NASCAR family: Wisconsin teen Penn Sauter on track to follow suit
Wisconsin teen next in racing family
Back in 1992, a race car driver from Greenfield won the NASCAR season championship. Decades later, 16-year-old Penn Sauter is growing up fast – hoping he's on track to follow suit.
MILWAUKEE - Back in 1992, a race car driver from Greenfield won the NASCAR season championship. Decades later, a young driver is growing up fast – hoping he's on track to follow suit.
Family of drivers
The backstory:
Penn Sauter, 16, has only had his driver's license since January, but he's pretty comfortable behind the wheel of a race car.
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"I was around it my whole childhood with my dad, and it's just something I've always had a passion for," he said.
Penn's dad, Johnny, is a former NASCAR Truck Series champion and a longtime racer in the Midwest. And Johnny's dad, Jim, drove in all three of NASCAR's series.
Penn Sauter
"I have three uncles that raced, I've got my grandpa that raced, and of course, I've got my dad – I can lean on all four of them, my dad and my three uncles, to get advice," said Penn. "My dad's been a big part of my racing. He's been my crew chief, he's been the guy working in the shop 24 hours a day sometimes, it feels like."
Does that create pressure or motivation for the young driver?
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"A little bit of both, I would say," said Penn. "Obviously, my dad had a very successful career in racing, and I'm trying to do the same thing.
"In the shop, working with my dad, it's kind of something we do together. Some kids go golfing with their dad, some kids play baseball with their dad. I guess I work on a race car with my dad. It's pretty cool to say that."
Typical teen?
What they're saying:
On a weeknight in May when his classmates are thinking about prom, getting a summer job or doing homework, Penn has other goals in mind.
"It's hard. My friends were asking me today, ‘What are we going to do for prom?’ and I was like, ‘I have a race the day of it.’"
Penn Sauter
Part of the reason Penn is so dedicated to his sport is that he is a finalist in the Kulwicki Developmental Driver Program, which offers financial, technical and educational support to aspiring racers.
"They've helped me a ton – the mentors, just being able to talk to them at night and having the training calls, just all stuff that's really motivated me," Penn said. "Obviously, with me being from Wisconsin where Alan (Kulwicki) was, helps me a little bit more.
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"Nowadays, a lot of people are suitcase drivers, but Alan built his own cars. He had his own race team out of Wisconsin, he made it to that Cup Level and he won a championship with his own stuff. He pretty much knew everything about his race cars, and I strive to be like that."
That's a lot for the DeForest High School sophomore to deal with, and he does have other pressing issues as well.
Penn Sauter
"I don't know, I was thinking about seeing if I was going to look to even get one just in case I didn't make it," he said of whether he had a tux for prom. "I'll have to get back to you on that."
Kulwicki program
What's next:
Penn and the other four finalists in the Kulwicki program compete throughout the summer to keep the namesake's story alive. The top finisher in the points system will receive the bulk of a $30,000 pool to help him or her advance in their own racing career.
The Source: FOX6 Sports interviewed Sauter for this story.