Posted on by Staff Report

Father of Johnny Sauter made 76 career starts in premier series

Jim Sauter, a racer and father of four drivers including NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Johnny Sauter, died on Friday night shortly before the conclusion of the Truck event at Texas Motor Speedway, according to ThorSport Racing. He was 71.

Sauter competed in 82 NASCAR national series races from 1980 to 2004, including 76 premier series starts.

The native of Necedah, Wisconsin, made his final NASCAR Nationwide Series start at the Milwaukee Mile in 2002, racing against his sons Jay, Johnny and Tim. Jim Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps as well. In addition to these four sons, Sauter is survived by his wife, Debbie, eight additional children, 51 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two sisters.

A two-time champion in the ARTGO Racing Series in the Midwest, Sauter tested International Race of Champions cars with fellow Wisconsin racers Dave Marcis and Dick Trickle.

His son, Johnny, learned of his father’s passing following Friday’s Winstar World Casino & Resort 350. His lone win of 2014 came at Michigan International Speedway, and he acknowledged it was a special victory in his post-race comments that recalled his dad’s recollections of the track.

"I’m just going to relish in this win because this has been a tough, tough race track for me throughout my career," Johnny said. "My Dad always said, ‘That place is easy.’ But, I never felt that way. Until today, I mean when you have a truck like this — it was just awesome."

NASCAR issued the following statement on Jim Sauter’s passing:

"NASCAR offers its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jim Sauter. A true racer, Jim passed on his passion and competitive spirit to his children and grandchildren. A driver himself with roots in the Midwest, his reach and impact extend across the entire sport."

The racing community expressed condolences on social media with a sample included below from Sauter’s former competitor Mark Martin; fellow Wisconsin racer Roy Kenseth, father of Matt; crew chief and former IROC chassis specialist Ray Evernham and NASCAR Senior Vice President, Racing Operations Jim Cassidy.

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Posted on by Nascar

Driver says he will let his teammate cool down before talking to him

FORT WORTH, Texas – Jeb Burton said he will give teammate Johnny Sauter a little time before attempting to discuss the finish to Friday night’s WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

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Contact between the two ThorSport Racing drivers on Lap 146 resulted in Sauter’s No. 98 Toyota making a high-speed trek across the grass along the frontstretch at Texas Motor Speedway, and damaging any hopes of a solid finish.

Both drivers were racing for positions inside the top 10 when the incident unfolded. Sauter wound up 16th.

After the race, crews from both teams confronted one another on pit road.

"That thing that we had with my teammate, that was a thing that I didn’t want to happen," said Burton, who went on to finish second behind race winner Kyle Busch. "(Johnny) checked up a little bit and I had the run and I got into him a little bit. He was already sideways and sent him into the grass."

Any conversations between the two will likely wait, he said.

"I’ll probably try to let him cool down a little bit," said Burton. "Me and Johnny are good friends. That’s the last thing I want to do … it was a mistake, an accident. We’ll talk it over and move on."

It was the second consecutive week Sauter had found himself at odds with another driver (a week ago at Martinsville it was Timothy Peters) and yet another week that saw him lose ground in the points battle. He’s now 52 behind leader Matt Crafton (and fellow ThorSport driver) with just two races remaining.

Burton, eighth in points, understands his teammate’s frustration, but insisted there was nothing intentional behind the contact on the track.

"That’s the last thing I’m going to try to do … wreck my teammate," he said. "He knows damn well I don’t race like that."

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Posted on by Nascar

Rookie increases his points lead to 48 with two races left

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FORT WORTH, Texas – It wasn’t a win, but Chase Elliott called it "one of the best efforts we’ve given from start to finish."

The JR Motorsports driver finished fourth in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway, extending his NASCAR Nationwide Series points lead to 48 on teammate Regan Smith (11th).

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"To qualify 11th, to run around back 10th, 12th, 13th, and be able to drive up to the top five – that is so, so hard to do in the Nationwide Series," Elliott, 18, said.

