Returning to yet another strong historical short track on the NASCAR circuit- New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Johnny Sauter comes to Beantown sitting third in driver championship points in the Camping World Truck Series. Out of 18 previous weeks, Sauter has been in the top three for 15 and the top five in all 18. Sauter has made two appearances in NCWTS at NHMS, in 2009 and 2010- with his best start at seventh and finish at fifth in 2010. He has never started out of the top seven at the short track. He hopes to continue the “top 10 love” at Loudon this week.
THE HEAT IS ON, THE COOL IS COMING: Team 13 looks to keep consistent top five finishes in the last six races of the 2011 season as the hunt for a championship continues. Sauter made up six points in the deficit between himself and current leader James Buescher at Chicagoland – and he looks to continue the tick up the charts at six dominant race tracks for the seasoned driver.
A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, A LITTLE MORE ACTION: A primary sponsor of the No. 13 truck, Safe Auto, continues their “Race to Vegas” contest by wrapping up in Loudon. Entrants can go to www.facebook.com/SafeAuto to enter once for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas as a guest of the No. 13 team and Johnny Sauter.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 13 team will utilize chassis No. 011 this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A proven short-track chassis for the team, it brought a pole and win in Martinsville earlier this year. It’s last appearance was in Indianapolis where Sauter started fourth – tire woes relegated him to a 24th place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Sauter drove the No. 13 home to an inspiring sixth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway after battling an extraordinarily loose truck all night. Smart pit strategy and sound on-track decisions delivered the truck in one piece as other championship contenders were behind the wall. His finish pushed him to third in overall driver championship points, a mere six behind leader James Buescher going into a strong track for Sauter at NHMS.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Johnny Sauter
Are you looking forward to Loudon?
“New Hampshire Motor Speedway is an awesome place to race. It is short track racing at its best. We use a lot of brakes and wear out the tires, and everyone that knows me knows I love the tires falling off and sliding and banging. The motor is just as important at a track like Loudon – almost as important as handling; it takes a lot of compromise with the truck and the driver has to feel it.”
How do you feel coming out of Chicagoland?
“Man, we had to fight for that finish all the way around in Chicago. We were fighting a loose truck from the get go, even in practice, and we were trying to find speed throughout the weekend there. I knew I was in trouble at the first caution when it was ready to turn into the fence, but we kept our cool and Joe did some diagnostics, and we were able to work it out and hold on. I’m proud of the guys for performing in a clinch – we needed a top ten to get back into the points game, and we did it, even on an off week for us.”
Going into Loudon, what are your thoughts for that championship run?
“It’s week to week now. We saw last week that we could move up in points and only be six down, but move down a spot in the ranks. This is close racing, folks, and it’s how it should be. Only six points divides the top three guys, and we’ve got six to go. I don’t feel pressure, this is my job and I’m ready to get to some of these tracks that I can do what I do best. We’re going to keep making smart decisions on and off the track as we move towards Homestead.”
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