JOHNNY SAUTER NASHVILLE PREVIEW
Driver of the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records/Carrier Chevrolet Silverado
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
* NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
* LUCAS DEEP CLEAN 200 Race 12 of 25 Driver Points Leader Sauter
TOPPING THE CHARTS IN NASHVILLE: Returning to Nashville for the second time this year, Johnny Sauter makes his appearance at the top of the driver points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It is the sixth week out of twelve that the veteran driver has led the points, as well as the fourth week in a row. Sauter’s best finish at Nashville was fifth in the spring race of 2010. His last appearance resulted in a seventh place finish – and out of four appearances, Sauter has never finished out of the top 11.
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM: Sauter will visit the Curb Records studio on Music Row in Nashville on Thursday, July 21st with NASCAR’s First Officially Licensed Artist, Sam Bass to experience his first “jam session” with Curb artists Rodney Atkins and Tim Duggar. Atkins will be on the decklid of the No. 13 truck in Nashville in honor of Curb Records; Duggar will be the featured artist playing at the ThorSport Race Shop Grand Opening Celebration on August 17th in Sandusky.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 13 team will utilize chassis No. 038 this weekend at Nashville Speedway. This is chassis is well-known on Nashville’s concrete surface and helped Sauter drive home in the seventh position earlier this year at the track.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Sauter drove the No. 13 home to a fourth place finish at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Saturday night. After battling back from a right rear flat tire (due to a slow leak) and out-of-cycle pit stop to fix, Sauter made the jump from 20th position to fourth in just eight laps. The finish was well-earned by the pit crew, crew chief and driver; it also gave ThorSport Racing owner Duke Thorson two trucks in the top four – as teammate Matt Crafton reached victory lane for the second time in his career.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Johnny Sauter How do you feel going into the race in Nashville? “Nashville is a great town, and it’s a great racetrack. I said it earlier this year – I have sentimental ties here, not just for the relationship with Curb Records, but also because I won at Nashville Fairgrounds back in the day in ASA Racing. I’ve already got one guitar. Two would be better – in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. That’s the trophy that everyone wants…it’s about going for that Gibson.”
What’s the biggest challenge going into Nashville? “There is limited banking at Nashville, and that poses a problem for a lot of drivers – but to us short track racers, it’s just fine. It’s such a unique track and the concrete definitely sets it apart somewhat. The fastest groove, by far, is on the bottom here. It’s a one groove racetrack, but there are tons of different ways to get through the corners to get the truck where you want it. Take your choice of how you want to lift. The winning driver is going to be decided this week by the corners.”
How do you feel coming off a successful run at Iowa? “Iowa was redemption for the No. 13 guys, for sure. We didn’t finish where we wanted to exactly, because we did have a winning truck and I’ve raced really well there in the past. But after having horrible luck in Kentucky and unfortunate circumstances in Texas, we just needed a solid top five. So we achieved our goals there. Now it’s time to take chassis 38 to Victory Lane here in Nashville, because I’m itching for that guitar. I say it all the time – the guitar and the Monster Mile trophies are the two that I really want.”
Are you looking forward to spending some time at the Curb Records Studio with the artists? “Rodney has been on my decklid a lot over the last two years, so it’s kind of sentimental there too. He was on the decklid for the April race when Mike Curb got his 500th career start as a team owner, so it was really special. I feel like Rodney’s one of the team guys at this point. To have Sam Bass there is great too, so I can see the guitars. Now playing one, I don’t think you want to hear me doing that…I’ll leave it to the pros!”
Race Info: July 22, 2011 Nashville Superspeedway 1.333-Mile D-ShapedOval Lucas Deep Clean 200 150 Laps/200 Miles
Broadcast Info: TV:SPEED will broadcast live at 8:00 p.m. EST Radio:MRN will broadcast live at 7:45 p.m. EST
Team Facts: Current Point Standings: 1st Crew Chief: Joe Shear, Jr. Chassis:38 Engine:Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Johnny Sauter NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results at Nashville Superspeedway: Starts: 4 Wins: 0 Poles: 0 Top 10: 2 Top 5: 1 Top 10: 0 Laps Led: 0 Average Start: 8.3 Average Finish: 7.5
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