"Phenomenal pit stops gained us spots on pit road; Greg (Ives, crew chief) made the perfect adjustments and we were right there with them at the end. (We were) just a couple of steps short; we were gaining."

Should he maintain his points advantage next week when the series moves to Phoenix International Raceway, Elliott would wrap up the series title with one race remaining.

Elliott found himself battling an ill-handling car early as eventual race winner Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing) and runner-up Joey Logano (Team Penske) were dominating Saturday’s 200-lap event. Adjustments brought the No. 9 car to life and solid pit stops kept him from losing spots on pit road.

"The back of the car wasn’t in the track," Elliott said. "As we ran, we fixed that and then we were too tight with the nose; Greg made some good adjustments to try and get the balance right, front to rear, and we finally got that. Then we tweaked the air pressure a little bit and we got the car where it was pretty quick. We were right there; we gained on the leaders a good bit that second to last run. They yarded me getting on and off pit road, just my mistake we need to do better there."

The championship might be within his grasp, but Elliott, son of 1988 premier series champion Bill Elliott, says increasing his win total (he’s a three-time winner this season) is the objective for his No. 9 team.

"Just (running) one race at a time and trying to get some more wins before the year is over," he said. "That’s our goal. I said before … the past couple of weeks we really haven’t been where we wanted to be from the performance side, not getting the results that I feel like we can get as a team.

"I don’t think we’ve sat in the truck and discussed the points situation one time the whole season and I don’t think there’s any need in starting now. We’re just trying to step up and battle for the win. We’re capable of doing it."

Brian Scott (Richard Childress Racing) sits third in points, 63 behind Elliott while Elliott Sadler (JGR) sits 68 back and RCR’s Ty Dillon (-75) round out the top five.

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Get caught up quickly before the second race of the Eliminator Round (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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What: 10th Annual AAA Texas 500
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
When: Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014
TV/Radio: ESPN/Performance Racing Network
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 334 laps (501 miles)

Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Caution Car Speed: 55 mph
Fuel window: 54 laps (estimate)

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On The Front Row | Full race lineup
1. Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota (199.299 mph)
2. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (199.291 mph)

Track Record
Tony Stewart became the first driver to post a qualifying lap of more than 200 mph on a 1.5-mile track during the second qualifying session, topping the chart at 200.111 mph. Stewart’s qualifying record run eclipsed the previous track mark of 198.282 mph set by Kevin Harvick on April 5, 2014.

Failed To Qualify
None.

Fastest In Practice
First practice: Brian Vickers, Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota (199.218 mph)
Second practice: Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing No. 99 Ford (196.342 mph)
Final Practice: Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet (193.791 mph)

Lone Star Lonesome
Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick, looking to climb back into contention in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, have never scored a Sprint Cup win at TMS. Keselowski has three top 10s, and a best of second in 2012; Harvick has 11 top-10 finishes, and a best of third in 2006.

Defending AAA Texas 500 Champion
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet

Driver Rating (Best driver rating average at Texas Motor Speedway based on past nine years)
Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota (106.1)
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet (103.6)
Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford (102.2)

Mr. 500
Kevin Harvick will make his 500th start in the series today. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver began his Cup career Feb. 26, 2001 at North Carolina Speedway, finishing 14th. Harvick was driving the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, his move to Cup coming on the heels of Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500 a week earlier. Harvick is the 35th driver to make at least 500 starts, and sixth among active drivers.

Said in Jest?
"I medicate myself?" – Ryan Newman, on why he feels no pressure in the Chase.

Missed Opportunities
"I had three chances to advance, three chances to stay in it. … I truthfully feel l was given an opportunity that I probably shouldn’t have had or would never have had before to be a part of this championship and continue on." – Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson on being eliminated from Chase contention after two rounds.

