BUSCH: Phoenix: Jay Sauter debut preview

Sauter ready for team debut at Phoenix .

PHOENIX, Ariz.-Jay Sauter, driver of the No. 02 WiredFlyer Ford, has been eagerly awaiting the final races of the 2002 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series season. Throughout the season, Sauter has shared seat-time with Jeff Green for the No. 21 entry owned by Richard Childress Racing. For the final two races, Sauter will be the sole driver of the newly formed WiredFlyerâ team, owned by Angela's Motorsports. With his strong record at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Sauter couldn't begin his time with the team at a better track.

"I've always liked racing here," Sauter said. "This is a unique track in the way that the corners are structured differently. There is always side-by-side racing which puts on a good show for the fans."

In his four seasons of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition, Sauter made six starts at the one-mile oval, posting three top-10 finishes, the best being a sixth-place finish in the spring of 1998. Sauter has made one Busch Grand National series start here in 2000 driving for Curb-Agajanian Motorsports. After starting in the 11th position, Sauter was forced to withdraw from the race due to engine failure.

"My first (Busch Grand National Series) race at the track was pretty disappointing," Sauter said. "We came out here and qualified really well. Unfortunately, we were out of the race by lap seven, causing us to finish 43rd." Sauter believes that his luck may change with the Angela's Motorsports team.

"I'm pretty excited about racing for them this weekend," Sauter said. "They've put together such a good, strong program with Ford and Robert Yates engines.

"We had the opportunity to test at Homestead last week and everything went really well. The entire team, led by crew chief Richard Lasater, seemed to mesh instantly. The communication is outstanding and the car ran well. It was a great experience for us."

This season, Sauter has competed in 12 Busch Grand National Series events, posting one top-five and three top-10 finishes. His most recent start occurred at Memphis Motorsports Park last month where he posted an eighth-place finish. During his three years with the series, Sauter has competed in 74 races, earning one pole, four top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. His career high third-place finish came in March of 2001 at Texas Motor Speedway. Sauter is hoping he can better that statistic before the end of the 2002 season.

"I am looking forward to going to PIR with this team," Sauter said. "I'm ready to go racing."

-am-