Jack Sprague Atlanta Preview
No. 60 Con-Way Toyota
Tundra
Venue: Atlanta Motor
Speedway
Event: John
Deere 200
Date: Friday, March
17, 2006
Laps/Miles: 130
LAPS / 200 MILES
TV: SPEED
Channel @ 9:00 p.m. EST
Radio: MRN
/ XM Radio @ 9:00 p.m. EST
Qualifying: Friday,
March 17, 2006 @ 5:10 p.m. EST
Career at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
This will be Jack Sprague’s 8th career start at the
track in Atlanta. To his credit at the fastest track
on the circuit, Jack has two starts in each the Nextel Cup
Series and Busch Series as well as three previous starts
in the Craftsman Truck Series. His best qualifying
effort at the 1.54-mile speed plant is a fifth place effort
in the Busch Series during the 2002 season. Sprague
garnered his best finish in Atlanta last fall where he entered
the last turn leading the Craftsman Truck Series race but
contact with the second place truck relegated him to a fourth
place finish in a race that he dominated.
Year |
Site |
Series |
Start |
Finish |
1992 |
Atlanta |
Busch |
8th |
13th |
1996 |
Atlanta |
Cup |
12th |
42nd |
2002 |
Atlanta |
Busch |
5th |
42nd |
2003 |
Atlanta |
Cup |
43rd |
37th |
2004 |
Atlanta |
CTS |
19th |
24th |
2005 |
Atlanta |
CTS |
23rd |
8th |
2005 |
Atlanta |
CTS |
12th |
4th |
Jack On Atlanta:
“There is no doubt that the track in Atlanta produces
some of the most exciting racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. The
track is fast and wide which allows for great side by side
racing as well as a lot of passing. If you get your
truck handling well then you can stay in the gas longer and
will be one of the fastest trucks out there. We had
our Toyota handling well last fall and should have won the
race there. The guys on this Wyler Racing team have
done an awesome job the first two races in making our Con-Way
Tundra real fast and I expect it will be the same this week
in Atlanta.”
Last Year’s Near Miss:
Jack Sprague had a victory run spoiled in turn four of last
fall’s Craftsman Truck Series race in Atlanta.
“We had the best truck in the last truck race in Atlanta
but we got beat by tires and a badly timed caution,” said
Jack. “We had a dominant truck all day and there in
the second half of the race no one could keep up with us
and I thought for sure I was going to win in only my second
race in a Toyota. We had a pretty good sized lead there with
less than ten laps to go and the caution came out – not
sure what it was for. A few guys came in and gave up track
position to get tires and that proved to be the difference.
That race was only my second with the Wyler Racing team and
we have been on a good roll since – I think Atlanta
may owe me one.”
A Different Kind Of Speed Fix:
Sprague traveled to West
Yellowstone, Mont. last week for the 2006 West Yellowstone
Snow Blast presented by Arctic Cat. A personal sponsor of
Sprague, Artic Cat introduced its 2007 line of snowmobile
sleds at the annual event.
“It took my mind off the fact that we have not been
at the track for the last few weeks,” Sprague said. “Behind
the wheel of my Con-Way Toyota is where I want to be but
being on a sled with fresh snow was the second best.”
Notes:
- Jack will be making his 225th career start in the Craftsman
Truck Series this week.
- Jack has finished fifth in each of the first two events
of the 2006 season.
2006 Quick Facts
Starts: 2
Wins: 0
Top-5 Finishes: 2
Top-10 Finishes: 2
Poles: 0
DNF’s: 0
Average Start: 7.5
Average Finishes: 5.0
Position in Points: 4th
Con-Way Transportation Services Inc.
is North America's premier commercial freight transportation
company. Known for its high performing employees and
superior service levels, the company provides less-than-truckload,
truckload, expedite, truckload brokerage, airfreight
forwarding and retail distribution services to commercial
and industrial businesses in the United States, Alaska,
Hawaii, Puerto, and Mexico. With annual revenues of over
$2.8 billion in 2005 and over 20,000 employees, Con-Way's
operating successes have made it an industry leader.