Pressure? What Pressure?
"It’s been way less stress in this format because we haven’t been running very good, we’re not the favorite. We haven’t run like we did last year. Last year was way more stressful – we had the most wins going in, we had led the most laps going in, we were qualifying well." – Matt Kenseth, winless but fourth in points.

Mettle Tester
"I am ready for that challenge. When it comes down to moments like this great teams have to step it up. I believe we are a great team and I am ready for the challenge." – Brad Keselowski on overcoming disappointing start in the Eliminator Round.

Been There From the Start
Jeff Gordon is the only full-time driver in today’s field that competed in the first race at TMS in 1997. He finished 30th while Jeff Burton scored his first Cup victory.

Former Texas Motor Speedway Winners In Field
Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson (3); Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart (2); Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon (1).

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Posted on by George Winkler

Illness sidelines Nationwide regular so Cup driver steps in

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Clint Bowyer had plans to go shopping after the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, but instead he relieved an ill Elliott Sadler and finished ninth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series‘ O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.

"Yeah, I was going to buy a pair of cowboy boots at the stockyards," Bowyer said of his previous plans for the day. "I didn’t win a cowboy hat — so I’m just out of luck."

But it was a good thing for Joe Gibbs Racing that Bowyer, a fellow Toyota driver, didn’t make his trip to the Western stores and was available in a pinch. Sadler had been battling a stomach issue all day and JGR didn’t have many other options since Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth were already participating in the race.

Sadler managed to start in the car in order to be eligible for points, but after a caution on Lap 7 he drove to pit road and made the switch. After Sadler got out of the car he sat slumped on the pit-road wall before being driven away on a golf cart.

But thanks to Bowyer’s efforts, Sadler stayed within striking distance (20 points) of Regan Smith for second place in the Nationwide standings. Joe Gibbs stopped by after the race to shake Bowyer’s hand and say thanks, and J.D. Gibbs also was there to give Bowyer a hearty pat on the back.

Bowyer appeared to have a shot to pick up the win for Sadler when he got as high as fourth place after moving up three spots during a pit stop on Lap 131 of 200. Unfortunately for him, though, the car began to get loose in the later stages of the race and he dropped as low as 11th before rebounding to get the top-10.

At one point, Bowyer commented over team communications on how his feet weren’t quite hitting the pedals right, an understandable problem considering the car wasn’t his and wasn’t set up to fit his body.

"Nothing fit," Bowyer said. "I was having trouble; I’d killed it on pit road. There’s just several things you know that are not your norm, so it kind of throws you out of sync."

But overall, Bowyer said he had fun and it was worth forgoing his plans to help out a friend.

"Well, you never want to get in, especially since Elliott has done a lot for me in my career and been a good friend over the years," Bowyer said. "I hate to see him sick like that. He was looking pretty rough."

There was no immediate word on whether Sadler would be ready for next week’s race in Phoenix. He is finishing his tenure with JGR after announcing Friday that he would join Roush Fenway Racing in 2015 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

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Posted on by George Winkler

Family will focus on supporting families for domestic adoption

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FORT WORTH, Texas — NASCAR Nationwide Series driver James Buescher and his wife Kris announced at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday the launching of the Buescher Foundation to support domestic adoption. The former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion from Plano, Texas, and his wife adopted their son Stetson a little over a year ago and picked the first day of National Adoption Month to reveal the start of the first NASCAR driver foundation devoted to this cause.

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Kris Buescher said there are 100,000 children eligible for adoption in the United States and the average cost to adopt is $40,000. She said the foundation will provide grants, starting in the first quarter of next year, for people who are selected through the foundation’s application process.

"It’s been a life-changing experience for us to become parents," James Buescher said. "Going through the adoption process we got to see firsthand what it entails and how difficult it can be, but also how rewarding it can be."

According to Kris, there are 300,000 children in foster care in the United States and when they turn 18, they may not have homes to go to. That was a big reason why the Bueschers wanted to focus on domestic adoption for their foundation. In addition to financial support, the foundation will provide much-needed emotional support for families who are going through the adoption process.

