsport Racing Names Johnny Sauter Driver of No. 13 Truck

ThorSport Racing has named Johnny Sauter driver of the No. 13 truck in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in ’09, the organization announced on Tuesday.

Sauter, a native of Necedah, WI, has raced in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series. This will be his first full-time foray into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. “I’m excited to race fulltime in the Truck Series, and to do it with a quality team like ThorSport,” Sauter said. “The Truck Series provides some of the best racing out there, with a tremendous ‘grass-roots’ feel.”

Sauter joins forces with teammate Matt Crafton at ThorSport Racing. Crafton is the driver of the No. 88 Menards Silverado. He finished 5th in last season’s championship standings. “Matt has tremendous knowledge and he’s had great success in this series, and I’m looking forward to learning from him and bouncing ideas off each other,” said Sauter. “There’s nobody better than Matt to get me up to speed in this series. He’s more than willing to share his knowledge, and that is invaluable to me.”

According to Crafton, Sauter’s addition to the ThorSport fold bodes well for all involved. “I’m looking forward to having Johnny as part of our team, and I’m confident he’ll do well in this series,” Crafton said. “He brings lots of experience and has those intangibles that are important to success. Hopefully, I can help make it a smooth transition for him, and at the same time, there’s a lot I can learn from him, too. I think we'll make a great team.”

Sauter believes all of the key ingredients are in place at ThorSport Racing to make a championship push.
“(team owner) Duke Thorson has established a strong, winning organization at ThorSport, and I’m thankful he’s given me this opportunity,” Sauter said. “All of the pieces are lined up for great things to happen. This is a great group of guys with a fierce determination to succeed, and I’m excited to be a part of it. I can’t wait to get going."

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