Jack Sprague

Jack Sprague

status	not active
NASCAR Cup Series statistics
Best placement	40th - (2003)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10 24 - - -
NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics
Best placement	5th - (2002)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10 108 1 1 24
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics
Best placement	1. - (1997, 1999, 2001)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10 297 28 32 192

Jack Sprague (* 8. August 1964 in Spring Lake , Michigan ) is an American racing driver, who is currently in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series the Chevrolet Silverado with start number 2 for Kevin Harvick Incorporated drives. He is a three-time champion and one of the most successful drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Career

Beginnings

Sprague began his career in stock cars on small ovals in his homeland. He won the circuit championship at Thunderbird Raceway and Winston Raceway and then began to compete in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series in races in North Carolina . He was able to win the Big Ten Championship in Concord Motorsports Park , 30 races and ultimately the championship.

1989 to 1994

Sprague made his debut on October 7, 1989 in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in NASCAR's second-highest division, the then Busch Series , now known as the Nationwide Series. He drove a number 78 Chevrolet, which was used by Griffin Racing , started in 28th place, but was only rated 41st after retiring with an engine failure. In the first race of the 1990 season he drove for Pucci & Associaties in the Busch Series, only finished 40th and was then not active in the series for around three months until team owner Frank Cicci gave him the opportunity to drive a Buick with the starting number 34 to compete. Sprague took part in 19 races in Frank Cicci's car, one of which he finished in the top 10.

In the 1991 season Sprague only contested seven races, achieving a top five finish and starting from pole position in the Champion 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 1992 he continued to drive only part-time, took part in a total of 16 races and made it into the top 10 twice. He finished the season in 24th in the drivers' championship. For the 1993 season, Sprague signed a contract with BACE Motorsports that gave him the opportunity to drive the number 74. He did this in 23 of the total of 29 races, achieving four top 10 placements and finishing 19th in the championship. In 1994 Sprague was no longer active in the Busch Series, instead he returned to the Winston Racing Series, where he won 21 of the 22 races in which he participated.

1995 to 2001

After the successes in the Winston Racing Series, Sprague started in 1995 in the newly founded NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series . There he found a place in Bruce Griffin's racing team, for which he also competed in the Busch Series. He drove a number 31 Chevrolet, which he regularly finished in the top 10. Due to the good performance, Sprague was able to switch to Hendrick Motorsports after the Action Packed Racing Cards 150 at Indianapolis Raceway Park , for which he should drive the number 25 Chevrolet. He finished the season in fifth place in the championship and experienced 15 top 10 and five top 5 placements.

In the 1996 season he switched from the number 25 to the Quaker State sponsored and also belonging to Hendrick Motorsports start number 24, with which he won five races and started twice from pole position. Just 53 points behind, he finished second in the championship behind Ron Hornaday junior. In the same year he made his Winston Cup debut in the Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway , the track on which he made his first Craftsman truck -Series race won. He led two laps and finished 23rd. The following week he took part in the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the same starting number , but retired early in the race after an accident. In the 1997 Craftsman Truck Series season , Sprague won a race each at Phoenix International Raceway, Nazareth Speedway and Nashville Speedway and ultimately the championship. Despite the success, its sponsor, Quaker State, did not return in the 1998 season, which is why Sprague had to start the season without a main sponsor. The season started with twelve consecutive top 10 finishes. Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce was featured on the car as a sponsor for a race, but it wasn't until the twelfth race of the season that a sponsor was found in GMAC that lasted . Sprague won the first race with the new sponsor and finished second in the drivers' overall standings.

In the 1999 season , as in 1997, Sprague won the championship. During the season he achieved 19 top 10 placements, three times he won. In the end , he was only eight points ahead of second overall, Greg Biffle . Also in the 2000 season Sprague was able to win three races, but due to a few accidents he only reached fifth place in the championship standings. In 2001 NetZero became the main sponsor of the truck with the starting number 24 and things went better for Sprague. He won four times, started from pole position seven times, finished 17 times in the top 10 and won the championship with a margin of 73 points.

2002 to 2003

After the successful 2001 season, Sprague and his teammate Ricky Hendrick , the son of his team owner Rick Hendrick , moved to the Busch Series. Despite the series change, Sprague continued to drive a NetZero-sponsored car with the starting number 24. He won the Inside Traxx 300 on the Nashville Superspeedway for the first time in his Busch Series career. For a long time Sprague led the drivers' standings, but due to a few weaker races in the final stages of the season, he fell to fifth overall. In the same year he also drove IROC races, all of which he finished in the top 10, as well as three races for Haas CNC Racing in the Winston Cup, in which all races for the same team in the 2003 season were to contest while he was in the bush Series no longer competed. His goal was to receive the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award for the best newcomer to the Winstons Cup. His best result, however, was only a 14th place in the Daytona 500 . He was dismissed after the Tropicana 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway due to the performance that did not meet the requirements . At the end of the year he drove two more Craftsman Truck Series races, both of which he finished in fifth place.

Since 2004

Sprague (# 60) and Johnny Benson (# 23)

After the unsuccessful attempt to establish itself in the Winston Cup, Sprague returned in 2004 to the Craftsman Truck Series. He took over the wheel of the starting number 16, but was unable to build on his old successes. Still, he was quite successful, starting from pole position six times and winning the UAW-GM Ohio 250 . In the overall standings, it was enough to finish seventh at the end of the season. In the 2005 season he won a race at Texas Motor Speedway , but despite the acceptable performance, he was replaced in the final third of the season by Mike Bliss . Sprague then found a place in Jeff Wyler's team, for which he drove a Toyota number 60. Despite the team change, he finished eighth in the championship.

In the 2006 season he drove all races for Jeff Wyler's team, achieving eleven top 10 finishes and two wins, and twice he started from pole position. In the championship he finished ninth. As in the previous year, Sprague also contested all races of the 2007 season in a Toyota with starting number 60 from Wyler Racing . The season started well with a win in the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona International Speedway , but the rest of the season did not go as planned. In the meantime, Sprague was even outside the top 10 in the drivers' standings. In the end, he finished ninth in the overall standings, finishing in the top 10 ten times. The poor performance and the loss of the main sponsor led Sprague to move to Kevin Harvick Incorporated for the 2008 season, where he became the new teammate of the reigning Craftsman Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday junior . The season has so far not been significantly better than last year. In previous races, Sprague was able to bring his truck, a number 2 Chevrolet Silverado , to the finish line in the top 10.

After the 2008 season, his contract was not extended. Sprague has not contested any other races in the Camping World Truck Series since then.

Web links

Driver statistics on racing-reference.info