"It’s a very, very tough thing to go through and if you don’t have a good support system, it makes it even worse," Kris Buescher said. "So we just want to be there for those families."

The Fraternal Order of Eagles presented a check for $50,000 on Saturday to the foundation. For more information on the Buescher Foundation, go to www.thebuescherfoundation.org.

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Raikkonen ran two national series races at Charlotte in 2011

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Kimi Raikkonen liked the appetizer, but he’s still waiting for the full-course meal in NASCAR racing.

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No, Raikkonen isn’t about to leave his highly prized seat with Ferrari in Formula One, but once his career in the elite open-wheel series winds down, he’d like to try his hand in the stock car ranks again.

Back in 2011, during a two-year break from F1 competition, Raikkonen raced twice at Charlotte in May, finishing 15th in a Camping World Truck fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports and 27th in a Nationwide Series car .

"I was very pleasantly surprised with how nice and how fun it was," Raikkonen said. "It’s not easy — like any competitive motorsport. I really enjoyed the time. Hopefully, I can do more of those and hopefully, in the future, some Sprint Cup.

"We’ll see."

The 2007 F1 champion, who also has raced in the World Rally Championship, was impressed with the challenge NASCAR presented.

"I would like to learn it more," Raikkonen said. "Like I said, it looks very easy, but it’s not easy. When you look at each circuit, it just looks like an oval, but every corner is different. When you have knowledge of the sport, you can run much stronger.

"I would like to have a good, proper run at it and try to learn and make good results out of it. It’s a different atmosphere, a different way of doing things than F1 or in the Rally, but I really enjoyed it."

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Crafton gains slightly on Blaney in championship battle

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FORT WORTH, Tex.—After an astounding run toward the front after a late restart in Friday night’s Winstar World Casino & Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag under caution at the end of a green-white-checkered-flag run to the finish of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

In a wild final two laps that left ThorSport Racing teammates Jeb Burton and Johnny Sauter at odds on pit road, Burton finished second, followed by Timothy Peters, polesitter Tyler Reddick and series leader Matt Crafton.

Sauter went spinning through the infield grass after what appeared to be incidental contact from Burton on Lap 146 of a scheduled 147 to cause the caution that set up the green-white-checkered finish and sent the race five laps beyond its posted distance.

The victory was Busch’s seventh of the season, his third at Texas and the 42nd of his career. What made the win possible was Busch’s dramatic surge from ninth to third on the penultimate restart on Lap 143, after five drivers stayed out on old tires and three others took two tires or no tires on their final pit stops under the fifth caution.

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Busch wasn’t worried about the outcome until he realized he had miscounted the number of trucks that would restart ahead of him on Lap 143.

"I thought when I saw four trucks out there (that had stayed out)… I only counted four, and then all of a sudden the 15 (Mason Mingus) popped up, and that made it five," Busch said. "But when I counted four, that was going to put us eighth on the outside, but then the 15 was there, and so it was ninth on the inside.

"I thought the 17 (Peters) was in the catbird seat there. I figured he had the perfect strategy—two tires, and he was going to be on the outside (restarting sixth), get through those guys and get out front."

As it turned out, Busch drove up the middle after the restart and passed Peters for second right before caution flew on Lap 146 for Sauter’s trip through the grass. As Busch would say later, his dramatic run to the front was essentially a case of “close your eyes and hold on.”

"Driving up through the middle there, the seas sort of parted ways a little bit, and they were already three-wide, and I’m like, ‘There’s a gap there—I’m taking it.’ And that put us four-wide. But in those situations, with that many laps to go, you’ve just got to do it."

Crafton’s two closest pursuers in the series standings, Ryan Blaney and Darrell Wallace Jr., both had issues on Friday night, but Wallace got by far the worse of the exchange, as both his engine and his championship hopes expired in the same instant.

