Johnny Sauter enters the WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday seeking to add to the momentum established by top-5 and top-10 finishes in two of the last 3 races.
Sauter claimed his first top-5 finish of the season last week at Dover. While no driver will sneeze at a top-5 finish, it was nonetheless bittersweet for Sauter.
"It was good to get a top-5 finish, but we felt like we had a truck that was more than capable of winning the race, and I thought it was gonna happen," he said.
"We were just a little too tight at the end, and couldn't make the hard charge we expected to make. But the name of the game at Dover is survival, so, from that perspective, we did what we needed to do."
Sauter has made numerous starts at Texas Motor Speedway, including a previous Truck Series start, and expects good things for the No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins-Curb Records Silverado.
"Texas is a great place to race," Sauter said. "You can always expect strong side-by-side racing here. You have to be fast, but you have to be patient, too. It's wide-open, and there's a ton of grip. It's a track that's known for taking a toll on tires, and we'll obviously keep an eye on that. It's just a lot of fun to race here."
For Sauter and the No. 13 team, confidence is on the rise.
"We've had great trucks and speed all season," he said. "We keep working hard, and we're making progress. We feel more comfortable each time out, and obviously, it's started to show. We know what we're capable of, and we keep working on our stuff to get it where we want it to be, which just takes a little time. We're putting it all together. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in position for a shot to win the race on Friday, but if we can come out of Texas with a top-5 finish and keep building momentum, we'll take it."
