Sprague, NetZero Chevy Play Winning Tune in Nashville
NBS Event
LEBANON, TN (June 10, 2002) - Jack
Sprague and his No. 24 NetZero Chevrolet Monte Carlo dominated Saturday's
Inside Traxx 300 at Nashville Superspeedway and in the process rolled to the
NASCAR Busch Series victory. The win was Sprague's first in 90 NBS career
starts.
"Tonight was just awesome," said Sprague, who earned the traditional Gibson
guitar trophy for his winning effort. "I'm telling you, when I saw that
guitar in the driver's meeting I knew I wanted it real bad - I can't believe
I've got it. During that last caution, my crew chief Dennis Connor told me
he'd pay for guitar lessons for a whole year if I won the race. I guess he's
got some paying up to do now."
Sprague took the lead for the first time on Lap 23 and led the field to the
first caution flag on the 61st circuit. Sprague and the rest of the leaders
rolled into the pits to take on four tires and fuel and, thanks to solid pit
work by his NetZero crew, returned to the track still at the top of the
running order.
Sprague, who earned 23 wins en route to three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
championships, continued his quest for his first NBS win running in the
Top-5 throughout the race. The Spring Lake, MI driver battled Greg Biffle
for the top spot in the closing stages of the event taking the lead for the
last time on Lap 203. The Hendrick Motorsports driver then cruised the final
22 circuits without incident to score the win. Before heading to victory
lane, Sprague treated the large Tennessee crowd to a wild series of
burnouts.
"Winning a Busch race was something I've wanted and this team needed to do
for a while now," said Sprague, who spent four years in the Busch Series
before heading to the Craftsman Truck Series in 1995. "The NetZero Chevy was
really good all weekend and once the race started, we knew we were bad to
the bone after about five laps into a run. I'm surprised it took us so long
to win because we've been close so many times this year. Now I've got that
monkey off my back."
Sprague earned $50,910 for his winning performance and continues to lead the
2002 NBS championship chase with 2177 points. Sprague, the defending
Craftsman Truck Series champion, is currently 80 markers ahead of runner-up
Jason Keller in the NBS point standings.
Next up for Sprague and the NetZero Chevy will be the Kroger 300 Presented
by OREO at Kentucky Speedway. The event will take the green flag Saturday
night, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 16th of 34 NASCAR
Busch Series races this season will be telecast live on FX. MRN Radio will
also broadcast the race live worldwide on more than 400 stations including
the American Armed Forces Network.
ABOUT NETZERO.
NetZero is a United Online company. United Online is a leading Internet
service provider that commenced operations in September 2001 as the result
of its acquisition of NetZero and Juno Online Services -- two of the most
recognized Internet access brands in the United States and Canada. Through
its subsidiaries, United Online offers both free and value-priced Internet
access services in more than 5,000 cities. 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
1-800-DEFENDER.
