Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Johnny Sauter

  • Johnny Sauter Holds Off Kaz Grala For Win At Dover

    Johnny Sauter Holds Off Kaz Grala For Win At Dover

    Johnny Sauter held off Kaz Grala to win Friday’s Bar Harbor 200 presented by Sea Watch International at Dover International Speedway. It was the defending Truck Series champion’s first victory this season and his 14th career win.

    It was the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’s sixth race of the 2017 season. The race included three stages. Stage 1 and 2 were 45 laps each with a final stage of 110 laps. Chase Briscoe and Ryan Truex set the front row in qualifying.

    As Stage 1 began, Truex immediately set a blistering pace. However, a few cautions slowed the pace. A wreck took place on Lap 21, where Austin Hill, Stewart Friesen and Cody Coughlin got into each other to bring out the first caution. Another incident took place on Lap 35, when Christopher Bell cut down a left rear tire and hit the wall. This would end Bell’s day.

    Barring a few cautions, Ryan Truex held on to win the first stage.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 53 with Matt Crafton and Justin Haley on the front row after staying out under yellow.

    Just like Stage 1, multiple cautions were once again a factor. The first one was on Lap 73, when Haley spun off Turn 4 followed by a second caution on Lap 84 by Jordan Anderson who stalled just before the entry of pit road. Under the caution, Parker Kligerman and Chase Briscoe made pit stops to try a different pit strategy.

    With two to go for the restart in Stage 2, Crafton set sail, but a caution came out on the final lap for Kligerman and John Hunter Nemechek who got together on the frontstretch. With the caution taking place on the final lap of Stage 2, the stage ended under caution with Crafton as the leader. Crafton would end up winning Stage 2.

    Stage 3 began on lap 99 with Ben Rhodes out in front. Rhodes was dominating early, but another caution slowed the pace with 84 laps to go for Todd Gilliland who had a wheel issue and smacked the wall in Turn 2. Gilliland’s day would be cut short.

    With 79 laps to go for the restart, Rhodes and Jesse Little set the pace. Rhodes went to the point once the green flag went back out. As laps clipped by, pit stops began to happen with 47 laps to go with Little pitting. However, Little stalled the truck and this would end any shot for him to win the race. Stage 1 winner, Ryan Truex, made his pit stop with 42 laps to go.

    The race leader, Rhodes, pitted with 36 to go, while Crafton entered the pits a few laps later. Sauter stayed out, gambling that clean air would play a factor. With all the pit stops taking place, a caution came out with 30 laps to go for Chase Briscoe, whose left front tire came off.

    The final restart of the race came with 25 laps to go. Sauter and Daytona Truck winner, Kaz Grala, were out in front. The race was winding down and with that, Grala was trying his all to catch Sauter. However, the gamble paid off for Sauter and he went on to win the Bar Harbor 200 at Dover.

    “Some days when you wake up, you don’t think it’s going to be your day and things don’t seem to be clicking and I felt like we were just off a little bit all weekend,” Sauter said after the race. “But so proud of everyone at GMS Racing, a 1-2 finish today.  Joe Shear (Jr., crew chief), what a great call that was to try and make it on fuel. Pit stops were great today.”

    “Unbelievable, after three second-place finishes to get a win. Definitely struggled today in traffic, just really, really tight. Just so proud of these guys. Man, they really executed today.”

    There were eight cautions for 43 laps and five leaders among five lead changes. Sauter took the lead on lap 168 and never looked backed, leading once for 33 laps.

    The next NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is scheduled for Friday, June 9.

     

  • The Final Word – As it all went to crap for Edwards, Johnson rolls a seven in NASCAR finale

    The Final Word – As it all went to crap for Edwards, Johnson rolls a seven in NASCAR finale

    It was down to four as NASCAR made its final stop of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Two champions had already been declared, with Johnny Sauter taking the truck title, with the junior circuit claimed by Mexico’s Daniel Suarez. Now it was down to Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano to determine the Cup championship.

    Three-time champion Tony Stewart was the other driver who mattered. After 618 races, three championships, one more as a car owner, and with an IndyCar crown in the mix, he was stepping out as a driver to become a full-time team owner. As the laps went by, it became obvious this, like so many others in recent memory, was not going to be his day. That day could come next season if his drivers do well, and definitely will arrive soon enough when the Hall of Fame welcomes him.

