Sprague, NetZero Finish 10th in The Winston Open

CONCORD, NC (May 19, 2003) – 30 laps is all you’ve got to try to win The Winston Open and make it into The Winston, NASCAR’s All-Star event at Lowe’s (Concord, N.C.) Motor Speedway. Jack Sprague and the NetZero Racing team ran strong in both segments of the shootout and finished 10th overall.

“The NetZero Pontiac was pretty fast tonight,” said Sprague. “We made a lot of changes after final practice yesterday and they seem to have paid off. The guys had a good pit stop and the car ran well, so I think we’ve got something pretty good to build on for the Coca-Cola 600 next week.”

Sprague qualified 13th for the event, which featured a 20-lap segment followed by 10 more laps run only by the Top-14 finishers of the first 20-lap run. The green flag dropped and almost immediately the caution flags began to fly. Sprague did an excellent job avoiding several wrecks and finished ninth in the first segment.
A 10 minute break before the last 10-lap sprint allowed Sprague to drive down pit lane for track bar, wedge and air pressure adjustments to the four fresh tires that were bolted on to the NetZero HiSpeed Pontiac by the NetZero crew. Sprague held his own in the final 10 laps and finished 10th in the event. Though the 10th-place finish didn’t allow the team to race in The Winston, the team’s objective for the night was met.

“Our goal this weekend was to shake this car down, and we like what we see,” commented Sprague. “I think we’ll bring this same car back next weekend and see what we can do for 600 miles.”

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series sticks around the Charlotte, N.C. area this weekend for the running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Qualifying for the event will take place the evening of Thursday, May 22, with the drop of the green flag scheduled for Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The event will be telecast live on FOX and will be broadcast worldwide by PRN Radio.

ABOUT NETZERO…
NetZero is a United Online company. United Online is a leading provider of value-priced Internet access services through its NetZero, Juno and BlueLight Internet consumer brands. The company's services are offered at less than half the standard prices of its major competitors and are available in more than 5,000 cities across the United States and Canada. The company is headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., with offices in New York City, San Francisco and Hyderabad, India. United Online's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol "UNTD." For more information about NetZero and United Online, visit http://www.unitedonline.net. To obtain a NetZero CD, please call 1-800-DEFENDER.