Jack Sprague Faces Ups and Downs in the Irish Hills of Michigan

Brooklyn, Mich. (June 18, 2007) - Jack Sprague and the Wyler Racing team relived their fascinating victory at Daytona International Speedway when they presented Con-way Freight with a replica trophy from their win during an outing on Friday night in Michigan.  Their excitement continued on Saturday after Sprague qualified the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra in seventh spot for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series running of the Michigan 200, but it soon turned into disappointment after a cut tire cost them a top-10 in Michigan’s Irish Hills.

When Sprague hit the track for qualifying, he was admittedly qualifying on his ‘worst track’ but you couldn’t tell as the three-time Series’ Champion qualified 7th with a lap of 40.578 seconds at a speed of 177.436 miles per hour.  Lining up 7th was Sprague’s best start since his first visit to the Irish Hills in 1999.

It’s been a tough month for Jack Sprague and the Wyler Racing team and the unfortunate chain of rough races continued at the drop of the green flag for the Michigan 200.  “It’s horribly loose,” said Sprague to Crew Chief, Tony Furr as he slid out of the top-10 in the opening laps.  “We need to tighten it up a little bit.”  With the loose condition, Sprague was having trouble racing on the high side, where several teams were running fast, but he still managed to work his way back into seventh spot.

When the event’s first caution fell for debris on lap 30, Sprague hit pit road for four tires, fuel, and significant chassis adjustments, returning to the track ninth.  When the race returned to green on lap 34, Sprague was “good on the bottom” but “getting loose off the corner again”.  Sprague proved why he is a Champion as he man-handled his Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra and moved into 5th on lap 55. 

The second caution fell on lap 57 when the No. 00 cut a tire in turn two.  Furr called Sprague to pit road for another round of adjustments, calling for four tires, fuel, air pressure, and track bar adjustments, returning Sprague to the track in 5th position.  Returning to green on lap 61, Sprague’s truck was still “loose”.  Sliding to 6th, Sprague became the event’s fourth and final caution on lap 82 after he cut a tire down and hit the wall in turn three.

Sprague limped his damaged Con-way Freight Toyota to pit road where the crew went to work, under caution, to repair the damage.  Required to hit pit road again for further repairs, under green flag conditions, Sprague fell seven laps down to finish the Michigan 200 in 29th position.  Sprague slid two spots to 9th in the 2007 Championship Point Standings.

“This is just unbelievable,” said Sprague.  “We had a great truck today.  Everybody on this team did a great job.  They continue to give me great trucks every week; we just have had some horrible luck lately and we need for it to end here real soon.  I just hate it for this team and Con-way Freight – this was their home track race and they had a large group here supporting us and they all sure deserved a top-five finish.” 

Sprague and the Wyler Racing team will take the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra to The Milwaukee Mile for the running of the Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200, under the lights, on Friday, June 22nd, 2007.  Live television coverage will be provided by SPEED at 8:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage coming to you live from MRN Radio.