    Within 60 laps, our contenders were all in the Top Five, along with Kevin Harvick, who at the time was leading the pack. It was obvious all those who mattered would be vying not only for the title but the win. It all depended on fate. Even so, if bad things happened early enough, they could be overcome. Johnson started at the rear of the pack due to some unauthorized modifications. No biggie. Kyle Busch came in early for a softening tire to go from being in the Top Five to the Top 20. Not a problem that could not be overcome. The secret was to stay close, and as the laps counted down, they were.

    As I’ve mentioned before, I do not watch the races live. I set it up to record, and start it up a couple of hours after the start time. If I had to sit through it live, and all those commercials, I do not know if I could do it. They need to come up with a better plan or surrender their viewership to only the most avid racing buffs. Few others would bother. Few others are these days, or so it appears. Then again, not my circus.

    It looked like Edwards, leading the way, might be the guy to beat. He was. Literally. A late caution interrupted the victory parade, and when they came out of the pits Carl led the Fabulous Four, with Logano behind him, two spots ahead of Johnson, with Kyle Busch sitting beside him on the re-start. As they pulled out, Logano attempted to dive down inside of Edwards, who tried to block. They collided, with Edwards slamming into the inside wall. He was done, as the red flag came out for 30 minutes in order to clear the carnage that included a bunch of names that normally would make headlines.

    Edwards’ reaction? He walked from the crash site to the pits, explained things to Logano’s crew, shook hands, and continued on to the care center. At a time when some would have went sniveling off to their safe place, that driver showed more class than most have. Than I have. Another season without getting the ring, but he left with tons of respect.

    They tried to get things going again, but then Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun to bring out yet another caution, Johnson was sitting second. As they went one final time for a green-white-checker conclusion, he started on the inside lane, with Logano behind him, but history did not repeat itself. Johnson got tagged by his rival, but that only shot him to the front and that is where he stayed.

    Eighty career wins. Seven NASCAR championships. Sometimes life provides something that just makes you feel good. Real good. Homestead delivered just that as the final story of the final chapter of the 2016 season closed the book. Now, it is off to Daytona…in three months.

  • Byron wins the race, Sauter takes the title in Miami

    Byron wins the race, Sauter takes the title in Miami

    William Byron took the lead in the closing laps to close out the season with a victory, but it was Johnny Sauter, one of the elder statesman of the series, who beat the competition to finally add a championship to his resume.

    Byron scored the pole for the race and led the 20 laps before ceding the lead to Matt Crafton. He didn’t make much noise for most of the race until the final caution flew with 24 laps to go. He came out second behind Tyler Reddick, who exited pit road with the race lead.

    He stayed hot on Reddick right from the final restart with 20 to go and took the lead exiting Turn 2 with 10 to go to drive on to victory.

    “It feels awesome,” Byron said. “It’s just – it’s incredible. I mean this team has worked so hard all year. We just had an unfortunate situation last week that we couldn’t control, but, man, they brought a good truck. Qualified on the pole.”

    It was the seventh victory in 24 career starts in the Camping World Truck Series for the driver of the No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

    “These guys just are awesome,” he added. “God, I hate leaving this – I just hate this team not being together next year. It’s just insane how good they are and so many talented people on this race team. Can’t thank KBM enough, Toyota, Kyle and Samantha (Busch, Kyle Busch’s wife), everyone at KBM, (sponsor) Liberty University – it’s just amazing.”

    He also secured Sunoco Rookie of The Year honors.

    Sauter brought his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet home third, which was enough to secure him his first series championship.

    “You know, not just me, it’s the whole team, everybody at GMS Racing,” Sauter said in victory lane. “We qualified bad today. Really, we were kind of worried about it. Felt pretty good in race trim.

    “Just proud of these guys for their flawless execution tonight. Joe (Shear) made great adjustments to where I could just kind of hang on. I’m not a high line guy. So I elected to keep doing my deal and they actually found some pretty good grip on the bottom of the race track.

    “Proud to be a champion. I’m gonna do everything in our power to represent NASCAR as best we can.”

    He was asked what point he realized he had a truck that could win the title.

    “I was pretty conservative at the beginning of the race just trying to take care of it and not make any stupid mistakes,” he added. “Then there was about probably 85 laps to go, I was like ‘Okay, we’ll start picking them off here,’ and just had a solid day in the pits.

    “With about 50 to 60 to go, I was like ‘Okay, we’ve got something here,’ and we were really catching the 88. It looked like he was pushing real bad.”

    Kyle Larson, who led a race high of 76 laps, finished fourth.

    Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell and Timothy Peters finished seventh, eighth and ninth.

    Three of the four cautions were brought out by Patrick Staropoli. The other was for a spin by Stewart Friesen.

    Twenty-four trucks finished the race on the lead lap and only Ryan Truex failed to finish the race.

    The race lasted one hour, 32 minutes and 57 seconds at an average speed of 129.747 mph. There were 15 lead changes among five different drivers and four cautions for 18 laps.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/T1623_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”t1623_unoffres”]

  • Sauter Now Biggest Threat For Truck Series Championship

    Sauter Now Biggest Threat For Truck Series Championship

    Throughout the course of the 2016 season, the biggest stories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series were rookie driver William Byron’s series-leading six wins and the absolute dominance of the Toyota teams with 13 wins in 22 races. But with Byron eliminated from championship contention, it is looking like GMS Racing driver Johnny Sauter is now in prime position to hoist the championship trophy at Homestead.

    Since his first full season in the Camping World Truck Series in 2009, Sauter has been at or near the top of the standings each season, with a low of ninth in the final standings coming in 2012. In seven seasons racing for ThorSport Racing, the organization that fields the No. 88 of two-time NCWTS champion Matt Crafton, Sauter won 10 races and finished a career-best second in points in 2011 to champion Austin Dillon. However, despite the success and consistency, Sauter never held the championship trophy.

    In his first race behind the wheel of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet, Sauter took the win at Daytona and despite early season issues at Atlanta, Martinsville, and Kansas, he managed to fight his way back into the top-five in points, finishing outside of the top-10 only twice since finishing fourth at Dover in May. Now, following up back-to-back wins at Martinsville and Texas with a runner-up spot at Phoenix, his No. 21 Silverado is coming alive at the right time to clinch his first NCWTS championship.

    He holds a higher driver rating (120.3) than his four championship competitors heading into Homestead, and he has also posted more top-10s this season (18) than the other four drivers in the Final Four (Christopher Bell isn’t far off with 16 top-10s). As for the championship race at Homestead, despite Crafton having more top-10s, Sauter has posted several strong runs at Homestead including a win there in 2011. Sauter knows what it takes to win at Homestead and considering the stretch he’s been on coupled with the power that the GMS Racing trucks have been putting out this season (their six wins this season are an organization best), the No. 21 truck is definitely the team to beat.

    With this Chase format shaking things up in the standings, Sauter winning the championship isn’t a certainty. But considering he’s made it this far with a team that’s enjoying a breakout season, he’s on a hot streak. He has the best momentum heading into the finale and may be the odds-on favorite for the championship.

  • Late Pass Gives Johnny Sauter Victory in Texas Truck Race

    Late Pass Gives Johnny Sauter Victory in Texas Truck Race

    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    FORT WORTH, Tex. –You might say Johnny Sauter is on a roll.

    Then again, that might be an understatement.

    Passing Matt Crafton near the start/finish line with two laps left in Friday night’s Striping Technology 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, Sauter pulled away to win his second straight race in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase.

    In the process, he deprived Crafton of a chance to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 finale, set for Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Crafton won a drag race to the stripe against Daniel Hemric to secure the runner-up spot, .836 seconds behind Sauter.

    “This is amazing,” said Sauter, who started 16th in his No. 21 Chevrolet and won for the third time this season, the third time at Texas (having swept the 2012 races) and the 13th time in his career. “Matt was content to keep running the bottom, and I made a couple of runs on that restart (on Lap 130 of 147, after the third and final caution).

    “They got me great track position on the pit stop, and I just kept bottoming the splitter out on the short run, and I could just not fire off. … Matt just kept running the bottom, and I was like, ‘I’m going to the top.’ And I was pretty successful on the top down in (Turns) 3 and 4 all night long—just big momentum.”

    About the only low point of Sauter’s night was his post-race burnout—but that was by design.

    “I’ve got to apologize to the fans for the burnout,” Sauter said. “I know it was lame, but I’ve got to have this truck for Homestead.”

    Crafton, a two-time series champion, overcame a scrape against the outside wall and a suspect battery to run second.

    “We were just off all night,” Crafton said. “I got drove into the fence off Turn 2, and the right-rear tail is moved over quite a bit and we got really free up off the corner. I was trying to manage, and with about four (laps) to go I just got really free and I was like, ‘Oh, boy.’

    “I was hoping that Johnny and the 19 (Hemric) raced each other a lot longer than they did.”

