Johnny Sauter
No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra
Michigan International Raceway
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Careers for Veterans 200 Race Recap
Stats:
Start: 5th
Finish: 1st
Laps: 100/100 laps
Status: Running
Driver Points: 1st
Owner Points: 1st
Brooklyn, MI (August 16, 2014) – The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) rolled into the Irish Hills of Michigan for the 12th stop on the 2014 schedule at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Saturday. Johnny Sauter, who was paired with veteran crew chief Jeff Hensley for the first time this season, turned a track-best qualifying effort into his first win at the 2-mile oval, winning the 15th annual Careers for Veterans 200. The win marks the ThorSport Racing driver’s first NCWTS victory of 2014 and his 10th career victory in 142 NCWTS starts.
Starting fifth, the Necedah, Wisc. native made his first stop of the afternoon on lap 12, under the event’s only caution, for fuel and a chassis adjustment to help a “tight on exit” handling condition. When racing resumed on lap 14, the Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra was scored eighth. Early in the ensuing run, Sauter complained of a tight Toyota Tundra, but managed to work his way up to the fourth position before making a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 51 for four tires and fuel. The No. 98 Tundra returned to the racing surface in the third position and proved that his No. 98 machine was strong when he took over the top spot on lap 76.
In pure Michigan style, the 100-lap event would come down to fuel mileage, and with a pit strategy call by Hensley, Sauter would be in the thick of the hunt with teammate Matt Crafton. Sauter led 16 laps before being forced down pit road for three seconds of fuel, relinquishing the lead to Crafton on lap 92. Crafton, who had a 31 second lead on Sauter, eventually had to give up the lead four laps later for a splash-and-go. As the No. 88 exited pit road, Sauter passed him on the race track in the exit of Turn 2 and never looked back, crossing the finish line with a .43 second margin of victory.
Notes:
- Johnny Sauter won the 15th annual Careers for Veterans 200, his 10th victory in 142 NCWTS races
- This was Sauter’s first victory in six starts at Michigan International Speedway and his first win of the 2014 season
- The ThorSport Racing driver led the Careers for Veterans 200 three times for 21 laps
- Sauter has now won at least one race in six consecutive seasons in the NCWTS
- In 12 starts in 2014, Sauter has six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes
- Sauter leads the NCWTS driver point standings for the second time this season by nine points over teammate Matt Crafton. The 98 also takes over the owner point standings by two points over the No. 51.
Quote – Johnny Sauter:
“We had a great Tundra — especially on long runs. I think we were third or fourth at the time and I told them, ‘I don’t know what the air pressures are or what,’ but our Toyota was really, really strong on that middle run. Whatever adjustments Jeff Hensley made, they were the right ones. We ran the last 40 laps on the floor, wide-open. I’m just proud of the effort from everybody at ThorSport. Having Jeff (Hensley) come over here, winning on his first race, it’s unreal. This is a great day for us. This puts us in the point’s lead, just halfway through the season — with some really good races coming up for us. I’m going to relish in this win because this has been a tough, tough race track for me throughout my career. My dad always said, ‘that place is easy,’ but I never felt that way, until today. When you have a truck like this – it was just awesome.”
Practice: 4th
Final Practice: 4th
Qualifying: 5th
ABOUT NEXTANT AEROSPACE:
Nextant Aerospace is recognized as the first company in the world to introduce aircraft remanufacturing to the business jet market. The Nextant 400XTi is a completely-rebuilt Beechjet 400A/XP with Williams FJ44-3AP engines and the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21™ integrated avionics suite. The new aircraft also has major aerodynamic enhancements and an improved engine mounting configuration with redesigned nacelles and pylons. The 400XTi is delivered with a two-year full-aircraft warranty and after-sales support provided by a global network of owned and authorized service centers. Founded in 2007, Nextant is based in Cleveland, Ohio. Nextant is a Directional Aviation Capital company. For more information, please visit, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @NextantAero or join us on LinkedIn.
ABOUT CURB RECORDS:
Curb Records is one of the world’s leading independent music companies. Owned and operated by Mike Curb since 1962, Curb Records has achieved 375 Billboard number one records, nearly 1,200 Billboard Top Ten records and charted just under 4,000 Billboard records. Today’s roster includes some of the top names in Country, Christian and Pop/Rock music. Curb Records was honored as Billboard Magazine’s 2001 Country Music Label of the Year and Radio & Records Magazine’s 2005 Overall Gold Label of the Year. For more information visit www.curb.com.
ABOUT THORSPORT RACING:
ThorSport Racing, based in a state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport, which has run in the Truck Series since 1996, in 2014 will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by 2013 drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff/Carolina Nut Co./Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Estes Toyota Tundra driven by Jeb Burton in the Truck Series.
