Sprague, NetZero Chevy Rocket Takes a Dive Late at Charlotte

       CONCORD, NC (October 12, 2002) -  Jack Sprague had the car to beat early on in Saturday's Little Trees 300 NASCAR Busch Series event at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but would have to settle for a 25th-place finish.  The disappointing effort is no reflection on driver or team performance, but the result of engine failure on the No. 24 NetZero Chevy.

    "They say you're running your absolute best before the motor lets go," said Sprague.  "Don't they say that?  I've heard people tell me that before. The NetZero Chevy I had out there today was the best car I've had all year. Right from the start of the race she never skipped a beat.  We never made changes - only took on four tires and fuel on the first two stops.  Man, I can't believe it.  We had a car to win today.  We'll just take it to Atlanta with us and see how she does there."

    Sprague took the green flag from the sixth position after posting a qualifying lap time of 30.010 seconds, 179.940 miles per hour and marked Sprague's 14th Top-10 start of the season.

    The NetZero Chevy was awesome from the word 'go' as Sprague made his way into the mix of things early.  His crew fired off incredible four-tire pit stops keeping Sprague in the hunt.  In fact, only moments before his day took a turn for the worst, Sprague had radioed the crew that the last set of tires he received was the best yet and the car was really good.  That all changed on Lap 124.  Sprague radioed back in that he had lost a cylinder.  He was forced to ride around as he began his descent from fourth to 20th. 

     Sprague managed to gain a few spots and on his last pit stop, the crew only changed right side tires hoping Sprague could gain a few more, but that wasn't how the story ended. On Lap 189 Sprague said the motor had let go and forced him to the garage with only 11 circuits left in the 200 Lap event.

       Next up for Sprague and the NetZero crew will be The Sam's Town 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park. The field will take the green flag on Saturday, October 19 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  Race 30 of the 34 scheduled events will be telecast live on NBC. MRN Radio will also broadcast the race live on more than 300 affiliated stations worldwide.

ABOUT NETZERO.
Originally launched in 1998, NetZero is a United Online company. United Online is a leading value-priced Internet service provider that offers both free and value-priced Internet access services through its subsidiaries NetZero and Juno in more than 5,000 cities in the United States and Canada. The company is headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., with offices in New York City and Hyderabad, India. United Online's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol "UNTD." For more information about NetZero and United Online, visit http://www.unitedonline.net.  To obtain a NetZero CD, please call 1-877-NETZERO.