Johnny Sauter - NASCAR Driver

Date of Birth: 1978-05-01 Place of Birth: N/A Favorite Track: Lowe's Motor Speedway Current Residence:  N/A Sponsor: Yellow Transportation Owner: James Finch Crew Chief: Marc Reno Car: Dodge

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Johnny Sauter - Bio

Johnny Sauter believes he is a racer he is because of lessons his father, short track racing legend Jim Sauter, taught him early in his life.

"It has a lot to do with how you're raised", explains Sauter, one of eleven children. "We were never handed anything, we had to earn it. That goes a lot farther than somebody's Dad going out and buying him a Late Model. It's okay for some people, but I just wasn't raised that way and I think it's made me a better driver."

Sauter began racing in 1996 when he was 18 years old. His first racecar was a 1985 Buick Regal that he ran in the Sportsman Division at Wisconsin Dells Motor Speedway. He enjoyed the highs and struggled with the lows of his first year in racing, including three amazing wins and ten disappointing DNFs.

The following year he moved up to the Late Model Division at LaCrosse Motor Speedway, selling his streetcar in order to race the elite short track division. Sauter won a feature race at LaCrosse in his third career Late Model start.

"I sold my car to race," said Sauter. "But the night of that first Late Model win, I knew I did the right thing and I couldn't wait to win again."

Sauter wouldn't wait long to continue the winning tradition. He turned heads in ASA by dominating the series with the AP Performance team and setting records, including most wins and most money won in a season. This success culminated in the series championship and Rookie of the Year honors in 2001.

Sauter also competed in several NASCAR Busch Series events that year, finishing fifth in his debut at Richmond in September of 2001.

"To have finished that well in my first Busch race was pretty overwhelming," says Sauter. "Only a few drivers have had a top-10 finish in their first ever Busch Series start."

Sauter continued his winning ways the following year when he collected his first career NASCAR Busch Series win at Chicagoland Speedway. In 2003, Sauter turned in another top performance, winning part of the owner's championship while driving part-time for RCR and driving the No. 43 Channellock Chevrolet to his second victory at Richmond. He finished eighth in the 2003 Busch Series point standings. From team release

Johnny Sauter - Statistics