OREGON, Wis. — When the ASA STARS National Tour rolls into Madison Int’l Speedway (MIS) for this Sunday’s Joe Shear Classic 200, it will mark the return of the ASA brand to “Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile” for the first time in 18 years.
Tim Sauter, the 1999 American Speed Association national champion, will be a “Guest of Honor” for the event.
Sauter won the most recent ASA-sanctioned national tour event at MIS on July 17, 2004, and will serve in an honorary role this Sunday, May 7, during pre-race ceremonies before joining Jim Tretow and Dean Strom in the broadcast booth as the driver expert analyst.
Sauter joined Tretow in the booth last June for the livestream coverage of the Father’s Day 100 race at The Milwaukee Mile.
This Sunday’s live stream broadcast of the “Joe Shear Classic 200” will be live-streamed on MidwestTour.tv.
A Wisconsin native still living in the Necedah area, Sauter and his family have strong ties to the ASA Brand. His father Jim Sauter won the first-ever ASA event at MIS on July 28, 1984, at what was then known as Capital Super Speedway.
The younger Sauter has one victory in 27 ASA Midwest Tour races and competed in the 2016 Joe Shear Classic 200 at MIS. He remains actively involved in the Wisconsin short track scene.
In addition to his dad, Sauter’s brothers Jay and Johnny each raced extensively in ASA, with Johnny finding the most success — winning both the Pat Schauer Memorial Rookie of the Year and the ASA National Tour championship in 2001 with Joe Shear, Jr. serving as his crew chief.
Tim Sauter’s son Travis has won a dozen super late model races at MIS as a driver, and will serve as ASA Midwest Tour front-runner Gabe Sommers’ crew chief this Sunday.