RACE DATE: Saturday, August 31, 2002
TRACK:        Darlington Raceway
DIVISION:        NASCAR Busch Series
STARTED:        3rd (started by points due to rain)
FINISHED:        Fifth
MONEY WON:        $19,825
PTS. POSITION: 3rd with 3279 points


RACE OVERVIEW:
    Jack Sprague finished fifth in Saturday's rain-shortened Gatorade 200 at Darlington Raceway.  It marked Sprague's 13th Top-10 finish of the season and the second NBS event he and the NetZero team felt they had one of the cars that could win the event.

     Sprague's red, black and silver No. 24 Chevy placed third on the starting grid after qualifying was canceled due to rain.   As the race began, the Spring Lake, MI driver had little to complain about.  Sprague planted himself in the Top-5 until the caution flag waved on Lap 30.  This put Sprague in the position to pull into the pits for adjustments in order to free up the car.  Although he lost a few positions when other teams took on only two tires, Sprague quickly worked his way back into the fifth spot just in time for the skies to open up o the 43-car field for the last time forcing the cars to complete the remaining eight circuits under the caution flag.

     After a hard effort by NASCAR to get the race back under way, Mother Nature decided she'd won the battle and on Lap 73 the pace car made it's final lap with the field in tow, awarding Sprague with his top effort.

JACK SPRAGUE POST RACE QUOTES:

ON FINISHING FIFTH IN THE GATORADE 200:
"The car I had today was the best one I've ever had at Darlington.  We didn't get any practice and didn't really know what to expect, but Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson gave us a good amount of input on what to do and I think that helped us a lot and I think Jeff's going to run pretty much the same thing we did today in the Winston Cup race.  The NetZero Chevy was tight getting into the corners, but not too bad.  We made adjustments in the pits that I think helped and she was fast. I think we had a car for the end, but I'm happy with a fifth-place finish for sure.  It feels like a win to us."

ON HOW THE RACE ENDED:
"Honestly, I was praying for the rain because we needed to finish at the front of the field and stay in the points battle.  We were here all weekend in the rain and it was taking it's toll on my nerves and I'm sure other's.  Too much sitting and waiting is what is so hard.  I'm not upset by it.  At least we know we have a really good car for Richmond next week.  We need to do a few repairs to the right rear quarter panel, but other than that, we should be in good shape."

ON STARTING POSITION:
"I think starting by points was the best thing for us.  I wasn't even to upset about not practicing either.  We needed to start up front and if we had qualified, we could very well have been in the back of the pack and who knows what would have happened. We had good notes from past Darlington races and with the help of the Winston Cup guys we figured we'd be in decent shape."

TEAM FAST FACTS:

TEAM:              No. 24 NetZero/Hendrick Motorsports
TEAM OWNER: Rick Hendrick
CREW CHIEF:        Dennis Connor
PRIMARY SPONSOR: NetZero
VEHICLE:        2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo