Johnny Sauter left Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) with an eighth-place finish in the lone road-course race on the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule. With eight races remaining, Sauter holds a seven point advantage over his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton in the championship point standings. The eighth-place finish was Sauter’s best NCWTS road course finish in two starts at CTMP.
Starting a track-best 11th, Sauter and crew chief Jeff Hensley employed an alternative pit strategy from the majority of the leaders in Sunday afternoon’s 64-lap event. Advancing into the top 10 by lap 10, Sauter stayed on the racetrack as most of the front runners made green flag pit stops early. The ThorSport Racing driver stayed on the 10-turn road course until lap 25 when he came to the attention of his ThorSport Racing team for four tires and fuel. By lap 34, Sauter was back inside the top 10, and cycled to the race lead at lap 40 when the second green flag pit cycle started.
Sauter paced the field for four circuits before surrendering the lead on lap 44, two laps before the race’s first caution flag was displayed at lap 48, for four tires and fuel. The No. 98 Toyota Tundra would restart 10th with 20 laps remaining and Sauter would work his way into the sixth position before the final caution flag was displayed at lap 55 for a stalled truck in Turn 5. The Necedah, Wisc. native would restart sixth, with less than 10 laps remaining, but fought a tight Toyota Tundra in the closing laps and crossed the stripe in the eighth position behind race winner Ryan Blaney.
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