The 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion came to Gateway Motorsports Park this past weekend for their 18th race at the track, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
Having competed here since 2009, Sauter has never won at the 1.250-mile racetrack. While he has four victories this season, Sauter was looking to cross Gateway off the list of tracks he has never won at and score win number five of 2018.
During three practice sessions the No. 21 GMS Racing team battled to get the truck to Sauter’s liking. He placed 12th fastest in the first practice, third in the second session and 10th in the final practice session.
The team struggled just a little bit during qualifying and started the race in the 13th position. Sauter finished ninth and second, respectively in both stages. But, after several cautions late in the going, Sauter found himself competing and challenging for the win alongside his teammate and the eventual race winner, Justin Haley.
He fell one spot short of securing his first track win and his fifth win of the season. However, not all was lost, as he continues to lead the standings over second place Noah Gragson by 73 points.
“We struggled early in the race with being tight and the later into the night we got, it started to loosen up,” Sauter said. “The No. 21 guys worked hard the last two days and we really improved on what we had in practice. I think Justin did a great job on the restarts there at the end and I wish we had something for him, but it’s really cool to see someone put everything they’ve got out there and finally get rewarded for it. This is a big night for GMS and GMS Fabrication, locking a second truck into The Playoffs.”
The Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway this Friday night and Sauter is the defending race winner.
