Jack Sprague

Jack Sprague (born August 8, 1964) is an American former stock car racing driver who has competed in all of NASCAR's three top divisions, most notably in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won series championships in 1997, 1999 and 2001.

Jack Sprague
Sprague in 1996
Born (1964-08-08) August 8, 1964
Spring Lake, Michigan
Achievements1997, 1999, 2001 Craftsman Truck Series Champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
24 races run over 4 years
Best finish40th (2003)
First race1996 Dura Lube 500 (Phoenix)
Last race2003 Tropicana 400 (Chicago)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
108 races run over 9 years
Best finish5th (2002)
First race1989 All Pro 300 (Charlotte)
Last race2002 Ford 300 (Homestead)
First win2002 Inside Traxx 300 Presented by Met-Rx (Nashville)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 24 1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
297 races run over 13 years
Best finish1st (1997, 1999, 2001)
First race1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race2008 Ford 200 (Homestead)
First win1996 Chevy Desert Star Classic (Phoenix)
Last win2007 Chevy Silverado HD 250 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
28 192 32
Statistics current as of April 22, 2013.

Racing career

Beginnings

Sprague was born in Spring Lake, Michigan, and began racing street stock cars at local short tracks. After winning the track championships at Thunderbird Raceway and later Winston Raceway, Sprague began racing in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series, in its North Carolina Late Model Division competition. He won the Big Ten Championship at Concord Motorsports Park, and won more than 30 Late Model Races. Eventually, he won the NASCAR Winston Racing Series championship at Concord Motorsports Park.

Sprague finished first in the inaugural race of the NASCAR Sportsman Division at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1989,[1] but was disqualified in post-race inspection, giving the win to Tim Bender.[2]

Busch Series

Sprague made his Busch Series debut in 1989 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 78 Griffin Racing Chevrolet, he qualified 28th but finished 41st after suffering engine failure early in the race. After a 40th-place finish at the Goody's 300 for Pucci & Associates, Sprague moved up to drive the No. 34 Keystone Beer-sponsored car for Frank Cicci Racing in 1990. He competed in nineteen races and had a best finish of sixth at Orange County Speedway. The following season, Sprague competed in seven races, driving the No. 48 Staff America-sponsored Oldsmobile. He won his first career pole at Charlotte. He continued to drive the car in 1992, where he had a second-place finish at New River Valley Speedway. He finished 24th in the final standings.

In 1993, Sprague signed to drive the No. 74 BACE Motorsports car. Despite four top-ten finishes, he was released with just a handful of races left in the year. He finished nineteenth in points. Sprague returned to the Winston Cup Series in 1994.

Craftsman Truck Series

Sprague began racing in the Trucks' first year of competition in 1995. He began the season in the No. 31 Chevrolet Silverado for Griffin Racing, winning the pole at Louisville Speedway. After the Action Packed Racing Cards 150, Sprague switched to the No. 25 Budweiser-sponsored Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. He ended the season with a pole at Phoenix International Raceway, and had three fourth-place finishes. In 1996, he slid over to the No. 24 Quaker State-sponsored truck owned by Hendrick, winning his first race at Phoenix, followed up by back-to-back victories at Nazareth Speedway and The Milwaukee Mile. With five wins total and two poles, Sprague lost the championship by 53 points. That season, he made his Winston Cup debut, running a pair of races in the No. 52 Pedigree Petfoods-sponsored Pontiac Grand Prix for Ken Schrader. He led two laps and finished 23rd in his debut at Phoenix, but wrecked the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The following season, Sprague won at Phoenix, Nazareth, and Nashville Speedway USA, and won the championship. In addition, he returned to the Cup series, subbing for Ricky Craven at Bristol Motor Speedway, but finished 40th after a wreck. Despite winning the Truck Series championship, Quaker State did not return as Sprague's primary sponsor, forcing him to start the 1998 unsponsored. After a one-race deal with Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce at Portland Speedway, Sprague won The No Fear Challenge in his debut for sponsor GMAC, allowing them to join full-time as sponsor. He won five races total that season and finished second in points. He returned to the Busch Series to drive the No. 40 Channellock-sponsored Chevy for Doug Taylor at Watkins Glen International, finishing sixth.

