Tim Sauter needs a little luck this weekend. The Wisconsin driver has been snake bit over the summer months having several good finishes wiped out with a myriad of misfortunes. Untimely cautions, mechanical failures, electrical gremlins and a malfunctioning air-wrench have all slowed the Green Light Racing team from getting to the front of the pack in the NCTS this year. It’s time for some good ole racing luck to roll in with the Lester Buildings team as it heads to the “Magic Mile” for the New Hampshire 200 Saturday afternoon.
In four previous Busch Series races at Loudon, Sauter has an average finish of 17.8 including a 12th in 2002 at the 1.058-mile track. Tim has completed 99.4% of the laps run in those four events.
Loudon’s oval is similar to Tim’s home track at Milwaukee where he contended for a top-ten finish earlier this year before an untimely caution trapped his Lester Buildings Chevy a lap down to the leaders during a round of green flag pitstops that ultimately resulted in a 16th place finish. “We had a top-ten truck for sure at Milwaukee, ” recalls Tim. “I’m hoping we can find that magic at New Hampshire. ”
The Green Light team led by Doug Howe is bringing the same chassis that last ran at Gateway in St Louis a few weeks ago, when a blown motor relegated Tim to a 28th place finish. The mechanical issue happened while Tim was running strong in eighth place. “This truck has been our best the entire year, ” Sauter said. “We have run it at Milwaukee, Memphis, ORP and Gateway. The guys have really done a nice job on it. Now, we just need some racing luck to get a solid finish. ”
Tim’s thoughts on New Hampshire International Raceway: “New Hampshire is a lot like being home at Milwaukee, but it’s got a little more banking in the corners. We’re going to bring a set-up pretty close to what we ran at Milwaukee and Gateway, I think we’re going to have a pretty good racetruck this weekend. ”
• The New Hampshire 200 will be Tim’s 21st start in the NCTS and 134th career NASCAR start.
• This will be the fifth time Tim has competed at Loudon in a NASCAR event, the previous four in the NASCAR Busch Series. Best finish; 12th on May 11, 2002.
• Tim is currently 16th in NCTS driver points.
• Tim is leading the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings by just two points over Willie Allen.
• Green Light Racing has competed six previous NCTS races at New Hampshire International Speedway. Best finish; 16th on Sept 13, 2003 with Shane Sieg behind the wheel of the #08.
• NCTS veteran Dennis Setzer will drive the People Against Drugs #08 this week at Loudon.
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