Sauter grew up in Necedah, Wisconsin, and began racing in amateur series throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest after high school. By the end of 1997, he had accumulated wins in both the Sportsman Division at Dells Raceway Park and the Late Model Division at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. He joined the American Speed Association (ASA) in 1998 and became ASA Series Champion in 2001.
Following his 2001 ASA title, Richard Childress Racing invited Sauter to drive in five Busch Series races. In 2002 he ran a full Busch schedule in the No. 2 AC Delco Chevrolet, winning his first Busch race at Chicagoland Speedway in the Tropicana Twister 300. He returned for 2003, capturing a further win at Richmond and fourteen top-tens across 34 starts, finishing eighth in the standings.
Childress promoted Sauter to the No. 30 Winston Cup car full-time in 2004, but he was replaced after thirteen races by Dave Blaney. He moved to Phoenix Racing in 2005, winning at his home track Milwaukee and finishing twelfth in Busch points. He moved the No. 00 Haas CNC Racing car in 2006, matching his best Busch points finish of eighth. Sauter attempted a full Cup schedule in the No. 70 Haas car in 2007 but managed only two top-tens and finished thirtieth in points. His Cup and Busch commitments dwindled after that season.
Sauter joined ThorSport Racing's Truck Series program in 2009 and immediately won his first Truck race at Las Vegas, holding off teammate Matt Crafton. He claimed his second truck win at Kansas in 2010 and a third at Martinsville in 2011, losing the 2011 championship to Austin Dillon by six points despite winning the season finale.
In 2012 he won at Texas in a ThorSport 1-2 finish alongside Crafton. His 2013 campaign opened with back-to-back season-opening victories at Daytona and Martinsville — only the second time in Truck Series history that feat had been accomplished since Mark Martin in 2006.
Sauter joined GMS Racing for 2016 and won on his debut with the team at Daytona. In the playoffs he won at Martinsville and Texas to advance to the championship finale at Homestead, where he finished third in the race but claimed the Truck Series championship.
The 2017 season was strong: he won twice, at Dover and Chicagoland, and advanced to the final four at Homestead, where he finished third. Christopher Bell's runner-up finish gave Bell the title by a single point over Sauter.
He opened 2018 by winning the Daytona race for the third time in his career, then added wins at Dover, Charlotte, Texas, Bristol, and Martinsville, finishing fourth in points.
Sauter and GMS Racing parted ways after 2018. He rejoined ThorSport in the No. 13 and won at Dover in May 2019, but was parked by NASCAR for wrecking Austin Hill under caution and suspended for a race. A late-season engine failure eliminated him from the playoffs. Despite Talladega appearing to bring him a victory, he was penalized for blocking below the yellow line.
Sauter went winless in 2020 and 2021 and missed the playoffs both years, after which ThorSport moved him to a part-time role for 2022. He made sporadic starts for various teams into 2023 but has not competed regularly since.
Sauter is one of the most decorated drivers in Truck Series history, with multiple race wins at venues including Daytona, Martinsville, Las Vegas, Kansas, Dover, Texas, Bristol, and Charlotte. His 2016 championship was the culmination of a Truck career that stretched across more than a decade of consistent front-running competition with ThorSport Racing.