Jack Sprague Weathers Bristol to Carry Special Cargo to a Top-10

Bristol, Tenn. (August 23, 2007) - There always seems to be a storm brewing within Jack Sprague and that didn’t change on Wednesday as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entered “Thunder Valley” for the O’Reilly 200, under the lights, at Bristol Motor Speedway.  You see, Sprague as an endless desire to win and that was apparent on Wednesday as Sprague topped the leader board in final practice in preparation for the 200-lap event at the half-mile oval.  Sprague’s drive was clear and his determination was apparent as he qualified seventh and ran near the front all night to come home eighth and claim the seventh top-10 finish of his career at the .533-mile oval.

Sprague is a true racer and a three-time Champion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  But on Wednesday, Sprague wasn’t the only Champion riding along in the No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota.  Sprague’s Toyota was carrying the names of 52 Con-way Freight employees who are among 365 truck drivers competing in the 2007 National Truck Driving Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The 52 employees of Con-way Freight have together amassed over 52.7 million miles accident free.  To put that into perspective, that is over 100 trips to the Moon and back.

Sprague has some pretty impressive statistics himself; accruing one win and four top-five finishes at Bristol.  But everyone knows that it’s almost impossible to come out of Bristol’s high-banks accident free, and even though Sprague had some special cargo onboard, he wasn’t eliminated from the bumping and banging that takes place at a short-track like Bristol.

Sprague took the green flag for the start of the race from the seventh starting position after qualifying with a fast lap of 15.915 seconds at a speed of 120.566 miles per hour.  He was “bad loose in” and “not bad off” before he hit pit road for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments, under caution, on lap 41.  The stop was Sprague’s only visit to pit road for the night.  After restarting 20th, Sprague wasted no time working past the slower trucks and into the top-15. 

“We’re better in and a little tight in the center,” said Sprague on lap 69, just before a caution was displayed for debris.  When the race resumed, Sprague continued to pass truck after truck and was shown in 10th position by the half-way mark at lap 100.  “We’re still tight in the middle but good in three and four,” he explained.  Even though Sprague was still “tight”, he worked his way into seventh position on lap 114. 

Sprague was fighting a “tight” truck while battling for track position.  He slid into eighth position on lap 180 just before the leaders brought out the caution after coming together in turn four.  When the race resumed, Sprague remained in eighth to collect his seventh top-10 finish of the year. 

“Good job guys,” said Sprague after the race.  “It’s not exactly the finish that we all wanted, but it’s not bad.  Now we wish the 52 Con-way Freight truck drivers good luck in their quest for Victory Lane in Minneapolis.”

The 52 Con-way Freight employees will take on the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) 2007 National Truck Driving Championships which take place August 21st through 25th. Last year, Dale Duncan, a Con-way Freight driver from Chula Vista, California, was named Grand Champion and 14 other Con-way Freight drivers placed in the top-10 of their classes, including Robert French, based at the Wytheville, Virginia – not far from Bristol Motor Speedway - who won the National Champion title in the Twins Class.

Sprague and the Wyler Racing team will compete next in Madison, Illinois for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series running of the Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 on Saturday, September 1st.  The race will be broadcast live on the SPEED Channel at 5 p.m. ET with radio coverage coming to you live from MRN Radio.