ThorSport driver shows early speed, edges Burton, Peters atop leaderboard
RELATED: Full practice results
Johnny Sauter swept to the top of the leaderboard in both NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practices Thursday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway.
Sauter, driving the ThorSport Racing No. 98 Toyota, clocked a lap at 180.114 mph in the opening hourlong practice, making him the only driver to break the 30-second barrier on the 1.5-mile track. Sauter was just .012 seconds faster in the 90-minute final session, translating to a best lap of 180.186 mph.
Sauter, who has won twice at the Fort Worth facility with a sweep of the track’s two events in 2012, edged ThorSport teammate Jeb Burton for the No. 1 spot in final practice. Burton, who notched his first truck series victory at Texas in June 2013, clocked a lap at 179.952 mph in final practice and was also third-fastest in first practice.
Timothy Peters placed his Red Horse Racing No. 17 Toyota second on the board behind Sauter in the opening practice at 179.545 mph and third-best (179.826) in final practice in preparation for Friday night’s WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1). Peters and Sauter engaged in a spirited shouting match after last weekend’s race at Martinville Speedway, needing to be separated by their two crews.
Brennan Newberry and Darrell Wallace Jr. — last week’s winner at Martinsville — completed the top five in opening practice. In the final session, Kyle Busch — Wallace’s teammate and a six-time truck series winner at Texas — was fourth-best with defending series champion and current points leader Matt Crafton fifth-fastest.
Crafton, a winner at Texas for the first time in June, was 10th-fastest in opening practice before finding improvement. Ryan Blaney, 18 points off the top and Crafton’s closest pursuer, was 12th-best on the speed chart early and only 15th-fastest in final practice.
Only 25 of the 32 trucks entered hit the track in the first practice, but 30 participated in the final session.
Keystone Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled at 3:15 p.m. ET to set the field. The 20th of 22 races this season is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. ET start time, televised by FOX Sports 1.
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