    Polesitter Spencer Gallagher, Sauter’s teammate at GMS Racing, led a race-high 88 laps but lost six positions on pit road before the final restart, thanks to a slow tire change on the right rear of his No. 23 Chevrolet.

    Chase drivers Ben Kennedy and Timothy Peters finished 13th and 14th, respectively, and are currently below the Chase cut line. Peters is fifth in the standings, one point behind Crafton in fourth. Kennedy is sixth, 13 points behind Crafton heading to Phoenix, where the Chase field will be cut from six drivers to the final four next Friday.

    Sauter is the only driver guaranteed to race for the championship at Homestead. William Byron, who leads the series with six victories, finished sixth on Friday and held second place in the Chase standings.

    Christopher Bell came home 11th after late contact with the Toyota of Cameron Hayley and is third in points, but the gap between the second- and fifth-place Chase drivers is a mere five points.

    The only three cautions of the night resulted from the expiration of the caution clock, which runs in 20-minute increments from the drop of a green flag. The previous high number for caution clocks in a single race was two.

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – Striping Technology 350
    Texas Motor Speedway
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Friday, November 04, 2016

    1. (16) Johnny Sauter (C), Chevrolet, 147.
    2. (7) Matt Crafton (C), Toyota, 147.
    3. (2) Daniel Hemric, Ford, 147.
    4. (5) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 147.
    5. (10) Daniel Suarez(i), Toyota, 147.
    6. (3) William Byron # (C), Toyota, 147.
    7. (1) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 147.
    8. (22) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 147.
    9. (12) Cole Custer #, Chevrolet, 147.
    10. (17) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, 147.
    11. (9) Christopher Bell # (C), Toyota, 147.
    12. (15) Rico Abreu #, Toyota, 147.
    13. (14) Ben Kennedy (C), Chevrolet, 147.
    14. (6) Timothy Peters (C), Toyota, 147.
    15. (8) Ben Rhodes #, Toyota, 147.
    16. (21) Shane Lee, Chevrolet, 147.
    17. (4) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 147.
    18. (19) John H Nemechek, Chevrolet, 146.
    19. (20) Austin Hill, Ford, 145.
    20. (13) Jesse Little, Toyota, 145.
    21. (18) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 144.
    22. (30) Austin Wayne Self #, Toyota, 144.
    23. (24) Casey Smith, Chevrolet, 144.
    24. (25) Reed Sorenson(i), Chevrolet, Vibration, 143.
    25. (27) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 143.
    26. (23) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 143.
    27. (29) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 142.
    28. (11) Cody Coughlin #, Chevrolet, 141.
    29. (28) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 140.
    30. (32) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 138.
    31. (26) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Accident, 61.
    32. (31) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Engine, 22.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  148.291 mph.
    Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 29 Mins, 13 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.836 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  3 for 12 laps.

    Lead Changes:  7 among 4 drivers.
    Lap Leaders:   S. Gallagher 1-40; D. Hemric 41-75; S. Gallagher 76-83; D. Hemric 84-86; S. Gallagher 87-126; J. Sauter (C) 127-129; M. Crafton (C) 130-144; J. Sauter (C) 145-147.
    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  S. Gallagher 3 times for 88 laps; D. Hemric 2 times for 38 laps; M. Crafton (C) 1 time for 15 laps; J. Sauter (C) 2 times for 6 laps.

    Top 10 in Points: J. Sauter (C) – 3,072; W. Byron # (C) – 3,052; C. Bell # (C) – 3,051; M. Crafton (C) – 3,048; T. Peters (C) – 3,047; B. Kennedy (C) – 3,035; D. Hemric – 2,115; J. Nemechek – 2,084; T. Reddick – 457; C. Custer # – 456.

  • Sauter books ticket to Homestead with win at Martinsville

    Sauter books ticket to Homestead with win at Martinsville

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Johnny Sauter, elder statesman of the Truck Series who was the first to get his spot in the Chase with a win at Daytona, will get a chance to win his first series championship in three weeks after taking the checkered flag at Martinsville.

    Chase Elliott led the field to the green flag at 1:43 p.m. He led the first 10 laps before Cole Custer got under him in turn 2 and took the lead. Sauter took the lead for the first time on lap 28 after Custer got loose going into turn 1. The first caution flew on lap 50 for a two-truck wreck in turn 1 involving Josh Wise and Kyle Donahue.

