Top-30 drivers: Johnny Sauter
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
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Johnny Sauter endured an emotional season, one in which he started the year with a new team and had to work his way into the top 35 in owners points but ultimately lost his ride with Haas CNC Racing at season's end. That came even though he made four of the opening five races on speed and moved into the 30th position in driver points.
Sauter, a 29-year-old Wisconsin native and longtime Busch Series competitor, drove his first full-time Cup schedule after competing in 32 events over the previous four seasons for a variety of owners. He wound up making 35 of the 36 races this season and earned more than $3.1 million in purses.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 30 in 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup driver points. Here's how Sauter's season unfolded:
By the numbers: Sauter earned his first career top-five in the Cup series as well as two top-10 and eight top-20 finishes this season as driver of the No. 70 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet.
Season highlights: The car of tomorrow was Sauter's strong point. He finished ninth in the opening race at Phoenix International Raceway and then a season-best fifth in NASCAR's new model at Richmond International Raceway in September.
Key setbacks: Despite an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, the Haas CNC teams of Sauter and Jeff Green simply were not competitive with the sport's top teams. Sauter had three DNFs over the course of the year.
Newsworthy moment: Sauter, who was featured in an ABC television documentary series, spent the season on the edge of the top 35 in owners points and the guaranteed starting spot in the field. Team owner Gene Haas pled guilty to tax fraud and was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison, and the team has yet to announce sponsorship for next season. In mid-October, the team hired Scott Riggs to drive in 2008 but did not announce which of its current drivers would be replaced. Within weeks, Jeremy Mayfield had also been hired, leaving Sauter without a Cup job late in the year. He has not confirmed his driving plans for 2008.
In his words: "This year has just been an amazing year. For a first-year team to have a top-five finish as well as a top-10 finish is a testament to what we are capable of. We have qualified up front, run up front and finished up front. We finished second at the Open, which was awesome, and sixth in the all-star race running with the best our sport has to offer.
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"... I am not sure what the future holds, but at the end of the day all I want to do is race and be competitive, whether it is in Cup, Busch or trucks."
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Jeremy Mayfield
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