That was then, this is now.
Sprague has been a force in the 2002 NBS campaign
leading the division points race for most of the season while winning his
first-ever Busch Series event at Kentucky Speedway. Any anxiety Sprague and
the team had in February has long been forgotten.
"I had a good time at Daytona in February and think
we'll have a few more friends in the draft than we did back then," Sprague
stated. "My guess is Friday night's race will be one that I'll think of as
one of the coolest I've had a chance to race in. Of course that's as long
as I have a good night."
One of the reasons Sprague has the Daytona event
marked high on the cool meter is the fact the race will be held at night.
The Stacker 2/GNC Live Well 250 will mark the first time the Busch cars will
accompany the Winston Cup crowd to the traditional Independence Day weekend
at Daytona and putting them under the lights will make the race that much
more special according to Sprague.
"Doing something for the first time is always pretty
exciting and this weekend is no exception," said Sprague. "It's Friday
night racing, but on a superspeedway - I can't wait. Racing under the light
at Daytona - how cool is that? I know I'm in for a surprise. It's
definitely going to be a thrill for me and my team."
Sprague has 92 NBS starts under his belt entering the
Daytona race, six of them coming at the famed 2.5-mile oval. Sprague also
has a pair of NCTS starts at Daytona and finished fourth in the IROC race
there this past February.
"I think our success this weekend will come down to
how well the car handles," said Sprague, who will be piloting the same car
he drove at Daytona in the season opener. "The car we brought here in
February worked out pretty good for us. It didn't feel as nice as those IROC
cars do, but not too bad. Unfortunately, it had a ton of damage after that
big wreck we were in at Talladega, but the decision was made to rebuild it
and bring it back to Daytona this weekend. I'm hoping it will be just a
good, if not better. Hendrick Motorsports doesn't build bad cars, so I'm
guessing we'll be okay."
The Stacker 2/GNC Live Well 250 will take the green
flag Friday, July 5 at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The event will be
telecast live on FX. MRN Radio will also broadcast the race live.
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