Johnny Sauter, No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Texas Motor Speedway – WinStar World Casino 400k
Race No. 7 of 23
Team Information:
2015 Driver Point Standings: 4th (-40)
2015 Owner Point Standings: 6th
Crew Chief: Doug George
SAUTER HOPEFUL TO GET BACK ON TRACK AND IN TO VICTORY LANE AT TEXAS
Sandusky, Ohio (June 1, 2015) – When looking up dominance at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in the dictionary, you will find ThorSport Racing’s name, specifically, Nextant Aerospace driver, Johnny Sauter. In 13 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) starts at the Fort Worth track, Sauter has two wins, which include a 2012 sweep of both the June and November NCWTS races, two poles, 224 laps led, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. His success at the 1.5-mile track has him leading active NCWTS drivers entered in the 35th annual event with the most wins, and scored within the top-two in the following categories; Driver Rating, Fastest Laps Run, Laps in the Top 15 and Laps Led.
With sub-par runs in the last two NCWTS races of the season at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Sauter is looking forward to getting back to a mile-and-half track where he scored his season-best, third place finish at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, KS earlier this year. In fact, six of Sauter’s career wins have come at intermediate race tracks, including his last series win at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (August, 2014).
At a venue where the ThorSport Racing driver has more wins than any other driver entered, Sauter can’t think of a better time to get back on track, and back to victory lane than Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 400k.
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. In the past, you were 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. 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. Texas is just a place we’ve run so well at – won races, have numerous top-five finishes, so it’ a good track for us.”
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter… The No. 98 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 45 forFriday night’s Lucas Oil 200 at Texas Motor Speedway. This chassis was last raced at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in March. Sauter started 13th and finished sixth.
- Previous Race Recap… Starting 16th, Sauter searched for balance in his Toyota Tundra throughout the 200-lap, Lucas Oil 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Running as has high as third, and as low as 21st, due to pit strategy, the ThorSport Racing driver was able to secure his fifth top-10 finish of the 2015 NCWTS season, finishing 9th.
Sauter’s NCWTS Stats at Texas:
- 13 starts since 2005
- 2060 of 2060 laps completed (100%)
- 224 laps led
- Five top-five finishes
- 10 top-10 finishes
- Best start: First (June 2009, 2013)
- Best finish: First (June & November 2012)
- Average start: 10.1
- Average finish: 6.9
- According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Sauter ranks:
- o Third in Average Running Position: 6.48
- o Second in Driver Rating: 110.1
- o Second in Fastest Laps Run: 199
- o Second in Laps in the Top 15: 1972
- o Second in Laps Led: 224
Johnny Sauter’s 2014 Highlights:
- Finished fourth in the NCWTS driver point standings
- Sixth consecutive full-time season driving for ThorSport Racing
- Earned a win at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, extending his win streak to six consecutive seasons
- Earned eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes
- 154 laps led
- Average finish: 9.3
Sauter’s Career Truck Series Stats:
- 158 starts since 2003
- 10 wins
- 58 top-five finishes
- 91 top-10 finishes
- Five poles
- 23,879 laps completed
- 1159 laps led
- Average start: 10.8
- Average finish: 10.8
Race Information:
Date: Friday, June 5, 2015
Time: 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
Track Details: 1.5-mile oval
Distance: 167 laps/250.5 miles
About Nextant Aerospace
Nextant’s pioneering process for remanufacturing business jets is now recognized as an established technical and commercial success worldwide with significant sales in every major operator category and class-leading levels of comfort, performance, and reliability at a purchase price half that of comparable aircraft. The revolutionary 400XTi light jet features Williams FJ44-3AP engines and the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21(tm) integrated flight deck. The same winning combination is expected to repeat this success with the Nextant G90XT turboprop powered by next-generation GE H75-100 engines and an enhanced Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck. Founded in 2007, Nextant is a Directional Aviation company based in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information, visitwww.nextantaerospace.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @NextantAero or join us on LinkedIn.
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 competed in the NCWTS since 1996, will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by two-time NCWTS drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff/Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter, and the No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley Toyota Tundra driven by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Cameron Hayley in 2015.
