Fatherly advice can't fully ease sting for Penn Sauter after Joe Shear Classic

“It just sucks, honestly,” Sauter said. “I feel like all day, all day [in practice] yesterday we had a car that I’ve never felt before, just really, really good on long or short runs, and then we obviously backed it up in qualifying by qualifying second.

“On the restart, [Nason] just kind of drove ’er off in there and used me up a little bit, you could say, and … maybe screwed up the left front tire.”

Then here’s where the advice comes through.

“So super unfortunate,” Sauter continued, “but at least we’ve come home with fourth and it’s momentum, I guess.”

For whatever it’s worth, there’s a good chance Nason won’t be around the next time Sauter finds himself in the lead.

The 30-year-old from Roscoe, Illinois, planned to essentially hang up his driving shoes after the 2025 season due to business and family commitments. When his car didn’t sell in the offseason, Nason decided to put it back together for the first couple of ASA Midwest Tour races.

Austin Nason (14) celebrates in victory lane after winning the ASA Midwest Tour Joe Shear Classic on Sunday, May 3, 2026, at Madison International Speedway in the Town of Rutland, Wisconsin.

Lo and behold, he had a strong run at Slinger Speedway in the opener and a week later picked up a his second trophy from the race named after a short-track legend also from the Rockford area.

“What was it – February, March? – I called my dad, like, ‘You know nothing’s really sold, so we might as well go and race’ … the first two and, I don’t know, maybe we’ll go to the third.”

Nason finished the race with his steering wheel askew after it broke while he was racing Sommers. If this turns out to be his final victory, that’ll make the story all the more fun to tell.

“I feel like I’ve had a couple taken away from me and some were mechanical failures and some were just racing deals, I guess you’d call them,” Nason said, specifically speaking of races at Madison.. “So eight years later, we won it again. … This year showed that we had the dominant car and I think the end of the race really showed it.”

Sauter knows deep down, he’ll have a day like that soon too.

But until then the waiting may eat him up.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Advice can't soothe sting for Penn Sauter after Joe Shear Classic 200