Saturday night, Johnny Sauter pulled himself out of his truck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway no differently than he had at any time during his truck racing career.
With fireworks painting the night sky and the smell of burnt rubber lingering from the finish line, Sauter leaned forward on the car and for the first time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career, raised his hands in victory.
“Yeah!” shouted the rookie, before tossing his drink. Las Vegas Sun
Sauter, a rookie in the series this year, passed Matt Crafton for the lead with 17 laps to go and then held off his ThorSport Racing teammate at the finish for his first win in his 31st series start. He became the first rookie driver on the circuit to win a race since Carl Edwards won in 2003 at Nashville.
“This is unbelievable man, I can’t believe it,” Sauter said. “I’ve been praying hard a lot lately to try and get back into Victory Lane. This is a big deal for me.”
Prior to the 2009 season, Sauter spent several years competing in the Nationwide Series, where he was a three-time race winner. MiamiHerald.com
It was Sauter’s fifth consecutive top-five finish and lifted him two spots to fifth in the points. Sauter’s best finish in the opening 15 races was fifth at Dover. His newfound competitiveness in the past five races began with the arrival of crew chief Joe Shear, who Sauter had worked with earlier in his career.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Las Vegas 350 - Race Results
“I believe in him and I trust him 100 percent,” Sauter said.
“My truck just didn’t have the speed that Johnny Sauter’s did,” Crafton said. “Wow, that truck was fast.”
“It was a decent points day, but the thing that makes me happy is finishing 1-2 for Duke and Rhonda Thorson,” Crafton said. “It’s the first time we’ve finished 1-2.”
Jason White finished third, a career-best in the series. Todd Bodine was fourth and Timothy Peters fifth. NASCAR
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