Jack Sprague Darlington Race Preview
#16 CHEVY TRUCKS SILVERADO
2004 FAST FACTS
EVENT: DARLINGTON 200, DARLINGTON RACEWAY (147 LAPS/200 MILES)
DATE: NOVEMBER 12, 2004 TIME: 8:00 PM EST
LIVE COVERAGE: SPEED Channel, MRN Radio, and XM Satellite Radio
- Only three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion – 1997, 1999,
2001
- Leading NCTS money winner exceeding $5 million in winnings-only driver
in series history to exceed $5 million mark
- Only driver to start all
170 events as NCTS full-time competitor 1995-2001
- Holds series records for
total top-five (108 – 55.4%) and top-ten
(147 – 75.4%)
finishes (195 starts)
- Holds series records for most races with lead
lap finishes (150-76.9%) and races running at the finish (174-89.3%)
- Second
on all time NCTS win list with 24 (needs 2 wins to tie, 3 to be all-time
series winner)
- Second on all time NCTS starts list – 195
- Has won most poles in NCTS
history - 26
- Has won from the pole five times in NCTS competition (195
starts)
- Has started in top-three 73 times resulting in
41 top-three finishes (56.2%) (195 starts) 19 wins; 15 seconds; 7 thirds
- Has
started in top-five 102 times resulting in 65 top-five finishes (63.7%)
(195 starts) 20 wins; 22 seconds; 9 thirds; 6 fourths; 8 fifths
- Has started
in top-ten 158 times resulting in 125 top-ten finishes (79.1%) (195 starts)
23 wins; 30
seconds; 17
thirds; 11 fourths;
15 fifths; 6 sixths;
4 sevenths; 8 eighths; 6 ninths; 5 tenths
- Has only
started out of the top-fifteen 16 times (195 starts) (8.2%)
- Has only finished
out of the top-fifteen 34 times (195 starts) (17.4%)
2004 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Won inaugural event at Mansfield Motorsports Park *Won six poles, set
three new track records
JACK SPRAGUE DARLINGTON QUOTES
ON DARLINGTON RACEWAY: “Darlington has certainly earned its reputation
as a tough racetrack. I sat on the pole the last time I raced a truck there
in 2001 but ended up finishing 12th. Bobby Hamilton and I were battling for
the win when it started raining so NASCAR parked the trucks on pit road with
covers on them and my crew discovered I had a flat rear tire. We couldn’t
do anything about it under the red flag rules so when the track dried and they
re-started the trucks, we were going around under yellow and I pitted because
of the flat. We got one to go, went green for just a short time and it started
pouring so that was the end of the race.
"It is a fun track but a tough place to get the right setup under the
truck because turns one and two are completely different than three and four.
It
is so easy to take the side off your truck coming off two because it is
a high-speed corner and the corner narrows down as you come out on to the back
stretch.
Now with the safer barriers, it is even narrower. You have to have the
truck handle perfectly through one and two so you can have good exit speed
off of
two. Then you should be neutral enough to keep it off the wall in three
and four.
"We had a great weekend in Phoenix with the pole and the second place
finish. I wanted to win that race so badly, not only for my Chevy Trucks Silverado
team and everyone from Chevrolet who supports us, but for the Hendrick
family
as well. I had a photo of my buddy Ricky (Hendrick) and I sitting on
a pit wall somewhere when we were teammates in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
in 2001 taped to the dash of my truck last Friday. But we came up just
a little
short. We gave him a good ride though so maybe we can get one this weekend
in Darlington.”
THE RACEDAY CREW:
Team Manager/Spotter: Dave Fuge
Crew Chief: Chris Showalter
Jackman: Jeremy Adams
Gasman: Chuck Day
Front tire changer: Scott Punch
Rear tire changer: Michael Byrd
Engineer: Shane Martin
Engine Maintenance: Bobby Jones
Front tire carrier: Jeffrey Reeves
Rear tire carrier: Randy Dean
2nd Gascan: Tom Gomez
Catchcan: George Stone
Scorer: Sara Dykehouse
Statistician: Dawn Fuge
Pit Support/Catch tires: Terry Lynch
