Sauter pleased as he gets EM Motorsports in first race

FONTANA, Calif. -- At the far end of the garage in stall No. 20, directly across from a nondescript white hauler, EM Motorsports team members were doing something unusual on a Saturday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway.

They were preparing the No. 08 Dodge for practice.

For the first time in 11 attempts this season -- the ultimate definition of "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" -- John Carter's Georgia-based one-car operation made the show.

Autostock

Johnny Sauter

Pepsi 500

Race Lineup

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
2.	A.J. Allmendinger	Toyota
3.	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet
4.	Kasey Kahne	Dodge
5.	Patrick Carpentier	Dodge
6.	Elliott Sadler	Dodge
7.	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet
8.	Dave Blaney	Toyota
9.	Kurt Busch	Dodge
10.	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet
43.	Johnny Sauter	Dodge

• Complete Lineup click here

Carter was listening in on the phone from the stands at Stephens County High School's football stadium, and when Johnny Sauter crossed over the start-finish line to edge out Tony Raines for the 43rd and final starting spot for Sunday's Pepsi 500, the line suddenly went dead.

It turned out Carter was so excited, he accidentally turned off his cellphone during his celebration.

"He was pumped up," Sauter said. "He puts everything he can into this program. To me, it's rewarding to see it pay off for him. He's invested a lot of time and money into this, and obviously he doesn't have the money that a lot of other teams do. He just keeps coming back, he keeps persevering.

"For me, it's great to make the race, but for John and all these guys, it's huge."

After Friday's first practice, it appeared that the No. 08 Dodge would once again pack up and head for home without making the show. Sauter's best lap was 167.698 mph, a full 5 mph slower than the next-closest competitor. So when the team met to discuss what to change, Sauter was willing to gamble.

"I can't believe we picked up like we did," Sauter said. "We made huge changes to the car. We struggled really bad in practice and I got out of the car and said, 'Whatever you do, just do it big.' We're going home, regardless, if we don't make it any better. To pick up like we did -- I think it was 1.7 seconds -- that's unheard of.

"We just got the car driving good, that's all there is to it. If it drives good, it generally goes fast."

So with one goal accomplished, Sauter said it's on to the next -- run the 500-mile distance and stay out of trouble.

"In practice, it's just making sure the car drives good," Sauter said. "Five hundred miles is a long time here. Obviously, we accomplished the goal we wanted to, and that was making the race. Right now, we've just got to focus on pit stops and things like that. That's the next step."

Sauter said making a race this season has been a struggle, mainly because the Toccoa, Ga.-based team doesn't have the resources of the bigger Sprint Cup operations.

"Nothing's easy for anybody in this sport," Sauter said. "It's so competitive. I commend John Carter and the boys. It's got to be discouraging to come to the racetrack every week and just keep trying and trying. You can't afford to test, so essentially you're going to the racetrack and testing.

"I think it would try a lot of owners' perseverance to miss 10 races. At the end of the day, he's got to be commended for not giving up."

While Sauter was slowest in both of Saturday's final tune-up sessions, drivers from Hendrick and Roush dominated the top of the leaderboard. Carl Edwards turned a lap of 177.956 mph in the first practice, edging Jimmie Johnson and teammates Greg Biffle and David Ragan. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five.

In Happy Hour, Dave Blaney's No. 22 Toyota was the only car to top 176 mph. He was followed by Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Jeff Burton and A.J. Allmendinger.

There were two minor incidents, both involving Penske Dodges. Sam Hornish Jr.'s No. 77 did a power slide down the front straightaway without hitting the wall and Kurt Busch scraped the right-rear quarterpanel on his No. 2 when he brushed the concrete.