During the 2003 season, Sauter also made his Winston Cup debut, driving the No. 4 Kodak Easy Share-sponsored Pontiac Grand Prix for five races with Morgan-McClure Motorsports. His best start in five races was a 23rd at Loudon, and he also missed a race at Kansas Speedway. He also ran three races in the Craftsman Truck Series for Fasscore Motorsports, and had a tenth-place run at Richmond. Childress hired Sauter to drive the No. 30 AOL-sponsored Chevrolet in Winston Cup full-time in 2004. After thirteen races, he was replaced by Dave Blaney, but later attempted two races in Childress' No. 33 car, but did not qualify for either of them. Towards the end of the season, he began running the No. 09 Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts-sponsored Dodge Intrepid for Phoenix Racing, and had a best finish of 29th. He also ran a full Busch schedule with Brewco Motorsports that season, driving the No. 27 Kleenex-sponsored Pontiac to an 18th-place points finish.