Tim Sauter Martinsville Report

March 31st, Martinsville Speedway, Tim Sauter endured a roller- 
coaster ride in the Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 250 Saturday at the  
Martinsville Speedway. Three lucky dog passes weren’t enough to  
overcome a late electrical issue that left the #07 Lester Buildings  
Silverado in 29th place behind winner Mike Skinner.

Following the morning qualifying session the entire Green Light  
Racing team felt a huge sigh of relief. Sauter’s time of 20.09  
seconds on the tricky half-mile track placed the #07 Chevy the  
fourteenth starting position, by far the team’s best starting spot of  
the young season. “I messed up a little in turn two on the second lap  
or we might have been able to go a little quicker, I’m real happy to  
start in the top-half of the field.” Sauter said following  
qualifying. Sauter’s luck would soon change.

When the green flag fell Sauter got caught in the high grove and was  
freight-trained by numerous trucks. The first yellow fell on lap  
eight and the Green Light team gave up track position for some  
chassis adjustments restarting in 34th place. Soon after going a lap  
down to Mike Skinner, Sauter caught the first of three lucky dog  
passes on lap 31 following a caution for a spin by Chase Miller. “The  
truck was super loose at the start,” he explained following the race.

Sauter continued to run near the back of the lead lap and compounding  
the handling issues he reported the motor was not running as well as  
it had in practice. “I think we have a fuel or carburetor problem.  
I’m only turning 9,000 rpm.” Sauter again lost a lap to the leaders  
but was awarded his second lucky dog on lap 89.

The Green Light team was able to repair the motor issue under caution  
on lap 105 and soon Tim improved his lap times by several tenths of a  
second. In the middle portion of the race the truck was running  
better and on lap 156 Tim earned his third free pass of the event.  
The Lester Buildings Chevy restarted in 21st on lap 163 and began to  
work his way through traffic moving up to 18th when the caution flew  
on lap 181.

“I think something came off the truck and I ran it over, we need to  
come in to check it out.” Tim radioed the crew. As the #07 was  
approaching the pit lane it suddenly lost all electrical power.  
Apparently, contact earlier in the race with another truck had caused  
damage to the battery box located in front of the left rear wheel.  
The Green Light team was forced to push the #07 behind the wall to  
repair the problem loosing 12 laps in the process. The result was a  
disappointing 29th place finish to a day that had started with much  
promise.

“What a day, after a horrible start we’re in pretty good shape on lap  
180. We’re on the lead lap and at that point the truck was good  
enough to race our way into the top fifteen over the last 70 laps,” a  
dejected Sauter said after the race. “We overcame a lot of issues and  
then that battery deal just killed us. I don’t know what we have to  
do to catch a break. The guys are working too hard to keep having  
these finishes, something different is biting us every race. We need  
to figure it out quick, because this is only a 25 race season.”

The Green Light Racing team has four weeks to prepare for the next  
race, as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will not race again in the  
O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway on April 28th.

With manufacturing facilities in Minnesota, Illinois and Virginia,  
Lester Buildings is one of the largest manufacturers of engineered  
post-frame structures in the United States.  The company provides  
building solutions for a broad range of needs – from simple farm and  
ranch buildings, hobby shops and equestrian buildings to many types  
of commercial structures.  Over 140,000 Lester buildings have been  
erected throughout the U.S. from the eastern seaboard to the Rocky  
Mountains. To learn more about Lester Buildings, visit  
lesterbuildings.com.