Johnny Sauter made his 20th Martinsville Speedway start from the third position for Saturday’s Texas Roadhouse 200. Battling a tight condition early in the race, Sauter maintained his position within the top five and finished the first 50-lap stage in the second position to gain valuable stage points. Sauter stayed on track under caution to start Stage Two in second, eventually taking over the race lead on lap 72 and opening up a three second lead on the field. He stayed in the top spot to pick up his eighth stage win of the season as the green-checkered flag waved on lap 100.
During the only pit stop of the day, Sauter brought the ISM Chevy to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, but a slow stop relegated the No. 21 to a seventh-place restarting position. Sauter used his experience at the famed short track to work through cautions and traffic, making his way back up to the third position with 50 laps to go. Still fighting a lack of center rotation, Sauter struggled to advance any further before the race end and finished the day in third for his 10th top-five and 16th top-10 finish of 2017.
Quote
“We had a good day just didn’t execute when we needed to. It’s unfortunate, but we had a fast ISM Connect Chevy. Joe did a good job; all the guys at GMS did a great job. We had a fast truck on that first run but that adjustment we made just wasn’t the right one I guess. Nonetheless, I still think track position is king. You get out in clean air and it’s dominant. I feel like anymore, everyone runs the same speed, so when you give up seven spots it’s pretty tough to overcome. But with that being said I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself, it happens, I can’t be mad about it. Despite it all, it was a good points day and we’re just getting started in what I believe is the part of the schedule that really plays into our strengths.”
Additional Info
– A big points day puts Sauter just three points behind NCWTS Playoffs points leader Christopher Bell.
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