    After returning to green with Elliott back in command, the race settled into a follow the leader routine. Although Custer and Sauter tried to get up to Elliott to make things interesting, he held the lead all the way to the final quarter of the race Spencer Gallagher brought out the second caution on lap 107 after slamming the wall in turn 2.

    The next two cautions flew on lap 149 when Tommy Joe Martins went for a spin in turn 2 and with 37 laps to go for a four-truck wreck in turn 2 involving Ben Kennedy, John Wes Townley, Matt Tifft and Ben Rhodes.

    In the final quarter, Daniel Hemric led six laps, handed the lead to John Hunter Nemechek for 18 and lost it to Sauter who held off Elliott in the closing laps to score the victory in the Texas Roadhouse 200.

    “Well, the race kind of started yesterday so to speak with practice and all that,” Sauter said going through his race in his post-race media availability. “To be honest with you, I felt like we had a really good Smoky Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet yesterday in practice. Didn’t necessarily focus on single lap speed or having a fast truck on a short run. We focused really hard on the long run stuff. Just making sure that the typical thing you face here is turning in the center of the corner and keeping forward traction. Just proud of everybody at GMS (Racing) and GMS Fabrication. This is an all GMS truck. You know, to be able to come to a place like this, that’s been pretty kind to me over the years, to get a win here was extra special. Obviously, we all know what’s on the line here as far as a championship at the beginning of the year. That’s your ultimate goal is to at least have a chance at Homestead to race for a championship. All in all, a great day. I drove to the lead early, had some brake trouble there. I had to kind of conserve for 100 laps. Knew I had a little bit better handling truck than what I was showing, but I just had to take care of it a little bit. When that last caution came out, I think it was 40 laps to go, I was like ‘Pretty sure I got enough brakes to race to the end. So we’re going to use them as hard as I need it to.’ I thank Chase Elliott for racing clean there at the end. Thought we had a very methodical day. Took care of the truck. Ran into the wall a couple of times off the corner just cause I got loose. Hopefully, they ain’t too mad at me for tearing up the truck. But all in all, I’m proud of everyone’s effort at GMS Racing.”

    It’s his 12th career victory in 195 Camping World Truck Series starts, second of 2016 and third in 18 races at Martinsville Speedway.

    Elliott came home second after leading a race high of 109 laps, Nemecheck rounded out the podium, Christopher Bell finished fourth and Timothy Peters rounded out the top-five.

    Daniel Suarez finished sixth, Custer finished seventh, William Byron finished eighth, Hemric finished ninth and Austin Hill rounded out the top-10.

    Matt Crafton, dealing with brake issues all day, finished 17th and Kennedy rallied from his wreck to maintain a lead lap finish in 18th.

    Twenty-one cars finished the race on the lead lap and 29 were running at the finish.

    The race lasted one hour, 25 minutes and 29 seconds at an average speed of 73.839 mph. There were six lead changes among five different drivers and five cautions for 33 laps.

    Sauter leaves Martinsville with a seven-point lead over Bell.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/T1620_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”t1620_unoffres”]

  • Sauter Claims Texas Pole, Quiroga Starts Second

    Sauter Claims Texas Pole, Quiroga Starts Second

    Johnny Sauter claimed the pole for Friday night’s Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, his 12th career pole and first of 2016. This is Sauter’s third career pole at Texas. Sauter took his No. 21 Smokey Mountain Snuff Chevy to the top of the charts ahead of the No. 11 of German Quiroga, who will be making his first start in the series since 2014 driving for Red Horse Racing, a team he previously raced for in 2013 and 2014.

    Sauter’s GMS Racing entry took the 1.5-mile speedway in 29.996 seconds, topping Quiroga’s 30.018 elapsed time. Rounding out the top-five is the No. 19 of Daniel Hemric, who took the track in 30.022 seconds, while two-time champion Matt Crafton took the fourth spot with a 30.025 and the No. 29 of Tyler Reddick took the track in 30.050 seconds.

    Sauter looks to claim his second win of 2016 following his victory at Daytona and also looks to claim his third win at Texas in the Truck Series, while Crafton looks to claim his third-straight win of 2016 and his third win at Texas overall, previously winning at the 1.5-mile speedway in June of 2014 and 2015.

