NASCAR Race Mom: Johnny Sauter Finishes 3rd

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Johnny Sauter Finishes 3rd - Wins Championship

Johnny Sauter Finishes 3rd - Wins Championship Johnny Sauter finished 3rd in the Ford EcoBoost 200 and won the 2016 Camping World Truck Series championship.

Johnny Sauter, driver of the #21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet,
celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Johnny Sauter and William Byron walked away — well, make that raced away — with the two championships attached to the Camping World Ford EcoBoost 200 Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Sauter won the coveted Truck season championship over fellow Final Four drivers Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell and Timothy Peters. All four drivers finished in the top 10 — Sauter third, Crafton seventh, Bell eighth and Peters ninth.

“It’s not just me, it’s my entire team,” Sauter said. “I’m just a small part of this. I just keep doing my deal. We had decent speed all year.”

Sauter, driving a Chevrolet, had three wins in the Truck series this season, including two in The Chase. In his past three races before Homestead, he had two firsts and one second.

Homestead has been a good track for Sauter, 38, as he won the Truck race here in 2011. He has also had six top-10 finishes and two top-fives in nine starts at Homestead.

William Byron, driver of the #9 Liberty University Toyota, poses with the trophy in
Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200
at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida.

How close were the closing moments? The concluding laps featured some three-wide theatrics that left fans gaping.

The evening was much better than the afternoon for Sauter. “I have to admit I was a little nervous when we qualified 19th,” Sauter said.

Question: What can we expect from your championship speech on Monday?

JOHNNY SAUTER: A lot of stuttering, a lot of "um." I don't know, I'm not very good at that stuff I don't think. Having said that, you know, we've got good PR people that are going to help me try to muscle through all that. But just going to thank some people in the past that have been pretty influential in getting me here, and obviously just be thankful. I'm humbled to be a champion in NASCAR. I'm just going to thank all the right people. I mean, this is a -- I'm very much a small percentage of what's been accomplished, and we need to acknowledge and thank the people that made this possible.

Team owner Kyle Busch and wife Samantha celebrate with the Champion Owner trophy
in Victory Lane after Johnny Sauter (not pictured), won the NASCAR CWTS Championship.

source