This offseason, it looked like Johnny Sauter was out of a ride and that his illustrious NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series career was in jeopardy.
GMS Racing, which Sauter delivered a championship for a couple of years ago, had opted to shake things up. As a result, they hired Brett Moffitt to the team and booted Sauter.
Luckily at the 11th hour Sauter was picked up by the team he used to drive for — ThorSport Racing. Friday at Dover International Speedway, Sauter got his chance to battle with his replacement — Moffitt — head-to-head for the victory.
Although Moffitt won the pole, won Stage 1 and led the most laps on the day, it was Sauter who prevailed in the end by a victory margin of just over half a second.
For Sauter, this win was especially sweet.
“When you get kicked to the curb, you feel like you have a lot to prove,” Sauter said in Victory Lane. “I have to thank [truck owners] Duke and Rhonda Thorson most importantly — a couple months ago I didn’t know if I’d be racing.”
Sauter would go on to call his third consecutive Truck Series win at Dover among the biggest of his 24-career triumphs.
“It’s so special. This ranks up there as one of the biggest wins of my career,” said Sauter. “We’ve got to keep it going—that’s the main goal here, not to get complacent. I knew after Atlanta we’d have a shot to win races. I felt like we gave one away at Martinsville but got it today.”
With his win, Sauter also moved into the point lead as well. The NGOTS will return again next week at Kansas Speedway, where we will see if we are treated to Sauter vs. Moffitt round two.
