Sprague Carries Momentum from Daytona Win to California and Claims Third

Fontana, Calif. (February 25, 2007) - Coming off an extraordinary win at Daytona International Speedway last weekend, Jack Sprague and the Wyler Racing team headed to California as strong favorites to win Friday night’s running of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series San Bernardino County 200.  If practice was any indication on how the team would perform during the race at California Speedway, the Con-way Freight team had a solid shot at claiming their second win in a row.

Sprague was among the top-three in both practice sessions on Thursday, proving that the Wyler Racing team did a phenomenal job of preparing their No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra for the 100-lap race.  Sprague attempted to grab his second Bud Pole award of the year in qualifying on Friday, but his Con-way Freight Toyota was “bad loose” and his lap of 41.238 seconds at a speed of 174.596 miles per hour would put him 7th on the starting grid.

When the green flag dropped, Sprague wasted no time working his way into the top-five as the field crossed the start/finish line on lap one.  By lap 10, Sprague was fighting a loose condition but still managed to work his way into fourth position before bringing the Con-way Freight Toyota to pit road, under caution, on lap 32.  Crew Chief Tony Furr called for four fresh tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments before the crew returned their driver to the track in fourth position. 

When the race returned to green flag action, Sprague continued to race in the top-five.  When the next caution fell for a wreck in turn four, Sprague keyed the radio to tell the crew that his Con-way Freight Toyota was “better” but still needed a little more bite.

Furr called his driver to pit road on lap 53, where the crew outfitted the Con-way Freight Toyota with four Goodyear Wrangler tires and fuel, but a problem on the left front caused Sprague to fall to 11th on the restart.

Sprague didn’t let the problem in the pits get him down as he methodically worked his way back into the top-five by lap 73.  On lap 81, Sprague successfully stole the fourth spot from Todd Bodine after a door-to-door battle, and with only three laps to go, the leader spun, and Sprague picked up his second top-three finish of the year.

"We had a bad second pit stop and got way back,” said Sprague following the race.  “That was about as good as we could do tonight. I thought I had a better truck yesterday, but I was just loose in the middle all night. Long green flag runs seemed to favor me and we didn't get those late.  Actually, we finished about two spots better than I thought we were going too."

Sprague, the Series only three-time Champion, currently leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings   Sprague is tied with Mike Skinner with 355 points but is unofficially the leader by virtue of his third-place finish Friday night.

Sprague and the Wyler Racing team will enjoy two weeks off before taking the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra to the fast 1.54-mile quad oval of Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, March 16th for the American Commercial Lines 200.  Live television coverage will be provided by SPEED at 8:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage coming to you live from MRN Radio.