Stats:
Started: 17th
Finished: 6th
Laps: 69/69
Status: Running
Driver Points: 4th
Owner Points: 5th
Long Pond, PA (August 1, 2015) – Making his sixth start at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra turned a 17th-place starting position into a sixth-place finish in Saturday afternoon’s Pocono Mountains 150. The solid run marked the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) veterans third top-10 finish at the “Tricky Triangle,” and eighth of the 2015 season.
In a race that is usually won on fuel mileage and pit strategy, crew chief Doug George brought the No. 98 Toyota Tundra to pit road during the races first caution at lap seven for a chassis adjustment, and fuel in hopes of catching a late-race caution and stretching their fuel-mileage for a race-winning strategy. As the 60-lap event approached the half-way mark, the race leaders began making their way down pit road. Sauter, running ninth, assumed the race lead at lap 32, and led the 32-truck field for four laps before making his way down pit road at lap 36 for two tires and fuel. Returning to the race track in the eighth position, following the green-flag pit stop, Sauter worked his way up to sixth by lap 60 and powered through three green-white-checkered flag restarts to finish sixth behind race winner, Kyle Busch.
Sauter remains fourth in the championship point standings following the 6th Annual Pocono Mountains 150.
Quote:
“Our day started out bad because we qualified bad. I knew track position was going to be ultra-important, and it was. You just can’t get going in dirty air back there. We had a good green flag pit stop, and got us a little track position, and just kind of methodically picked them off one by one. There at the end, a couple of late race restarts didn’t agree with us, so you’re just kind of riding along at that point. We got what we got. The Truck is in one piece and we’ll go to the next one.”
Notes:
- Johnny Sauter started 17th and finished sixth in the Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon, his third top-10 finish in six starts at the “Tricky Triangle”
- Sauter led the 32-truck field once for four laps during the 60-lap event
- In 2015, Sauter has four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in the season’s first 12 races of the season
- The ThorSport Racing driver maintained a 4th-place position in the 2015 NCWTS driver point standings following the event
- In 164 career NCWTS starts, Sauter has 10 wins, 60 top-five and 94 top-10 finishes
- Kyle Busch won the 6th Annual Pocono Mountains 150 followed by Kevin Harvick (second), Tyler Reddick (third), ThorSport Racing teammate, Cameron Hayley (fourth), and Austin Dillon (fifth). Matt Crafton was involved in an early incident and relegated to a 28th-place finish
- Up next: The Careers for Veterans 200 at Michigan International Speedway in Arbor on Saturday, August 15