Catchfence

Sandusky, Oh. (September 14, 2010) – Johnny Sauter is set to tackle New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He is loaded with confidence after a second-place finish in the last series race at Kentucky Speedway and finished fifth in the race at NHMS last season. The atmosphere at New Hampshire reminds Sauter of racing back in Wisconsin, and having crew chief Joe Shear calling the shots on setups is all Sauter needs to think he has a chance to win the RaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175.

What is the key to success at New Hampshire?

“You have to have a good handling truck first and foremost. The turns are tight and you need to lay the power down to get down the long straightaways. It’s always a challenge to find the right balance. If you have a truck that handles through the corners and gets that forward bite off you will have a chance to win. That’s why I am so confident going into this weekend, I know Joe and the guys are going to give me a truck that is going to handle through the corners and have enough power under the hood to get us down the straightaways. I’ve always had good handling cars and trucks there so it’s always a track I look forward to going to.”

Does New Hampshire remind you of Milwaukee?

“It’s similar because they are both flat tracks and they are both one mile long, but that’s about it. Milwaukee has shorter straightaways and more sweeping turns. At New Hampshire the turns are much tighter. You don’t arc it in the corners, you drive it in straight and point it through to the center. Of all the tracks I’ve raced on, the one that reminds me most of New Hampshire is the old Chicago Motor Speedway (in Cicero, Ill.).

Joe and I ran an ASA race there in 2001 and won it, so that’s another reason I am so confident going into this weekend. On top of that, the race fans up there in New England are awesome. They remind me a lot of the fans up in Wisconsin, they come out four days in a row and love every minute of it. Plus we’re winding up the summer stretch and after ten weeks of 100 degree temperatures it’s nice to go someplace where it’s 75 degrees during the day and not sweltering hot.”

Does the shortened race distance change the strategy much versus last year?

“A lot of people might think 25 laps isn’t much of a difference but we would have seen a much different finish last year if the race was that much shorter. We had a long green flag run at the end and a lot of people were tight on fuel. It’s not a lot of laps but I think it could have a big impact on how you manage the race. It might change how we manage tires and it will definitely change how we manage our fuel.”

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- ThorSport Racing Press Release