Sprague Pleased with Fourth-Place Finish in IROC Debut
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 15, 2002) - Three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series Champion Jack Sprague finished fourth in his True Value IROC Series
debut at Daytona International Speedway, Friday. The first NCTS driver to be
invited to race in the series, Sprague definitely proved he belonged with
the best drivers in the world.
"It was a lot of fun out their today and got a decent finish out of it,"
Sprague said. " I was having fun all week during practice, but that was
awesome. It was certainly a learning experience."
The 100-mile event, the first of the four 2002 IROC races, saw Sprague
battle top Winston Cup guns Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Dale Jarrett
along with open-wheel hot-shots Scott Sharp and Sam Hornish, Jr. throughout
the race.
"I was no match for them in the draft and definitely learned a lot with
those guys - they're great drivers," Sprague stated. "There were a few close
calls when I was at the back there. Buddy Lazier spun out and Helio
Castroneves seemed to be bobbling around a lot which made it interesting
when I was trying to get around them."
Heading into the stretch run, Sprague forced his way into the sixth
position and with 10 laps to go, the driver of the No. 24 NetZero Chevrolet
Monte Carlo in the NASCAR Busch Series this season dug hard, staying with
the front-runners to pull off an impressive fourth-place finish.
"After today's race, I'm looking forward to the next one," Sprague said.
"Anyone who's invited to drive an IROC car should because it's so much fun."
The True Value IROC Series will resume Saturday, April 27, 2002 at
California Speedway, Fontana, CA. The second of the four races will be taped
and shown at a later scheduled date.
Meanwhile, Sprague will debut his new red, black and silver NetZero Chevy
in the Busch Series Saturday at Daytona in the EAS/GNC Live Well 300. The
event will take the green flag at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and will be
telecast live on TNT. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN Radio.
