Driver for hire: Johnny Sauter

[Marvin Panch]

Honestly, did not see this coming ...

After a challenging start to the NASCAR Nationwide season and several key personnel changes including the release of both newly hired crew chiefs, Jon Wolfe and Newt Moore, Phoenix Racing and Johnny Sauter have amicably parted ways. Sauter who just last year brought a brand new team into the coveted top-35 in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, is available to another organization effective immediately. In 2007, Sauter gave Haas CNC Racing its first top-5 finish in Cup competition and a 6th place finish in the All Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

“I was surprised to hear Phoenix Racing wanted to go in a different direction," Sauter said. "I felt like we’d turned a corner on a few things and were just having some really bad luck. But personnel changes happen in racing, like the fact that two of the best crew chiefs in the business were released from the team two weeks ago, so I’m not the only one who has felt the effects of these changes at Phoenix Racing. At the end of the day, I’m a racer and all I want is to be competitive, whether it’s a truck, Nationwide or Cup team. I just want to be team player and feel like I can make a difference for an organization.”

[Jimmy Hendricks]

NASCAR can be tough when you don't get it done on the race track.

[Marvin Panch]

Jimmy, he's 17th in points, with eight of the guys ahead of him being full-time Cup drivers. He was running at the finish in all five races and led more laps than any Nationwide-centric driver other than Brad Keselowski.

And he was 30th in the Cup standings last year and got bounced from his ride.

So pardon me if I'm not seeing "can't get it done on the racetrack."

This sure looks like a "bad fit" issue between driver, team and sponsor -- and not sure why. There's more to this than meets the eye.

[mac miller]

There is a cot, blanket and warm meal waiting for him at the "surplus driver warehouse".........

[schraderfan]

Flashback to 2004 when Finch fired Johnny Benson.

[Seadog]

There is a cot, blanket and warm meal waiting for him at the "surplus driver warehouse".........

Is that a cot or a C.O.T.?

[mac miller]

Is that a cot or a C.O.T.?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1634889

Well, lets see here, rear wing....spec nose... I guess its a "cot" that looks like a "C.O.T."


-----------

[Red Byrd]

Flashback to 2004 when Finch fired Johnny Benson.

Finch seems to be an unstable man. I suppose he wants to win right now, not build a team or that nonsense.

[MoparsRule]

I was surprised when the Cup sponsor wanted a different driver behind the wheel after the '07 season - Sauter had been doing a commendable job.

[9rows]

I was surprised when the Cup sponsor wanted a different driver behind the wheel after the '07 season - Sauter had been doing a commendable job.

Ditto that.

I would have preferred that Haas CNC Racing kept Sauter in the seat instead of Mayfield.

The Riggs for Green swap I was OK with.

[MoparsRule]

Same here, I see Sauter as being "on the way up" & Mayfield as being pretty much "maxed out".

Riggs for Green was a sure bet, IMO.

[lkchris]

Crashing the #21 Cup car trying to qualify didn't do much for his resume.

[Racewriter]

Same here, I see Sauter as being "on the way up" & Mayfield as being pretty much "maxed out".

Riggs for Green was a sure bet, IMO.

Whether Sauter is on the way up, Mayfield is on the way out. Has been ever since he pissed Penske off.

[Marvin Panch]

I'll second Racewriter's opinion on Mayfield and add a few more names to the list.

Scott Riggs: Nice guy, but his only top-10 last season was an eighth at Martinsville, and he failed to lead a single lap all year.

Paul Menard: 16 lead lap finishes in 44 career starts, one top-10 finish (seventh at Atlanta in 2006 -- blind squirrel, meet nut).

Kenny Wallace, Jeff Green and Ward Burton don't have Cup rides right now, and for good reason.

It's a good thing Kenny's funny on TV because his last top-10 Cup finish was in 2003 for Stacker 2 (hmmm, wonder how ephedra's doing?). Green's last top-five came in the AOL car (remember when that company had money?) in 2002. Ward's 10th at Talladega in 2004 for Net Zero (which netted zero for Gene Haas) was his last hurrah.

And how far has Jeremy fallen? Mayfield's last top-10 was a 10th in the Homestead finale ... in 2005. And he was in the Chase two years in a row.

[Jim Wilke]

NASCAR can be tough when you don't get it done on the race track.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Signed,

Casey Mears