Just four days after winning the Careers for Veterans 200 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra, returns to the site of his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start. The date was August 20, 2003 and the track, the half-mile bullring of Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway – site of race No. 13 on the 2014 NCWTS schedule.
With only 10 races remaining, Sauter looks to keep his momentum going in an effort to win his first NCWTS drivers’ championship. The Necedah, Wisc. native has raced full-time in NASCAR’s third division for six years and the second-half of the schedule has typically been the better-half for the ThorSport Racing driver. In fact, Sauter has produced his career-best average finish in the first-half of the season to date. After track-best finishes in his last three races at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio (8th), Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2nd) and Michigan International Speedway (1st), Sauter is the current NCWTS point leader and poised to contend for his first series title starting with Wednesday night’s UNOH 200.
| Year | Avg. Finish in First-Half of the Season |
Avg. Finish in Second-Half of the Season |
| 2009 | 15.16 | 8.15 |
| 2010 | 10.16 | 6.23 |
| 2011 | 9.08 | 9.76 |
| 2012 | 17.27 | 10.27 |
| 2013 | 11.27 | 9.36 |
| 2014 | 7.72 |
Sounding Off – Johnny Sauter:
“Bristol is one of my favorites, it always has been. It’s short-track racing at its best and I just can’t get enough of that. Historically, it’s been a good track for me, especially in the trucks, and the new configuration is all about racing, at least I think so because it gives you options to move around. You have to stay focused because it’s really fast and things happen in a hurry. I feel like I’ve always been better the second-half of the season and coming off a win at one of my worst race tracks gives me confidence. (Jeff) Hensley has only been with the team for a short time, but he has already made some strides that I feel will keep us moving in the right direction. I’m looking forward to what the second-half of the season has in store.”
Sauter’s Bristol Stats:
• Six NCWTS starts
• 1083 of 1210 laps completed (89.5%)
• 0 laps led
• Two top-five finishes
• Best start: 4th (2010)
• Best finish: 2nd (2011)
• Average start: 15.8
• Average finish: 11.8
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Sauter ranks:
º Fifth in Laps in the Top 15 (705)
º Eighth in Driver Rating (90.9)
º Ninth in Average Running Position (11.322)
º Ninth in Fastest Laps Run (16)
NCWTS Results at Bristol:
| Date | Start | Finish | Laps | Status | Led |
| 8/20/2003 | 23 | 25 | 74/200 | Running | 0 |
| 8/19/2009 | 25 | 18 | 199/200 | Running | 0 |
| 8/18/2010 | 4 | 11 | 206/206 | Running | 0 |
| 8/24/2011 | 12 | 2 | 200/200 | Running | 0 |
| 8/22/2012 | 10 | 11 | 204/204 | Running | 0 |
| 8/22/2012 | 21 | 4 | 200/200 | Running | 0 |
Johnny Sauter 2014:
• After a win at Michigan International Speedway, Sauter leads the 2014 NCWTS driver point standings, nine points over ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton
• Was victorious for the first time in 2014 at MIS (8/15/14)
• Recorded a season-best third-place start at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (5/9/14)
• In 12 starts in 2014, Sauter has one win, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes
• Has led 85 laps
• Has completed 1764 of 1848 laps attempted (95.5%)
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Sauter ranks:
º Third in Average Running Position (8.007)
º Third in Laps in the Top 15 (1636)
º Fourth in Driver Rating (97.7)
º Tied for sixth in Laps Led (85)
Sauter’s Career Truck Series Stats:
• 142 starts since 2003
• 10 wins
• 54 top-five finishes
• 80 top-10 finishes
• Five poles
• 21,516 laps completed
• 1090 laps led
• Average start: 10.7
• Average finish: 10.9
ABOUT NEXTANT AEROSPACE:
Nextant Aerospace is recognized as the first company in the world to introduce aircraft remanufacturing to the business jet market. The Nextant 400XTi is a completely-rebuilt Beechjet 400A/XP with Williams FJ44-3AP engines and the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21™ integrated avionics suite. The new aircraft also has major aerodynamic enhancements and an improved engine mounting configuration with redesigned nacelles and pylons. The 400XTi is delivered with a two-year full-aircraft warranty and after-sales support provided by a global network of owned and authorized service centers. Founded in 2007, Nextant is based in Cleveland, Ohio. Nextant is a Directional Aviation Capital company. For more information, please visit, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @NextantAero or join us on LinkedIn.
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.