Sprague Falls Just Short of Mansfield Repeat

MANSFIELD, OH - Jack Sprague was on a mission to repeat his 2004 victory Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. The three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion came just 0.169 second short on Sunday afternoon of getting it done. Sprague brought the Chevy Trucks Silverado home second behind race winner and defending series champion, Bobby Hamilton. Sprague had to come from the 25th starting position to mount his challenge for the win.

After numerous delays on Saturday due to rain, the 42-truck field was able to get in two shortened practice sessions. The rain came again and after another over two-hour delay to dry the track again, qualifying was held to set the 36-truck field.

Going out second in the order put Sprague at a disadvantage because the track surface was very slick from the rubber and grip being washed off as well as the oil residue left from the jet dryers. As trucks took their attempts, the track slowly took rubber and the surface became less slick. By the time the 17th truck in the order left pit road for a qualifying attempt, conditions were normal and times began to improve, dropping Sprague further down in the order.

“It was just the luck of the draw for us today,” Sprague explained. “We went out second in the order of the 42 trucks that are here and the track was very greasy from the jet dryer spending so much time on it this afternoon. There was no grip on the track because of all the rain, which is why I spun on my second lap. If we had been later in the order, we have an awesome truck and would have had a real shot for the pole.”

At the drop of the green, the Spring Lake, MI native settled in line to feel out both track conditions and the handling of his No. 16 Chevy Trucks Silverado. Sprague radioed to the crew the truck was tight in the middle of the corner and “snappy” free coming off the turn.

Implementing a well designed pit strategy, the team brought Sprague to pit road on Lap 58 under caution and changed right side tires only and made adjustments to the truck. But the handling did not improve enough for Sprague to mount a charge to the front.

When the caution flew again on lap 79 of the 250-lap race, Sprague made a second visit to pit road for left side tires and more adjustments. A problem with a lugnut on the left rear caused a delay and Sprague reentered the track deep in the field in 20th position.

The adjustments were the right ones and Sprague started his run for the front of the field running in 10th position by the halfway point.

Sprague moved to third in the running order by lap 202 and took over the second spot on lap 224 giving him 25 laps to make a move on race leader Hamilton. However, with Shane Hmiel in his rear view mirror, Sprague had to drive both offensively and defensively.

Another caution flew on lap 227 for an incident in turn three that deposited fluid on the track. Although many drivers were concerned that there appeared to be residue still present on the surface, the race went green on lap 233. The 13th and final caution flew on lap 245 for a turn four incident, which again, deposited fluid on the racing surface and setup a green/white/checkered two lap shootout for the win.

The race restarted on lap 253 and the three leaders quickly pulled slightly away from the fourth place truck. Sprague made a valiant effort to get under Hamilton but laps and track conditions made the smarter decision to finish second.

“Our Chevy Trucks Silverado was really fast there at the end, “ said Sprague. “I didn’t have a shot at Bobby (Hamilton, race winner) because it was wet down there and there was stay drive everywhere.

“But finishing second from starting 25th was a good day for our Chevy Trucks team. I really wanted to win the thing but Bobby had a really good truck so congratulations to Bobby and his team. I love racing with him and have a lot of respect for his talent as a driver. I really would have liked to race with him those last two laps but I wasn’t as good as I needed to be in one and two. Three and four was wet.

“The truck was really good there at the end, might have been even a little better than the one we won with last year. I never dreamed it would be that good. The strategy was to give me two tires when everyone else got four to give me track position but when the lugnut fell off, we didn’t gain quite as much as we had wanted to and dropped back in the pack and worked our way back up through there.

“Bobby had a really good truck. The only real shot I had was the green white checked but he got away from me a little bit and I didn’t want to lose second to Shane but risking something in three and four where it was wet. It was a good day for us and we will take this and go to Charlotte.”

The next race for Sprague and the other competitors in the NCTS is Friday, May 20th for the Quaker Steak and Lube 200 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Charlotte NC. Live action on SPEED Channel will begin at 8:00 pm EDT.