“So I think if anyone looks over the history of the last three or four (speedway) races, we’ve done pretty danged well with them — we’ve had great ThorSport Tundras.”
But the same thing that gives Sauter optimism makes him shrug, too.
“So that’s kind of what I’m talking about.”
In four Talladega Truck Series starts, Sauter led his only three laps last year, but in those four races he does have two top-three finishes, four lead-lap finishes and an average finish of 8.5. But with the exception of this year at Daytona, where a caution flag also ended that race on its final lap, Sauter’s never prevailed, even though the anticipation just makes him chuckle.
“It’s one of those places where you just have to be patient,” Sauter said. “Somebody else’s mistake can end your day early so you just have to try to put yourself in a position — I guess, essentially, you have to go to school for the first 50 laps and try to learn where your truck is and isn’t strong.
“Then, you have to try to put yourself in a position where you can take advantage of where it was strong by trying to work with whoever you learned was strong enough to help you — or to help each other — in those last 10 or 15 laps.”
Talladega only has two hours of practice before the race, but Sauter feels like that’s largely irrelevant anyway due to the nail-biting tendencies of speedway racing.
“Nowadays nobody is brave enough to go out and draft in practice like you’re going to be forced to do in the race,” Sauter said. “You’ll get six to eight trucks to go out and draft but you won’t get anywhere near the full field — and that really does make a difference in what you can find out.”
Sauter said his team’s plan will be to “spend zero energy on qualifying — we never do at these big tracks because it just doesn’t matter. You can qualify 30th and be fifth after four laps.”
In fact, Sauter went to the rear of the field for the initial green flag at Daytona for adjusting his truck after qualifying and that made little difference in the final result.
“So I think we’ll just go down there and run a few laps and make sure nothing’s leaking or rubbing or dragging,” Sauter said. “And then you wait to go and get it done in the race. That’s it, as far as I’m concerned.”
The only other thing he’ll have to do is work on who’ll he’ll be able to partner with and who might help him win on Saturday — and Sauter said that’s a time-consuming process he’s willing to endure to get another victory.
“You have to talk to a few guys in the garage to get a feel for who will work with you, but the bigger thing is you have to earn those relationships as the race develops,” Sauter said. “I think it’s one of those deals where you’re able to make some moves early in the race with some guys and you feel comfortable working with them, whether it’s being the pusher or getting pushed.
“Whoever you feel like you can make speed with is ultimately who you try to connect with at the end of the race. I think a lot of it is about respect and I think a lot of guys respect the way that we’ve raced on the superspeedways. But in the end it’s a myriad of different reasons why we draft with who we draft with.”
Sauter knows he’s gathered enough experience to earn his third win this season, to go with checkered flags earned at Daytona and Martinsville, the series’ shortest oval. But he also knows that might not be enough.
“So much of it is determined by circumstances,” Sauter said. “You can make deals with everybody, but when push comes to shove and there are 10 laps to go, your dancing partners are whoever’s in front of you and whoever’s behind you.
“That’s just the way it is because plans only last for so long.”
On Friday there is a single Truck Series practice session, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET, which will be telecast live on FOX Sports 1, the former SPEED Channel. Coors Light Pole Qualifying to set the starting lineup is scheduled at 5:10 PM, with coverage on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 5.
