For the first time this season, Johnny Sauter and the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records ThorSport Racing team head into Thursday night’s UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) point leaders. Following a fourth-place finish in the inaugural Drivin’ for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill., Sauter’s sixth top-10 finish of the 2014 season, the Necedah, Wisc. native is riding high with an 11-point lead over ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton.
Kentucky Speedway is known for its bumpy surface and hot summers, but Sauter, who is in his sixth full-time season in the Truck Series, has been one of the hottest drivers in 2014. According to NASCAR’s Loop Data, Sauter leads all NCWTS drivers with an Average Finish of 6.9 and ranks first in the Laps in the Top-15 category with 1091. If consistency wins championships, the ThorSport Racing driver is a “sure bet” in 2014.
Sounding Off – Johnny Sauter:
“It really has been a feast or famine racetrack for me, I can’t explain it, and I really feel like I should have won there twice in a truck. One time we finished second and another time we broke the rear axle on a green-flag pit stop with 20 laps to go, leading the race. We lost an engine one time, broke a transmission, so it’s just been one of those places where it’s been really good, or really bad. You just never know what you’re gonna get when you go to Kentucky, so I’ll just drive it all-out, like I always do, and see where we stack up at the end of the night. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, being consistent, we will be a strong contender for the championship this year.”
Sauter’s “Bluegrass State” Stats:
• In seven starts at Kentucky Speedway, has compiled one top-five (September, 2010) and three top-10 finishes
• Has led 50 laps
• One pole award (July, 2011)
• Has completed 985 of 1036 laps attempted (95.1%)
• Best finish: 2nd (September, 2010)
• Average start: 8.1/Average finish: 12.3
• According to NASCAR’s loop data statics, has a driver rating of 95.1, ranks third among Closers, third among Laps in the Top-15 with 804, and fourth among Laps Led with 50 going into Thursday night’s 17th annual Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway
• Has five NASCAR Nationwide Series starts
Johnny Sauter 2014:
• Ranks first in the 2014 NCWTS driver point standings with a 10 point cushion over Matt Crafton
• Recorded a season-best third-place finish twice at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway
• Recorded a season-best third-place start at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City
• In seven starts in 2014, Sauter has four top-five and six top-10 finishes
• Has led 61 laps
• Has completed 93.1% of laps attempted (1102/1184)
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data, ranks first in Average Finish (6.9) and Laps in the Top-15 (1091) and third in Average Running Position (7.3) and Driver Rating (99.0)
Sauter’s Career Truck Series Stats:
• 137 starts since 2003
• 9 wins
• 52 top-5 finishes
• 76 top-10 finishes
• 5 poles
• 20,854 laps completed
• 1066 laps led
• Avg. Start: 10.8
• Avg. Finish: 11.0
Catch the Action:
Fox Sports 1’s coverage of the Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway will begin on Thursday, June 26 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time(ET) with Truck Series qualifying, followed by the NCWTS Setup at 7:30 p.m. ET and the UNOH 225 at 8 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR radio channel 90.
ABOUT SMOKEY MOUNTAIN:
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ABOUT CURB RECORDS:
Curb Records is one of the world’s leading independent music companies. Owned and operated by Mike Curb since 1962, Curb Records has achieved 375 Billboard number one records, nearly 1,200 Billboard Top Ten records and charted just under 4,000 Billboard records. Today’s roster includes some of the top names in Country, Christian and Pop/Rock music. Curb Records was honored as Billboard Magazine’s 2001 Country Music Label of the Year and Radio & Records Magazine’s 2005 Overall Gold Label of the Year. For more information visit www.curb.com.
ABOUT THORSPORT RACING:
ThorSport Racing, based in a state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport, which has run in the Truck Series since 1996, in 2014 will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by 2013 drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff/Carolina Nut Co./Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra driven by Jeb Burton in the Truck Series and the No. 13 Toyota Camry in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.