NASCAR Truck Series: Is Johnny Sauter a future Hall of Famer?

With his JEGS 200 victory, Johnny Sauter has 24 career NASCAR Truck Series victories in 250 starts. Is he a future Hall of Famer?

After turning 41 years old on May 1, Johnny Sauter competed in his 250th career NASCAR Truck Series race, the JEGS 200, at Dover International Speedway, and he was victorious. With this victory, he has won 24 career Truck Series races, the fifth highest total in Truck Series history.

Sauter isn’t content with that total, though. Only six of the 23 races on this year’s schedule have been contested, and he has won at several other tracks remaining on the schedule. More victories equate to more playoff points, which he needs as he chases his second Truck Series championship.

Still, after winning in his 250th career Truck Series start, is Sauter a future Hall of Famer? Because he hasn’t retired, he is still ineligible for nomination to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. For that reason, I’ll play devil’s advocate on the case for his candidacy.

No, Johnny Sauter is not a future Hall of Famer

When I’m asked if I want to hear the good news or the bad news first, I always choose the bad news, so I first refute the notion that Johnny Sauter is a future Hall of Famer.

First of all, Ron Hornaday Jr. is the only NASCAR Hall of Fame driver representing the Truck Series. NASCAR inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2018. He is a four-time Truck Series champion who won 51 races, and Sauter’s resume pales in comparison with only one championship and 24 wins.

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NASCAR should also induct Jack Sprague and Mike Skinner into the Hall of Fame before Sauter. After all, Skinner and Sprague both have more wins than Sauter in Truck Series competition, and Sprague is a three-time Truck Series champion. Why should Sauter be inducted into the Hall of Fame ahead of a driver who has more wins and championships than he does?

Skinner has more wins than Sauter, and his lone championship is significant in Truck Series history, as he won the inaugural Truck Series championship in 1995. Because NASCAR has not inducted either Sprague or Skinner into the Hall of Fame, Sauter will not be elected anytime soon.

In the three major NASCAR series, there are other drivers who have won at least two championships who have not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame. For instance, Randy LaJoie won two Xfinity Series championships, consecutive championships for that matter, and he has not been elected into the Hall of Fame. In fact, he has not even been nominated for the Hall of Fame.

Moreover, Bobby Labonte is in his third year of candidacy on the NASCAR Hall of Fame ballot. He won a Cup Series championship and an Xfinity Series championship. Meanwhile, the Truck Series is the lowest of the three major NASCAR series. With so many highly successful drivers in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series who have not been elected into the Hall of Fame, Sauter is not a future Hall of Famer.

Yes, Johnny Sauter is a future Hall of Famer

In any sport, a member of the Hall of Fame is an athlete who was the best in the sport for an extended period of time. While that amount of time is a subjective number, Johnny Sauter has been arguably one of the best Truck Series drivers for the past few years. With his championship and 24 wins, he is a future NASCAR Hall of Famer.

Looking at Sauter’s Truck Series resume, he earned the first victory of his career in the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September of 2009. If he competes in the Truck Series next season and wins a race, he will have won in the Truck Series during three different decades, which certainly helps his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Sauter has been on a winning streak in the Truck Series. He has won at least one race in all but one of his 11 full-time seasons in the series. In the lone season during which he did not win a race, the 2015 season, he still finished in fourth place in the championship standings.

Sauter has also won driving for three different manufacturers in the Truck Series. In his first victory, he drove the #13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet. ThorSport Racing switched to Toyota for the 2012 season, so he won the June race at Texas Motor Speedway that season driving the #13 Toyota.

Finally, Sauter earned his first victory driving the #13 ThorSport Racing Ford in this past Friday’s race at Dover International Speedway. Winning for all three manufacturers furthers the case that he is a future Hall of Famer.

In addition to winning a championship, the lowest he has finished in the championship standings as a full-time driver is ninth place, which is where he finished in the 2012 season. Given the fact that he has already won a race this season and therefore will probably make the playoffs, he will finish no lower than eighth in the standings this year. His dominance in the Truck Series over the course of the past decade makes him a future Hall of Famer.

In 250 career Truck Series starts, Sauter has recorded 105 top five  finishes and 162 top 10 finishes. He has finished 42.0% of his starts in the top five and 64.8% of them in the top 10. Those numbers are staggering.

The best part about this argument? Sauter still competes full-time in the Truck Series, so he is slated for many more opportunities to win more races and championships. If he ever wins another championship, he and his ThorSport Racing teammates  will certainly have a lot to celebrate.

Look at this jubilation in victory lane this past Friday after he won his first race since returning to ThorSport Racing this season.

Is Johnny Sauter a future Hall of Famer? At virtually every race track the Truck Series races at, he is a contender for the win. He has driven for two championship-winning organizations, GMS Racing and ThorSport Racing, but is all that enough to make a case for him? Based on the evidence presented, you make the call.

Johnny Sauter is set to compete in the next NASCAR Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway, the Digital Ally 250. This race is scheduled to take place on Friday, May 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET, and TV coverage is set to be provided by Fox Sports 1.