NCWTS: SAUTER LOOKS TO TAKE “JACK-O-PEACH” TO VICTORY LANE AT TEXAS

Sandusky, Ohio (Oct. 28, 2014) – For the sixth time this season, Johnny Sauter will carry the colors of Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, America’s original and best-selling tobacco-free chew. The smokeless brand comes in seven flavors and pouches and this weekend the No. 98 Toyota Tundra will trade-in its Wintergreen colors to showcase “Peach,” a tangy, sweet and juicy flavor – just in time for Halloween.

Sauter, a two-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth, enters the 20th race on the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule fourth in points and looks to, “finish out the season strong – win races.” The bumpy, demanding, high-speed, high-banked 1.5-mile track has been a strong venue for the ThorSport Racing driver in the past and after a disappointing seventh-place finish at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last weekend, Sauter looks to the “No Limits, Wild Asphalt Circus” for redemption.

In 12 starts at TMS, Sauter has two poles, has led 224 laps and swept both NCWTS races in 2012. Additionally, the Necedah, Wisconsin driver has the best average finish (6.2) of any other driver entered in the 147-lap event. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the SmokeySnuff.com driver hopes to get “Jack-O-Peach” in victory lane on Friday night in the WinStar World Casino and Resort 350k; a move that can help the veteran driver gain valuable points on teammate and NCWTS point leader Matt Crafton with only three races remaining in the 2014 season.

Sounding Off – Johnny Sauter:

“Texas is just one of my favorite racetracks, plain and simple – we swept it in 2012. The bumps in Turns 1 and 2 are more pronounced and have given the track a lot of character. You used to be able to straddle them and get by there, but now I feel like the bumps are moving out, and its widened out the groove a little bit. With our coil bind setups if you hit them the wrong way it will send you up the track. Turns 3 and 4 are ‘racey’ and you can run all over. The track has gotten older, has a lot of character and you can run the whole track, but I prefer the bottom groove. If the balance is right, you can run wide open – when it’s right it’s the best place to race. We are bringing a brand new truck to Texas this weekend, and we tested a truck similar to it at Homestead a couple weeks ago, so I’m really excited about it. Texas is just a place we’ve run so well at – won races, have numerous top-five finishes so it’s a good track for us.”

Sauter’s Lone Star State Stats:

12 NCWTS starts since 2005 including five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes
Two wins (June, 2012 and Nov., 2012)
Two poles (June, 2009 & June, 2013)
224 Laps Led
1908 of 1908 laps completed (100%)
Average start: 9.9
Average finish: 6.2
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Crafton ranks:
- Second in Fastest Laps Run (195)
- Third in Laps in the Top 15 (1837)
- Fourth in Average Running Position (6.231)
- Fourth in Driver Rating (112.3)
- Fourth in Laps Led (224)

Johnny Sauter at Texas Motor Speedway:

Series	Races	Wins	Top-5	Top-10	Pole	Laps	Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
NCWTS	12	2	5	10	2	1908/1908	224	9.9	6.2
NNS	8	0	0	1	0	1384/1522	0	22.5	24.1
NSCS	4	0	0	0	0	1091/1336	0	37.0	28.5

Sauter’s Texas Motor Speedway NCWTS Performance Profile:

Date	Started	Finished	Laps	Status	Led
June, 2005	33	11	167/167	Running	0
June, 2009	1	6	167/167	Running	42
November, 2009	6	6	147/147	Running	0
June, 2010	9	2	169/169	Running	0
November, 2010	7	2	147/147	Running	31
June, 2011	5	22	168/168	Running	56
November, 2011	12	7	148/148	Running	15
June, 2012	20	1	167/167	Running	41
November, 2012	13	1	147/147	Running	28
June, 2013	1	7	167/167	Running	11
November, 2013	8	2	147/147	Running	0
June, 2014	4	7	167/167	Running	0

Johnny Sauter 2014:

After a seventh-place finish at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Sauter remains fourth in the NCWTS driver point standings, 40 markers behind series point leader and teammate Matt Crafton
Was victorious for the first time in 2014 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (8/15/14)
Recorded a season-best first-place start at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet when qualifying was cancelled due to weather and the field was set based on the 2014 NCWTS rule book (9/12/14)
In 19 starts this season, Sauter has one win, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes
Has led 154 laps
Has completed 2721 of 2878 laps attempted (94.5%)
Average start: 8.4
Average finish: 8.9
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Sauter ranks:
- Third in Laps in the Top 15 (2555)
- Fourth in Average Running Position (8.807)
- Fourth in Driver Rating (96.0)
- Sixth in Laps Led (154)
- Seventh in Fastest Laps Run (93)

Sauter’s Career Truck Series Stats:

149 starts since 2003
10 wins
56 top-five finishes
84 top-10 finishes
Five poles
22,473 laps completed
1159 laps led
Average start: 10.6
Average finish: 10.9

ABOUT SMOKEY MOUNTAIN HERBAL SNUFF:

Smokey Mountain is America’s original and best-selling tobacco-free smokeless brand. Appealing to adult smokeless tobacco consumers who are seeking tobacco-free and nicotine-free alternatives, Smokey Mountain is available in long cut and easy-to-use pouches. For more information visit:www.SmokeySnuff.com.

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.