Jack Sprague Rebounds from Rough Night to Finish 15th in Nashville

Nashville, Tenn. (August 13, 2007) - Jack Sprague and the Wyler Racing team qualified third and finished second in last year’s event at Nashville Superspeedway and it appeared that the team returned to the 1.333-mile oval right where they left off.  After qualifying the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota on the outside pole for Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 200, Sprague appeared to have the truck to beat but a loose condition kept Sprague from claiming his second win of the season in the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota on Saturday night.

Sprague set out for qualifying in the heat of the day on Saturday, and laid down an impressive lap of 30.128 seconds at a speed of 159.280 miles per hour.  Sprague’s lap, which was only six-hundredths off the pole speed set by fellow Toyota Tundra driver Mike Skinner, was good for second on the starting grid.

When Sprague climbed behind the wheel of the Con-way Freight Toyota, he had his eyes set on the coveted Gibson guitar trophy that is given to the race winner each year in “Music City”.  “I really want that guitar,” said Sprague prior to the race.  “I have two at home, and I want a third one. Last year we came close with a second place finish, but we came up one spot short.  Hopefully we can change that this year and add that trophy to our collection.”

In the opening laps of the 150-lap Toyota Tundra 200, Sprague was a “little free, but getting better” and his lap times mirrored the leaders.  It looked as if Sprague would have a solid shot at claiming his third guitar while racing with the leaders from the third position.  Sprague was “a little free in clean air, but tight behind someone” before the events first caution fell for debris on lap 43. 

Crew Chief Tony Furr called Sprague to pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment.  The team also pulled a spring rubber out of the left rear and sent Sprague back to the track in second position.  On the restart at lap 47, Sprague was way too loose and began to lose a few spots to the field.  “I think we’ve got a bad set of tires,” explained Sprague on lap 50.  “I am having a hard time holding onto it!”

Just four laps later, NASCAR displayed the caution flag and Sprague dove to pit road for another round of adjustments.  The Con-way crew put two rubbers in the left rear to help alleviate the loose condition, returning Sprague to the track in 23rd position.

When the race resumed on lap 58, Sprague began to pick his way through the field.  “I don’t think I’m too bad,” said Sprague as the third caution flag waved on lap 62 for a wreck in turn two.  “We’re just in dirty air with all the traffic back here,” he explained.  When the race returned to green on lap 68, Sprague moved into 19th and continued his charge to the front.  By lap 71, Sprague moved into the top-15.  “We’re loose in and tight in the center,” he said to the crew on lap 80 and reiterated again on lap 103. 

The event’s fourth caution fell on lap 111 for another accident in turn two and Sprague hit pit road for his third stop of the night.  The crew outfitted the Con-way Freight Toyota with four fresh tires, fuel, and significant chassis adjustments.  Sprague returned to the track and took the green flag on lap 115 from the 15th position.  “We’re still loose in,” said Sprague to the crew while motoring around under the event’s final caution on lap 122.  Furr called Sprague to pit road for their final stop of the night, calling for more chassis adjustments and returning Sprague to the track in 17th position.  Sprague used the event’s final 25 laps to work his way back to 15th to claim his ninth top-15 finish of the year. 

“We just had a bad set of tires with our second set which made our Con-way Freight Toyota tough to drive,” said Sprague.  “The crew never gave up and we fought hard all night to get our way back to the front, but we just ran out of laps.  We were better there at the end and would have probably come out of here with a top-ten finish, but the race just ended too early for us.”

Sprague remains seventh in the 2007 Championship Point Standings.

Sprague and the Wyler Racing team will enjoy a weekend off before taking the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota to Bristol Motor Speedway for the running of the O’Reilly 200 on Wednesday, August 22nd.  Live television coverage will be provided by SPEED at 7:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage coming to you live from MRN Radio.