Diamond Hill Plywood Co. 200 - Johnny Sauter Notes

Did You Know?

Newt Moore, crew chief of the # 27 KLEENEX®/SCOTT® Products Pontiac, has performed as a crew chief at Darlington in each of NASCAR's 3 major series. Newt led Bobby Hamilton, Sr. to Victory Lane in 2003 at the track "too tough to tame" in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Equipment

Johnny will be running chassis # 41 this weekend at Darlington. "Sandblast," as the team affectionately refers to it, is the go-to car for the tracks nestled in the Carolina Sandhills, Darlington and Rockingham.

"Sandblast" was most recently used at North Carolina Motor Speedway in February and led 25 laps.

Johnny Sauter on Darlington

"There's three things it takes to win at Darlington, tires, tires and tires. That track wears your Good Years down to nothing in just a few laps. You've got to be careful not to abuse your tires in those first few laps or you'll be in huge trouble after about 15 laps. The guys who can keep the rubber underneath them will start to shine as the race goes on.

"Darlington is true racing. The track's got character and a personality all to itself. All of the skills that it takes to be a good racer are put to the test there. There's no such thing as too much patience, skill and luck when it comes to the 'Lady in Black.'

"I'm real excited about racing there. Newt (Moore) and I are working well together. He's putting awesome racecars together for me, and it seems like they're only getting better each week."

Crew Chief Newt Moore on Las Vegas

"You use a 'give and take' setup at Darlington. You're car can't be perfect on both ends of the track because it's such a unique formation. You can get it perfect on one end, but it won't be as strong on the opposite side. When you prepare your car, most of the changes that you make will help you on one end of the track, but slow you down a little on the other, so you've got to be careful not too make too drastic of a change, or you'll dial yourself out.