Engine Trouble Cuts Day at Chicagoland
Speedway Short for Sprague / NetZero HiSpeed Racing Team
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (July 14, 2003) – Engine failure, a virtual rarity
for Jack Sprague and the NetZero HiSpeed Racing team, relegated the team to
a 40th-place finish in the running of the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway
Sunday.
“That's just the way this year has kind of gone,” lamented Sprague
following the misfortune. “Hendrick has built us great engines and this
is the first problem that we've had. This place has so much grip that you are
taxing the motor hard.”
Sprague posted a speed of 180.832 miles per hour around the 1.5-mile oval
during his qualifying run on Friday and lined up 34th on the grid for the
start
of the Tropicana 400, the first event at the Chicagoland Speedway for the
NASCAR Winston Cup Series this season.
The green flag flew for the start of the event and it didn’t take long
for Sprague to begin his ascent to the front. Though the NetZero HiSpeed Pontiac
was tight off the corners, Sprague moved into the 27th spot by the time the
first round of pit stops occurred. Crew Chief Tony Furr called Sprague into
the pits on Lap 61 and the pit crew made quick work of changing all four tires,
making a track bar adjustment and filling the gas tank with fuel. Sprague went
one lap down to the leader, Kevin Harvick, who was setting a blistering pace,
several laps later.
Following a round of pit stops under caution on Lap 85, the field took the
green flag for the restart one lap later. Sprague lined up on the inside
lane of the track as the first car one lap down. Sprague fought hard with
the leaders
and was able to maintain his position near the front of the field while running
in the Top 20.
nfortunately, Sprague was hit with engine troubles on Lap 117
and had no choice but to drive the NetZero HiSpeed Pontiac into the garage.
The car was retired from the race and credited with a 40th-place finish.
"The NetZero HiSpeed Pontiac was pretty good, but on the first set of tires
I couldn't do anything with the front tires,” stated Sprague. “They
weren't lifting up and I got a lap down. After that I could run in the front
with those guys and run good. The set that we put on there was the best that
the car had felt and it broke. We just can't seem to get the 1,000 monkeys off
our back, I guess. I'd like to thank NetZero, Pontiac, and Gene Haas for supporting
this deal. I know it's tough right now, especially tough on me, but sooner or
later it's got to come around.”
Following a two-day test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday,
the NetZero HiSpeed Racing team will head to New Hampshire International
Speedway, where Sprague earned two pole positions and a victory during
his days in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Qualifying for the New England 300 will take
place Friday, July 18, with the drop of the green flag scheduled for Sunday
at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The event will be telecast live on TNT and
will be broadcast worldwide by MRN Radio.
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