Sprague has seen it all

By MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2000

Jack Sprague has lost Craftsman Truck championships almost every way you can imagine.

He has been blown out (losing by 486 points in 1995), nipped at the end (three points shy in 1998) and in between (53 points in 1996).

But he also has won his share of titles on the six-year old circuit by the same means.

He has dominated (232-point margin in 1997) and won a squeaker (by eight points over Greg Biffle last year). Sprague calls the battle with Biffle, who won nine races and became a crowd favorite, his "hardest year on the Trucks circuit."

It was a very un-Spraguelike campaign.

He opened the season with a late-race wreck and 22nd place finish. At Indianapolis, an engine failure led to a last-place showing. Countless other bumps along the way which frustrated the series veteran.

"The way last year had been going I didn't think luck was on our side," who Sprague, who drives a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "There were some weird things happening. It looked pretty dismal there for a while."

Things looked worse when Biffle ran away with the Orleans 250 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and took a commanding lead in the points standings.

A post-race inspection, however, turned up an illegal intake and Biffle's points were taken away. Biffle's points lead shrunk from 130 to 10 with three races to go.

Sprague finished the next two races in fourth place and 11th as Biffle moved ahead by 21 heading into the final race. In the final two laps, Sprague passed race leader Mike Bliss, winning the race and the series title. Biffle finished seventh in the race. A sixth-place finish would have given him the title. "That just shows how strong this team is," Sprague said. "To have the kind of season we had, they never gave up and kept us in there at the end. It's a credit to (crew chief) Dennis Connor and all the guys."

Sprague, one of few successful drivers on the circuit to stay with the series, seeks to become the first three-time champion this season.

Other previous champions have joined the Winston Cup (Mike Skinner, 1995champion) and Busch Grand National (Ron Hornaday, '96 and '98) series. Sprague said he takes pride in being a cornerstone of the circuit.

"It's been a lot of fun building this series and watching it grow to where we're putting on some of the best races on TV," Sprague said.

"But I want to run Winston Cup. Everybody knows that's what I want to do, but it's got to be the right situation for me where I would go to a good team and be in a situation where I would be competitive. I don't just want to be out there racing, I want to be competitive. Until that comes around, I'm going to stay here where I'm comfortable."

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