    Positions sixth through 10th were claimed by rookie William Byron, John Wes Townley, Timothy Peters, rookie Christopher Bell, and Spencer Gallagher.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/T1607_QUALRES.pdf”]

  • Truex Brothers Both Bridesmaids at Daytona

    Truex Brothers Both Bridesmaids at Daytona

    Martin Truex Jr. and his younger brother Ryan have shared many racing highs and lows over the years. But this weekend the two shared a major accomplishment, finishing runner-up in their respective races at Daytona International Speedway.

    Ryan Truex went first with his bridesmaid finish for the Daytona race weekend.  The younger Truex, in his No. 81 Toyota Osaka Parts Distributor Toyota for Hattori Racing, finished just behind veteran Johnny Sauter in the Truck race on Friday.

    “Yeah God, if that wreck wouldn’t have happened, I think we had him,” Ryan Truex said after his race on Friday. “The bottom was just the place to be all day. It seemed like you could hook up and bump draft to the front.”

    “It just all came down to who could bump draft the best without locking up and staying out there,” Truex continued. “So, you just had to make the right moves and be there at the end.”

    “And we were and unfortunately, it just didn’t end up in our favor.”

    The elder Truex brother Martin finished second to Denny Hamlin just two days later in the Daytona 500.  He ran runner-up by just 0.010 seconds, the closest margin of victory ever in the history of the Great American race.

    “It was really amazing what we were able to do all day and really just control the race the way we did,” Truex Jr. said after Sunday’s race.  “The last lap, we were in great position behind Matt (Kenseth).  Felt like if Matt would have stayed in front of us, maybe he would have probably held off Denny (Hamlin).”

    “Matt went up to try to block his run, Denny cut inside, made it three-wide.  Just side drafted me off of turn four all the way to the line.  I felt like I had enough momentum to keep him behind me.  I did that all the way up until that last couple feet.  He just shot out that last couple inches on me right before the line.”

    “Circumstances didn’t work out quite as well as they should have.  I could have done a little bit different coming to the line.”

    “It is what it is.”

    Although both Truex brothers fell one position short of claiming victory, both overcame great odds to even take the checkered flags in their respective runner-up positions. Ryan literally was without a ride of any kind weeks before the race and Martin had to go to a backup car after wrecking his primary in the second Duels race.

    “I didn’t have a ride a few weeks ago, and Hattori Racing called me and wanted me to come drive for them,” Ryan Truex said. “So you can’t give up. It’s easy to get down on yourself.  It’s easy to quit. You just have to keep going.”

    “I’m at the track every weekend talking to whoever will talk to you, and you don’t say no to an opportunity. That’s what we did this weekend, and it worked out for us.”

    Older brother Martin also had to face some adversity prior to finishing second, having to race an untested backup car under the bright lights of Daytona.

    “It’s been a tough season down here,” Truex said. “Our guys worked really, really hard.  I think our backup car was the best car we had. In a way, it was a blessing to get in that wreck the other day.”

    Although they may have just missed Victory Lane, both Truex brothers felt their near win positioned them for even better opportunities in the future.

    “At first, it just looked like Daytona would be our only race but the more we got to talking, the more we were going to try to run a full season,” Ryan Truex said after his successful run. “Obviously, we have a few races to fill out, but this finish helps out a lot.”

    “I hope that was enough for us to go full-time, and like I said, we’ve got a little bit we’ve still got to get sorted out for some races, but we’ll be in Atlanta and we’ll be at Martinsville, and we’re second in points right now, I think, so if we can continue that streak, we’ll be good to go.”

    Big brother Martin echoed his brother’s thoughts, especially regarding the upcoming race in Atlanta and the 2016 season overall.

    “It’s always really nice when you come out of this race with a good day,” Truex said. “You start off with that momentum. You’re not 30 points behind. You don’t have to build another racecar.”

    “So there’s a lot of things that are positive about starting the season off right. Obviously, we’re looking forward to Atlanta, absolutely. I think it’s going to be an incredible race.  Lower downforce on the racecars than last year. I think the cars are going to be a real handful.  It’s going to be exciting.”

    “I’m looking forward honestly to just kicking off that part of the season, getting to work, seeing how our cars are, where we stack up to the competition, then compete for wins, try to get back to where we were last year.”

    “The anticipation is high and going into the rest of the season with a little bit of momentum is always a good feeling.”

    And while both Truex brothers would have loved to have been in the bride rather than bridesmaid positions, they acknowledge that it was indeed a huge weekend for the entire Truex family.

    “Really proud of Ryan for what’s he’s done,” Martin said. “He’s had a rough go of racing the last couple years, trying to get a solid opportunity.”

