Jack Sprague – No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra Chevy Silverado HD 250 Race Preview 

Daytona International Speedway

Race 1 of 25 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Racetrack:      Daytona International Speedway

Race:               Chevy Silverado HD 250

Location:         Daytona Beach, Fla.

Track Length:            2.5-Mile High Banked Asphalt Speedway

Race Distance:        100 Laps / 250 Miles

Broadcast Coverage:        SPEED

Radio Coverage:        MRN

Date:               Friday, February 16th, 2007

Time:              8 p.m. ET 

Jack Sprague Will Make an Unprecedented Run at his Fourth Series’ Championship:

“We finished the 2006 season just how we needed to – on a strong note,” said Jack Sprague.  “I think this will give us some momentum as we enter the 2007 season.”  Momentum is on Sprague’s side after he and the Wyler Racing team ended the 2006 season 5th in the Championship Point Standings after scoring two poles, two wins, and 14 top-10 finishes.  The 2006 season marked the 10th time in as many season’s that the veteran driver has finished in the top-10 in points.  The 2007 season should be no different as Sprague is expecting great results from his Championship caliber team.  “We are all geared up for a run at my fourth Championship and Wyler Racing’s first in 2007!” 

Jack Sprague’s Keys to Success at Daytona:

“You’ve got to miss the big one,” said Sprague of the multi-car crashes that are all too familiar at restrictor plate tracks.  “That's it. The only thing I’ve found to finish well at Daytona is to ride around and wait to the end and to miss the wreck. The biggest thing is to mind your own business and stay out of the three and four wide battles.  That's a bad thing, when you go to a racetrack and hope to miss the wreck, but that's what every single driver wants to do when we go to these restrictor plate tracks.  I have a lot of confidence in the team and the truck we’re taking to Daytona.  It’s the same truck that we finished 5th with at Daytona last year and were running 2nd with at Talladega until we had an engine failure.

Sprague Signs Up a Lifetime Supporter:

Jack Sprague took some time out in the off-season to sign up a lifetime supporter in girlfriend, Amy Schellenbach.  The pair were engaged in January and although a date for the ceremony has not been announced, wedding plans are in the works and will be announced at a later date. 

Sprague on Pre-Season Testing at Daytona:

“I had a lot of fun,” said Jack Sprague after competing in Jackson Hewitt Pre-Season Thunder Testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 12th.  “The Con-way Freight Toyota ran really well.  A lot of guys were fighting a terribly loose truck, but I wasn’t.  I was a little loose, but at the end of the session on Friday, I was a little snug.  I was really pleased with the truck.”  Sprague closed out the day third on the time sheets.  “The 60 truck was really strong but it is just practice - not the race.  The guys did a great job.  I’m really pumped up about the truck that I have and I’m extremely pumped up about my team, my owners, my manufacturer, and my sponsor.  I’m just having a great time!” he exclaimed.

Notables: 

• Sprague will make his 249th career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the drop of the green flag for the start of the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 16th, 2007.

Sprague’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Career Stats at Daytona:

Jack Sprague’s career-best finish at Daytona International Speedway in a NASCAR-sanctioned event came last year when the three-time Series’ Champion qualified 7th and finished 5th while driving the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra.

 5 starts, 392 of 506 laps completed (77.5%), 2 laps led

Win:     0 (  0.0%)     Average start:  10.8     Total Winnings: $82,562

Top 5:   1 ( 20.0%)     Average finish: 17.6

Top 10:  1 ( 20.0%)     DNF: 2

(Statistics courtesy of www.racing-reference.info)

Sprague’s History at the Historic Track:

Over the course of his career, Jack Sprague has driven nearly everything with wheels at the historic 2.5-mile tri-oval of Daytona International Speedway (DIS).  Sprague has raced in all three of NASCAR’s top-tier divisions; the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the NASCAR Busch Series, and the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series at DIS.  Sprague has even logged laps behind an IROC (International Race of Champions) car at the famed Superspeedway.  Sprague first raced at the track in 1990 while driving the No. 14 Pucci & Associates Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series and ten years later he found himself behind the wheel of the No. 24 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  Three years later, Sprague made his debut at DIS in a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series car while driving the No. 0 NetZero Pontiac.  Sprague has accumulated 1,212 raced laps at DIS and his best overall finish came in the IROC race in 2002 after he qualified 11th and finished 4th.

Introducing the 2007 Wyler Racing Team!:

About Con-way Freight:

Con-way Freight is North America's premier commercial freight transportation company. Known for its high performing employees and superior service levels, the company  provides less-than-truckload, truckload, expedite, truckload brokerage, airfreight forwarding and retail distribution services to commercial and industrial businesses in the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto, and Mexico. With annual revenues of over $2.8 billion in 2005 and over 20,000 employees, Con-Way's operating successes have made it an industry leader.