BROOKLYN, MI (August 12, 2002) - Saddled with disappointing finishes
in his last few events, Jack Sprague hopes some home cooking will get his
fortunes back on track when he returns to his home state of Michigan for the
Cabela's 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
"It's been a few years since I raced at Michigan, so I'm looking
forward to it and for a few different reasons," said Sprague, who will pilot
a brand new No. 24 NetZero Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the event. "My wife and
I have a house in Spring Lake and we try to get up there as much as
possible, but we really only get to spend a good amount of time there during
the winter. My brother, Jason and I are both looking forward to heading
back north. We've got a lot of family and friends up that way and it will
be good for us to get a chance to see them even if it won't be for that long
because of our busy schedule at the track."
Sprague's last visit to the 2-mile MIS oval came in 2000 when he
finished 13th in the Michigan 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. This
time, Sprague and his Hendrick Motorsports team are hoping a brand new
chassis and solid notes from teammate Ricky Hendrick's test session at
Michigan earlier this season will give them a shot at a homecoming ceremony
in Victory Lane.
"I'd like to have a good run at Michigan this weekend because let's
face it - the last month has been pretty hard on this NetZero team," said
Sprague, who has one prior Busch Series start at Michigan - a ninth-place
finish in the 1993 Gasket 300. My only Busch race at Michigan paid off with
a Top-10 finish and we ran a truck there a couple of times before they took
it off the schedule. We always had good chassis set-ups, but I don't really
know if we can use any of the old notes from the Truck Series. At least I
know the track a bit and that might help."
Sprague's best Truck Series finish in two tries at Michigan came in the
1999 goracing.com race where he qualified fifth and went finished fourth. In
the Cabela's 250, Sprague will be trying to better a 17th-place finish in
the most recent Busch Series event, the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway
Park.
"I think having a weekend off was something all of us as a team needed
because we were feeling a lot of pressure after the race at IRP," said
Sprague of the two-week break since the last event. "Having some time to
gather your thoughts is always a good thing. We're now focusing on getting
some good finishes and not so much the point's race. We're still third in
the points, but can't win a championship with the finishes we've been
having."
The Cabela's 250 will take the green flag Saturday, August 17 at 1:30
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 23rd of 34 NASCAR Busch Series races this
season will be telecast live on TNT. MRN Radio will also broadcast the race
as it happens.
ABOUT NETZERO.
