Last weekend at Kentucky Speedway Johnny Sauter saw another opportunity at a win slip by.
He was leading and heading to what could have been his final stop of the night whethe rear axle broke on the final stop.
Meanwhile, earlier in the night his closest competitors in the points Ron Hornaday and Cole Whitt were behind the wall and with Sauter leading late he could have extended the points lead.
Instead he finished 24th and saw his points lead only grow by three points.
After the race Sauter said, “The truck was killing it from the flag stand on mid-race, and I really was feeling a lot better. Tight off like the other leaders, but at least I could run with them in the corners where it counted. We had this one won, but luck is everything in racing, and if you don't have it on your side, it's just not your night. It wasn't ours, unfortunately. I just have to thank the guys for working so hard and giving me such a great truck. We've just got to focus that energy towards Iowa."
This weekend at Iowa Sauter will be looking to close the deal after two weeks in a row of watching what could have been assured victories turn into disappointing finishes.
Even though his finishes don’t show how strong this team has been this season they have run very well.
In fact, he has led 171 laps this season which goes along with running in the top 15 over 85 percent of the season.
Sauter and his team have been as consistent as any driver in the series and that’s why heading into Iowa he is the points leader.
His numbers at Iowa favor him to be a strong contender for the win on Saturday night.
He has two starts at Iowa and his beat finish was a second here last spring. His average finish is a stellar 3.5.
Also, he qualifies very well here with an average start of 5.5. Even though he has spent every lap in the top 15 in both starts he has only led four laps total.
Sauter needs to find a way to close the deal this weekend. When his competitors are having issues he can’t seem to pull away from them.
In the last couple years has looked like a championship contender but has been unable to capitalize on others mistakes.
This season he needs to find a way to capitalize on their issues otherwise this points battle will be far closer than it should be as the season winds down.
photo: http://www.johnny-sauter.com/default.aspx
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