Trucks: Sauter Wins Two in a Row in the Chase at Texas
By Alex Herbst
The best way to box out your competition is to win every time. That’s what Johnny Sauter did on Friday night, winning the Truck Series race in Texas.
Six drivers remain in the hunt for the Camping World Truck Series championship, and one has already secured his spot in the series finale. Johnny Sauter won the last time out for the trucks in Martinsville, and took his #21 team to victory lane again on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway, with big implications for his competition.
Sauter would pass Matt Crafton for the win with just three laps to go, taking his third win for GMS Racing this season. Crafton came home second, but now only holds a slim lead to advance to the championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Daniel Hemric, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top five.
The race was dominated from the outset by polesitter Spencer Gallagher, who for most of the night carried the banner for GMS Racing. He led a race-high 88 of 147 laps, only to get shuffled back to seventh at the finish due to bad pit stops. On each pit stop, Gallagher lost the lead on pit road due to a slow stop.
Sprint Cup: Texas Qualifying Results - Dillon on Pole
There was very little passing seen at the front of the field for most of the race, with Gallagher and Daniel Hemric leading all the laps up to about twenty laps to go. Passing proved to be easier on the outside line, where drivers could keep their momentum. This was confirmed by the continued use of that lane on restarts, with the inside line often struggling.
The only cautions that waved on the event were from the controversial caution clock, with this race in Texas being the first all season to see it used three times. Only three championship contenders would finish inside the top ten, with Sauter, Crafton, and William Byron (6th) the top finishers.
Here are the full results from the Striping Technologies 350 at Texas Motor Speedway (Chase drivers in italics):
- Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- Matt Crafton, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Daniel Hemric, Ford, Brad Keselowski Racing
- Tyler Reddick, Ford, Brad Keselowski Racing
- Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- William Byron, Toyota, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Contreras Motorsports
- Cole Custer, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
- Cameron Hayley, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Christopher Bell, Toyota, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- Rico Abreu, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- Timothy Peters, Toyota, Red Horse Racing
- Ben Rhodes, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Shane Lee, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- Matt Tifft, Toyota, Red Horse Racing
- John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, NEMCO Motorsports
- Austin Hill, Ford, Austin Hill Racing
- Jesse Little, Toyota, Rette Jones Racing
- Ryan Truex, Toyota, Hattori Racing Enterprises
- Austin Wayne Self, Toyota, AM Win-Tron Racing
- Casey Smith, Chevrolet, Niece Racing
- Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports
- Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Bolen Motorsports
- Tyler Young, Chevrolet, Young’s Motorsports
- Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, MAKE Motorsports
- Cody Coughlin, Chevrolet, Athenian Motorsports
- Matt Mills, Chevrolet, SS-Green Light Racing
- Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, JJC Racing
- Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Martins Family Racing
- Norm Benning, Chevrolet, MB Motorsports
Just one race remains for five teams to fight over three open spots for the championship round at Homestead-Miami. It will all be decided next Friday night at Phoenix. Here are the Chase standings heading into the race:
- Johnny Sauter – ADVANCED
- William Byron +5
- Christopher Bell +4
- Matt Crafton +1
- Timothy Peters -1
- Ben Kennedy -13
Be sure to tune in next Friday night at 10:00 pm eastern for the penultimate race of the Camping World Truck Series season. Who will advance to the championship four? Find out live from Phoenix International Raceway next weekend.