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07-17-2007
SAUTER: Team Cites Mechanical Issues for 26th Place Kentucky Finish
Over the last seven races Tim Sauter has steadily improved and had stronger
runs each week. The team has been knocking on the door of a top-10 finish the
last two races and prospects looked good again this week for the NCTS race at
Kentucky Speedway. Unfortunately, mechanical issues hampered Sauter's run and
the team had to settle for a 26th place finish behind Mike Skinner who won his
fourth race of the year.
The troubles began in the first practice session on Friday when the engine
expired in Sauter's Lester Buildings/ASI Limited Silverado. The Green Light team
was forced to replace the engine thus loosing valuable practice time and
relegating Tim to start at the back of the 36-truck field.
"The engine blew right in the middle of the corner, followed by a whole bunch of
oil," Sauter said as he assisted his team with repair. "A rod came out of the
bottom of the engine. It's bad luck, but we're fortunate it happened when it did
and we could get it fixed."
After the green flag flew on Saturday evening, Sauter steadily moved forward and
was in 28th place when the first caution flew on lap 13. Tim brought the #07
Chevy to pit-road for some quick adjustments. During the next green flag run,
Tim was able to hold his position, but his racetruck developed a high-speed miss
in the motor making it difficult for Sauter to pass trucks on the straightaway.
When the caution flew again on lap 52, Skinners fast pace had put all but the
top-19 trucks a lap down. Following the restart on lap 59, Tim was the fifth
truck one lap down, after a series of quick cautions and a couple of passes on
the track, Tim had moved into the "Lucky-dog" position.
Sauter's bid to get back onto the lead lap would end at lap 65 as he was forced
to bring the Lester Buildings/ASI Limited #07 to pit road to address the motor
issue. The crew quickly went to work to replace the carburetor but the repairs
put Sauter 6 laps down to the leaders in 28th place. Sauter moved up to 26th in
the final order when the checkered flag flew after 200 laps.
"It's frustrating that we couldn't get up there and race because the truck
handled pretty good," Sauter explained. "That was the best I could get into the
corners on a speedway all year."
"It's a tough deal when things happen out of your control," said Lester
Buildings Vice President Larry Lembrich. "After they replaced the motor in
practice, I really thought that we had a chance at a top-15 for our partners
from ASI Limited."
Despite the disappointing finish, Sauter still stands 18th in NCTS point
standings. "We need to just shake this one off and get ready to go to Indy."
Sauter explained. "I think the Lester Buildings team will make a big rebound in
two weeks at ORP, we have a great racetruck to take there and it's one of my
favorite tracks."
ASI Limited would like to thank its strategic partners, Akzo Nobel; Spectrum
Metal Finishing and Aluminum Shapes for their participation in this exciting
racing program. ASI LIMITED was able to tour several key-people at the track
this weekend for an inside look into NASCAR racing.
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