Sauter Contends for the Win at Kansas Speedway

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Truck Series News

Friday’s Toyota Tundra 250 was an exhibition of Johnny Sauter’s talent behind the wheel. The Necedah, Wis. native drove from the back to the front in the fourth event on the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule, but a last lap incident relegated the No. 21 Allegiant Chevrolet to a 16th-place finish.

Sauter qualified for the 167-lap event in the 12th position, but started from the back of the field due to an unapproved adjustment after qualifying. Just prior to the second caution of the night, on lap 45, Sauter entered the top 10. Crew chief Marcus Richmond brought the No. 21 to pit road for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to help with a tight-handling Chevrolet. Sauter returned to the track in the ninth position for a lap-48 restart and patiently worked his way to the lead, taking over the first position on lap 64. After leading for five laps, Sauter reported that the No. 21 was still slightly tight but believed the track would loosen up toward the end of the race. When the seventh caution of the night occurred on lap 79, Sauter pitted for tires, fuel and another track bar adjustment. Called for speeding on entry, Sauter was sent to the 14th position for the restart. In two laps he made his way back into the top 10 and re-entered the top five on lap 121.

The 10th yellow-flag period of the night occurred with two laps to go in the race. Sauter started from the third position for the second overtime restart of the season. He took the lead with one lap to go, but contact from another truck sent him hard into the turn one outside wall and resulted in a 16th-place finish.

Sauter is now 16th in the NCWTS driver championship standings, with one win all-but-guaranteeing a spot in the eight-race Chase.

Johnny Sauter Quote:
“There’s not much to say about tonight. We had a really fast Allegiant Chevrolet. We had a lot of speed in clean air, but tight in traffic and I thought the track would loosen up a bit toward the end. I really thought we had it. It’s unfortunate that these guys work so hard to get these trucks ready only to have a win taken away by someone else’s bad decision.”

GMS Racing PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 65