Jay Sauter

Infobox_NASCAR_driver
Name = Jay Sauter
Birthdate = birth date and age|1962|1|22
Birthplace = Necedah, Wisconsin
Previous_Year = 2002
Prev_Cup_Pos = 70th
Best_Cup_Pos = 70th - 2002 (Winston Cup)
First_Cup_Race = 2002 Samsung 500 (Texas)
Last_Cup_Race = 2002 EA Sports 500 (Talladega)
Previous_Year = 2008
Prev_Busch_Pos = 43rd
Best_Busch_Pos = 17th - 2000 (Busch Series) | Busch_Top_Tens = 23
Busch_Poles = 3
First_Busch_Race = 1997 Advance Auto Parts 250 (Myrtle Beach)
Last_Busch_Race = 2007 Pepsi 300 (Nashville)
Previous_Year = 2004
First_Truck_Race = 1996 Florida Dodge Dealers 400 (Homestead)
Last_Truck_Race = 2004 Darlington 200 (Darlington)
First_Truck_Win = 1997 Pennzoil Discount Center 200 (New Hampshire)
Last_Truck_Win = 1999 O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
Truck_Wins = 19
Truck_Top_Tens = 195
Truck_Poles = 0
Updated_On = February 2nd 2008, 2008

Jay Sauter (born June 22, 1962 in Necedah, Wisconsin) is a NASCAR driver. He previously drove the #34 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Frank Cicci Racing in the Busch Series. Sauter is the son of former NASCAR driver Jim Sauter, and the brother of fellow drivers Tim Sauter and Johnny Sauter. He also is an uncle to Travis Sauter (son of Tim).

Sauter, a former American Speed Association driver, made his NASCAR debut in 1996 in the Craftsman Truck Series. Driving the #42 Team SABCO Chevrolet Silverado, he qualified 21st and finished eighth at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. He ran six more races for SABCO that year. His best finish was third at Bristol Motor Speedway, and was offered a ride for one of SABCO's Cup teams, but he chose to decline the offer. He ended the season driving the #03 Realtree Chevy for Richard Childress Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing 22nd.

In 1997, Sauter replaced Mike Skinner in Childress' #3 GM Goodwrench entry in the truck series. Sauter won his first career race at New Hampshire International Speedway. He had 15 top-10 finishes that season and finished sixth in the final points standings. He also made his Busch Series debut at Myrtle Beach, driving the #64 for Shoemaker Racing. He finished 16th. In 1998, Sauter picked up his second career win at Martinsville Speedway and moved up to a career-high fourth in points. The next year, he won at Louisville and Texas but dropped to fifth in points.

In 2000, Sauter moved up to the Busch Series, driving the #43 Quality Farm & Country Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo for the Curb Agajanian Performance Group. He had eight top-10 finishes, was 17th in the championship points, and was fourth in the Rookie of the Year chase. In 2001, Sauter won his first career pole at Kentucky Speedway. Despite seven top-10s, he dropped to 19th in points and was released from CAPG at the end of the season.

For 2002, Sauter returned to RCR and shared the #21 Rockwell Automation Chevy with Kevin Harvick. In 13 starts with RCR, his best finish was a fourth at Nashville Superspeedway. He concluded the season driving the #02 Ford Taurus for Angela's Motorsports, finishing 25th at the Ford 300. He also made his Winston Cup debut in the #71 for Marcis Auto Racing, finishing 37th at Texas and 43rd at Talladega Superspeedway. In 2003, he ran 10 races for Henderson Bros. Racing, finishing ninth at Nashville. In 2004, he ran nine races for the Henderson brothers, his best finish a 13th at Richmond International Raceway. He also returned to the truck series, driving four races in the #06 for MRD Motorsports and finishing 15th at Bristol.

After making only one start in the Busch Series in 2005, Sauter returned in 2006 with a new team, Duesenberg & Leik Motorsports. He qualified for 33 of 35 races with a best finish of seventh at O'Reilly Raceway Park. After the #01 team merged with Davis Motorsports, Sauter joined Frank Cicci Racing in 2007, running a few races before the team suspended operations.

External links

* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=sauteja01 Career statistics at Racing-Reference.info]