    “These days with it being hard to find funding, he’s been kind of shunned by a lot of teams he’s drove for, did a good job for, because he couldn’t find that backing. So, it was great to see him persevere through those times and find a truck to drive.”

    “And it was great to see him back and excited about the opportunity. Obviously, he did a great job. He’s a great driver.”

    “It’s great to see my brother back on the track.”

  • In Wild Finish, Sauter Wins Truck Series Opener at Daytona

    In Wild Finish, Sauter Wins Truck Series Opener at Daytona

    NCWTS Race Recap
    By Reid Spencer – NASCAR Wire Service 

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With the No. 4 Toyota of Christopher Bell barrel-rolling through Turn 1 behind him, Johnny Sauter nosed ahead in his No. 21 Chevrolet and had more than a car-length lead when NASCAR called the final caution of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

    With the victory, Sauter is all but guaranteed a spot in the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, a seven-race playoff modeled after the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

    But Sauter needed a push from Bell to take the lead, moments before contact with the No. 17 Toyota of Timothy Peters launched the No. 4 and sent it rolling in as part of a 10-truck accident. Ryan Truex ran second, followed by Parker Kligerman, Brandon Brown and Tyler Young, as attrition eliminated some of the strongest trucks in the field.

    The victory was the first for Chevrolet in 17 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Daytona. It was Sauter’s 11th win in the series in his first start in the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevy and his first race with crew chief Marcus Richmond.

    “I just had this feeling that our truck was so good yesterday that, if I didn’t make any mistakes, we were going to have a shot at this,” Sauter said. “And Marcus did a phenomenal job calling the race… This is unbelievable.

    “I’m so pumped to be the first guy to get to Victory Lane here. GMS—I mean, what can I say? This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

    A colossal wreck on Lap 93 involved more than half the 32-truck field and eliminated some of the strongest competitors from contention, including Austin Theriault (who had led a race-high 31 laps), polesitter Grant Enfinger, two-time series champion Matt Crafton, defending race winner Tyler Reddick, Canadian Cameron Hayley and Mexican star Daniel Suarez.

    NASCAR red-flagged the race for 27 minutes, 54 seconds for track cleanup. When the trucks began rolling again, Truex was in the lead, followed by Sauter and Peters, for a restart on Lap 98. Truex and Sauter battled side-by-side until Bell pushed Sauter to the lead after the trucks took the white flag.

    “The 4 truck, thanks for the push,” Sauter said. “He was pushing me. I was sideways. We lost momentum there, and I thought we were all going to crash. The next thing I knew he was pushing me again and bumping me, and it all worked out.”

    Note: After the race, Bell was transported to a local medical facility for further examination and observation. No specifics about his condition were available, but Bell was able to climb from his car and walk to a waiting ambulance–standard protocol after any wreck. 

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – NextEra Energy Resources 250
    Daytona International Speedway
    Daytona Beach, Florida
    Friday, February 19, 2016

                   1. (2) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 100

                   2. (20) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 100

                   3. (23) Parker Kligerman, Ford, 100

                   4. (22) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 100

                   5. (32) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 100

                   6. (21) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 100

                   7. (24) Ben Rhodes #, Toyota, 100

                   8. (18) Daniel Hemric, Ford, 100

                   9. (26) Scott Lagasse Jr(i), Chevrolet, 100

                   10. (6) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 100

                   11. (29) Michel Disdier, Chevrolet, 100

                   12. (25) Bobby Gerhart(i), Chevrolet, 100

                   13. (13) William Byron #, Toyota, 100

                   14. (30) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 100

                   15. (3) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 100

                   16. (8) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 99

                   17. (15) John H Nemechek, Chevrolet, 99

                   18. (12) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 99

                   19. (19) Austin Wayne Self, Toyota, 99

                   20. (1) Grant Enfinger #, Chevrolet, 98

                   21. (11) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 96

                   22. (17) Chris Fontaine, Toyota, Accident, 95

                   23. (31) Ben Kennedy, Toyota, Accident, 93

                   24. (10) Cole Custer #, Chevrolet, Accident, 93

                   25. (14) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, Accident, 92

                   26. (7) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, Accident, 92

                   27. (4) Austin Theriault, Ford, Accident, 92

                   28. (5) Daniel Suarez(i), Toyota, Accident, 92

                   29. (16) Rico Abreu #, Toyota, Accident, 92

                   30. (27) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 75

                   31. (9) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, Accident, 41

                   32. (28) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Accident, 11

     

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  129.032 mph.

    Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Caution.

    Caution Flags:  7 for 29 laps.

    Lead Changes:  26 among 10 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   G. Enfinger # 0; A. Theriault 1; G. Enfinger # 2-3; A. Theriault 4-9; G. Enfinger # 10; J. Sauter 11-13; T. Reddick 14-20; A. Theriault 21; J. Sauter 22-24; M. Crafton 25-29; A. Theriault 30-44; T. Kvapil 45-46; T. Peters 47-51; A. Theriault 52-59; J. Sauter 60-63; C. Hayley 64-66; T. Hill 67; T. Peters 68-70; T. Reddick 71-75; T. Peters 76-82; C. Hayley 83; R. Truex 84; G. Enfinger # 85; R. Truex 86-91; J. Sauter 92; R. Truex 93-99; J. Sauter 100;.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  A. Theriault 5 times for 31 laps; T. Peters 3 times for 15 laps; R. Truex 3 times for 14 laps; J. Sauter 5 times for 12 laps; T. Reddick 2 times for 12 laps; M. Crafton 1 time for 5 laps; C. Hayley 2 times for 4 laps; G. Enfinger # 3 times for 4 laps; T. Kvapil 1 time for 2 laps; T. Hill 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 10 in Points: J. Sauter – 36; R. Truex – 32; P. Kligerman – 30; B. Brown – 29; T. Kvapil – 29; T. Young – 27; B. Rhodes # – 26; D. Hemric – 25; M. Crafton – 24; M. Disdier – 22.

  • Hot 20 – Weights and measurements not a good Jeopardy category for Logano

    Hot 20 – Weights and measurements not a good Jeopardy category for Logano

    Three of last Sunday’s top drivers failed to make the cut simply due to not being registered to run for Cup points. Regan Smith, Matt Crafton, and Johnny Sauter all were within the Top Twenty, but their focus is on one of the other two national series. Smith will be kept busy, though, as he sits in for the suspended Kurt Busch. Considering the ride was especially created by Gene Haas for Busch to wear his company colors, one has to wonder about the long-term fate of the No. 41.

    What is 3100 pounds yet weighs in at under a ton? It appears Logano did not just have the winning ride at Daytona…he had a magic car.

    The Hot 20 after Daytona

    1. Joey Logano – 1 Win – 47 Points
    Daytona 500 winner provided a “ton” of laughs on Letterman.

    2. Kevin Harvick – 42 Points
    If only it were the Daytona 505, all green, all of the time.

    3. Dale Earnhardt Jr – 42 Points
    A late change to the slow lane proved costly.

    4. Denny Hamlin – 41 Points
    Got yelled at so much, he thought he was Stenhouse for a moment.

    5. Jimmie Johnson – 40 Points
    Car was fast at Daytona, his pit crew even faster.

    6. Casey Mears – 39 Points
    Car just got better and better thanks to a Bootie call…or two.

    7. Clint Bowyer – 37 Points
    If you cannot be the man to beat the man, be the man who makes the man unbeatable.

    8. Martin Truex Jr – 37 Points
    Last year he was no Kurt Busch, this year that is a good thing.

    9. Greg Biffle – 35 Points
    This season you can discover “What’s Buggin’ Biffle.”

    10. Kasey Kahne – 35 Points
    Won just once in 2014, but Atlanta was the place.

    11. David Gi_ _i _ and – 33 Points
    I’ll take an “L”, Pat Sajack.

    12. Michael Annett – 32 Points
    14th on Thursday, 13th on Sunday, a Top Ten in Atlanta?

    13. Sam Hornish Jr – 32 Points
    Welcome back to Cup, Sam.

    14. Austin Dillon – 30 Points
    The No. 3 now driven by the man in the black hat.

    15. Aric Almirola – 29 Points
    Somewhere there has to be someone named Eric Elmirola.

    16. David Ragan – 27 Points
    Loaned out by Front Row to sit in for Kyle at Gibbs.

    17. A.J. Allmendinger – 25 Points
    No sponsor, no Sprint Unlimited.

    18. Danica Patrick – 23 Points
    Kurt sits, Tony wrecks, and Danica gets a written warning. Thank God for Harv.

    19. Carl Edwards – 22 Points
    Is there a doctor in the house? Why yes, yes there is.

    20. Cole Whitt – 22 Points
    Good funding stems from good finishes. I hope this helps.