As Wallace was chasing Busch, his car owner, from the second position on Lap 106, his engine erupted in a plume of smoke and dropped a stream of oil on the race track. Wallace took his No. 54 Toyota to the garage and finished 26th, falling 43 points behind Crafton with two races left in the season.

Blaney was forced to change batteries under caution on Lap 77 and fell to 16th for a restart on Lap 82 but rallied to finish ninth and minimized the damage to his position in the standings. Blaney remained second, 23 points behind Crafton.

Note: With Busch’s victory, Toyota clinched its seventh manufacturer’s championship in the Camping World Truck Series… Busch has now led laps in 21 consecutive NCWTS starts.

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Stewart tops 200-mph in second round, sets records

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FORT WORTH, Tex.—With three races left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Matt Kenseth made a statement during Friday’s time trials at Texas Motor Speedway.

After Tony Stewart set the fastest lap ever run on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway at 200.111 mph in the second round of knockout qualifying, Kenseth covered the distance in 27.095 seconds (199.299 mph) in the money round to win the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.

In winning his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Texas and the 13th of his career, Kenseth edged Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Jeff Gordon (199.291 mph) after Gordon ran what he described as an overly conservative lap.

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Jimmie Johnson (198.983 mph) will start third in the second race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s Eliminator Round, followed by Kurt Busch (198.910 mph in his first qualifying session with new crew chief Tony Gibson) and Kevin Harvick (198.836 mph).

Stewart was sixth fastest in the final round after leading a parade of drivers who bettered the previous track record of 198.282 mph Harvick had set in April.

Having advanced to the Eliminator Round without winning a race this season, Kenseth tested during the week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where his team found some additional speed that translated to Texas.

"We’ve got to get in practice (Saturday) and hopefully get it driving as good as it drove tonight for the race," Kenseth said of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, "because 500 miles is way different than qualifying.

"But I thought we had a pretty good test at Homestead, and we stumbled on some things late that seemed to bring us up a step and bring us closer to the best guys. You never really know until you get through practice and get the race rolling and see what you’ve got."

Stewart said his record lap, which took 26.985 seconds to complete, could have been even better.

"We were going to be probably down to a 26.75 or 26.80 if I would have finished getting through (Turn) 4," Stewart said. "I got real tight and had to lift all the way out of the gas in the first round and still ran a 27.10, so it was going to be a big monster lap in the first round, but that’s not the one that pays.

"We hit it the second round, and I missed it in the third round–my fault."

Likely needing a victory to advance to the season finale at Homestead, Brad Keselowski failed to advance to the second round and will start 26th on Sunday. Nevertheless, Keselowski was confident in the quality of his car in race trim.

"I’m optimistic we can (win) in this round, and the reality is it will probably take that, said Keselowski, who is seventh in the Chase standings, 31 points behind Gordon. "I completely understand that and am ready for that challenge and hope we have the speed to make it happen.

"The speed and execution… and I hope I don’t screw it up if we do. When it comes down to moments like this, great teams have to step it up. I believe we are a great team, and I’m ready for the challenge."

Other Chase drivers will start as follows: Ryan Newman, seventh; Joey Logano, 10th; Carl Edwards, 11th; and Denny Hamlin 20th.

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Posted on by Staff Report

See where drivers will pit during the WinStar World Casino and Resort 350

The pit stall assignments are out for Friday’s WinStar World Casino and Resort 350 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1) at Texas Motor Speedway.

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Tyler Reddick, winner of the 21 Means 21 Pole Award, chose the first pit stall off pit road, with an empty space in front of him.

Kyle Busch, Ben Kennedy, Matt Crafton, Cameron Hayley, Jeb Burton, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Newberry, Johnny Sauter and Max Gresham also chose pit stalls with empty space in front of them.

Caleb Roark chose the first pit stall onto pit road.

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