Jack Sprague Kroger 200 Race Preview

No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra

Venue:            Martinsville Speedway                          

Event:             Kroger 200

Date:               Saturday, October 21, 2006                                                       

Laps/Miles:    200 Laps/105.2 Miles          

TV:                  SPEED Channel @ 1:05 p.m. ET          

Radio:             MRN / XM Radio @1:05 p.m. ET

Qualifying:      Friday, October 20, 2006 @ 5 p.m. ET

Sprague On Racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“It's really kind of hard to say what makes Martinsville so difficult. I've always qualified pretty good at Martinsville, but I can't seem to finish on top. I wish I could put my finger on what makes it so tough to race there. It's never been one of my favorite places to race because you think that you are good during practice, but then when you get on the track during the race, things aren't so good. One of the big things is that Martinsville is a short track and there's always a risk when you have so many racers in such a tight place. And the most important thing is that you have to have good luck to go your way. We didn’t have any luck when we raced at Martinsville back in April. We spun out early in the race, and then when we had a chance to get back in the top 10, we had a flat tire. Unfortunately, that’s the way our luck has gone this year for the Con-way Freight Toyota. It would be nice to see our luck change at Martinsville this time around.”

Career at Martinsville Speedway:

Sprague has 17 career starts at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck, Busch and Nextel Cup Series combined. Sprague has one pole (2004) and four third-place finishes, the most recent coming at Martinsville Speedway last spring.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Martinsville

NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series Starts  at Martinsville

Looking For A Little Luck To Go His Way:

“After Talladega, I told the guys on the Con-way Freight Toyota team if we could get a little racing luck to go our way, we would be dangerous. In fact, if we could get any luck, I think we would be one of the teams to beat week in and week out in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Unfortunately we seem to be proof that the saying ‘If it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all,’ is true. We’ve had such dumb, freak things happen to us this season. And just when it seems that we have gotten all of the bad stuff out of the way, something else sneaks up on us. So this weekend, we’re looking for some good luck. A penny, a four leaf clover, a horseshoe – I’m willing to try anything if it will get our luck changed and turn this No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota team around and get us going back in the right direction. We’re 11th in points right now, and I know this team is much better than that. We have five races to go, and this Con-way Freight Toyota team wants to be solidly in the Top 10 in points by season’s end. We start that climb at Martinsville.”

No. 60 Toyota Tundra NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Team
Employee Name	Track Duties	Shop Duties
Tony Furr	Crew Chief	Team Manager
Jack Sprague	Driver
Damian Dickson	Engineer	Engineer
Mike Abner	Jackman	Truck Chief
Aaron Larson	Front Tire Changer	Fabricator
Jeffrey Galati	Front Tire Carrier	Mechanic
John Armstrong	Rear Tire Changer
Jeff Wilson	Rear Tire Carrier	Tire Specialist
Tim Rice	Gasman	Mechanic
Terry Lynch	Catchcan	Hauler Driver

Notes:

• Sprague will make his 243rd career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Martinsville.
• Sprague has 26 career victories (2nd highest in the Series) and 28 career poles (2nd highest in the Series).

2006 Quick Facts

Starts	20
Wins	1
Top-5 Finishes	7
Top-10 Finishes	9
Poles	1
DNF’s	1
Average Start	11.2
Average Finish	13.8
Points Position	11th

 

Con-way Freight 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.