Jack Sprague – No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota
Tundra Chevy Silverado HD 250 Race Preview
Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of 25 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Racetrack: Daytona International
Speedway
Race: Chevy
Silverado HD 250
Location: Daytona
Beach, Fla.
Track Length: 2.5-Mile
High Banked Asphalt Speedway
Race Distance: 100 Laps
/ 250 Miles
Broadcast Coverage: SPEED
Radio Coverage: MRN
Date: Friday,
February 16th, 2007
Time: 8
p.m. ET
Jack Sprague Will Make an Unprecedented Run at his Fourth Series’ Championship:
“We finished the 2006 season just how we needed to – on
a strong note,” said Jack Sprague. “I think this
will give us some momentum as we enter the 2007 season.” Momentum
is on Sprague’s side after he and the Wyler Racing team ended
the 2006 season 5th in the Championship Point Standings after scoring
two poles, two wins, and 14 top-10 finishes. The 2006 season
marked the 10th time in as many season’s that the veteran driver
has finished in the top-10 in points. The 2007 season should
be no different as Sprague is expecting great results from his Championship
caliber team. “We are all geared up for a run at my fourth
Championship and Wyler Racing’s first in 2007!”
Jack Sprague’s Keys to Success at Daytona:
“You’ve got to miss the big one,” said Sprague
of the multi-car crashes that are all too familiar at restrictor
plate tracks. “That's it. The only thing I’ve found
to finish well at Daytona is to ride around and wait to the end and
to miss the wreck. The biggest thing is to mind your own business
and stay out of the three and four wide battles. That's a bad
thing, when you go to a racetrack and hope to miss the wreck, but
that's what every single driver wants to do when we go to these restrictor
plate tracks. I have a lot of confidence in the team and the
truck we’re taking to Daytona. It’s the same truck
that we finished 5th with at Daytona last year and were running 2nd
with at Talladega until we had an engine failure.
Sprague Signs Up a Lifetime Supporter:
Jack Sprague took some time out in the off-season to sign up a lifetime
supporter in girlfriend, Amy Schellenbach. The pair were engaged
in January and although a date for the ceremony has not been announced,
wedding plans are in the works and will be announced at a later date.
Sprague on Pre-Season Testing at Daytona:
“I had a lot of fun,” said Jack Sprague after competing
in Jackson Hewitt Pre-Season Thunder Testing at Daytona International
Speedway on January 12th. “The Con-way Freight Toyota
ran really well. A lot of guys were fighting a terribly loose
truck, but I wasn’t. I was a little loose, but at the
end of the session on Friday, I was a little snug. I was really
pleased with the truck.” Sprague closed out the day
third on the time sheets. “The 60 truck was really strong
but it is just practice - not the race. The guys did a great
job. I’m really pumped up about the truck that I have
and I’m extremely pumped up about my team, my owners, my manufacturer,
and my sponsor. I’m just having a great time!” he
exclaimed.
Notables:
- Sprague will make his 249th career start
in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at
the drop of the green flag for the start
of the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona
International Speedway on Friday, February
16th, 2007.
Sprague’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Career Stats at
Daytona:
Jack Sprague’s career-best finish at Daytona International
Speedway in a NASCAR-sanctioned event came last year when the three-time
Series’ Champion qualified 7th and finished 5th while driving
the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra.
5 starts, 392 of 506 laps completed (77.5%), 2 laps led
Win: 0 ( 0.0%) Average
start: 10.8 Total Winnings: $82,562
Top 5: 1 ( 20.0%) Average finish:
17.6
Top 10: 1 ( 20.0%) DNF: 2
(Statistics courtesy of www.racing-reference.info)
Sprague’s History at the Historic Track:
Over the course of his career, Jack Sprague has driven nearly everything
with wheels at the historic 2.5-mile tri-oval of Daytona International
Speedway (DIS). Sprague has raced in all three of NASCAR’s
top-tier divisions; the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the NASCAR
Busch Series, and the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series at DIS. Sprague
has even logged laps behind an IROC (International Race of Champions)
car at the famed Superspeedway. Sprague first raced at the
track in 1990 while driving the No. 14 Pucci & Associates Chevrolet
in the NASCAR Busch Series and ten years later he found himself behind
the wheel of the No. 24 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Three years later, Sprague made
his debut at DIS in a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series car while driving
the No. 0 NetZero Pontiac. Sprague has accumulated 1,212 raced
laps at DIS and his best overall finish came in the IROC race in
2002 after he qualified 11th and finished 4th.
Introducing the 2007 Wyler Racing Team!:
No.
60 Toyota Tundra NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series Team |
Employee
Name |
Track
Duties |
Shop
Duties |
Tony
Furr |
Crew
Chief |
Team
Manager |
Jack
Sprague |
Driver |
|
Damien
Dickson |
Engineer |
Engineer |
Mike
Abner |
Jackman |
Truck
Chief |
Aaron
Larson |
Front
Tire Changer |
Fabricator |
Jeffrey
Galati |
Front
Tire Carrier |
Mechanic |
Ryan
Berry |
Rear
Tire Changer |
Mechanic |
Jeff
Wilson |
Rear
Tire Carrier |
Tire
Specialist |
Tim
Rice |
Gasman |
Mechanic |
Terry
Lynch |
Second
Gasman |
Transport
Driver |
About Con-way Freight:
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.