In 1999, Sprague won three races as well as the Craftsman Truck Series championship by eight points. He also drove at Watkins Glen in a Terry Labonte-owned car, finishing twelfth, and attempted the Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 for Tyler Jet Motorsports, but failed to qualify. He won three more times in 2000, but crashes caused him to drop to fifth in the standings. In 2001, NetZero became his primary sponsor, and he won seven poles and four races, and took home his third championship trophy.

Return to Busch and Cup

After 2001, Sprague and teammate Ricky Hendrick moved back to the Busch Series, with Sprague driving the No. 24 NetZero Chevy. He won his first career Busch race at Nashville Superspeedway as well as leading the points during the season, before finishing fifth in the final standings. That same year, he ran the IROC series, finishing in the top-ten in all four events. He returned to Winston Cup to run a handful of races for Haas CNC Racing's No. 60 entry. His best finish was a 30th at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Haas switched to Pontiac and the No. 0 with a NetZero sponsorship for 2003, signing Sprague to compete for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors. Sprague's best finish that season was a fourteenth at the Daytona 500. After the Tropicana 400, Sprague was fired from the ride. He drove in two Truck races that year for Xpress Motorsports, finishing fifth in both events.

2004–2011

Sprague in the No. 60 Con-way Truck in 2007

Sprague took over the 16 Xpress truck full-time in 2004, winning six poles and the UAW/GM Ohio 250. He finished seventh in points. The following season, he won at Texas Motor Speedway, but late in the season, was released in favor of Mike Bliss and took over at newly formed Wyler Racing for Chad Chaffin. Despite switching teams mid-season, he finished eighth in points.

Sprague finished the 2006 season fifth in points with two wins and two poles. He returned to the Con-Way Freight Tundra for the 2007 season. Sprague started the 2007 season in the Craftsman Truck Series with a win in the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at the Daytona International Speedway. However, Sprague began to struggle throughout the year, even dropping out of the top 10 in points. This, combined with Con-way's departure at the end of the season, led Sprague to leave Wyler for Kevin Harvick Incorporated where he drove the No. 2 American Commercial Lines Chevrolet. Late in the year, he left KHI to return to Wyler Racing.

Sprague remained on the sidelines throughout 2009 and 2010, into at least October 2011.

Sprague was rumored to return to the Trucks with Winfield Motorsports at Homestead.[3] It was also rumored that Sprague had struck a deal with Randy Moss Motorsports to return to the series in 2012,[3] though both deals apparently did not materialize as RMM's equipment was purchased by crew chief Richie Wauters to form his own team, Wauters Motorsports.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NWCC Pts
1995 Hendrick Motorsports 59 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL
DNQ
NA -
1996 52 Pontiac DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO
23
ATL
42
54th 136
1997 25 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR TEX BRI
40
MAR SON TAL CLT DOV POC MCH CAL DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR 68th 43
52 PHO
DNQ
ATL
1999 Tyler Jet Motorsports 45 Pontiac DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX BRI MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH
DNQ
NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL NA -
2002 Haas CNC Racing 60 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN
35
TAL CLT
DNQ
MAR ATL
DNQ
CAR
35
PHO
DNQ
HOM
30
57th 189
2003 0 Pontiac DAY
14
CAR
34
LVS
26
ATL
37
DAR
40
BRI
35
TEX
22
TAL
34
MAR
29
CAL
39
RCH
26
CLT
22
DOV
41
POC
22
MCH
19
SON
39
DAY
31
CHI
40
NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO CAR HOM 40th 1284
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2003 Haas CNC Racing Pontiac 24 14

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 NBSC Pts
1989 Griffin Racing 78 Chevy DAY CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI NZH SBO LAN NSV CLT DOV ROU LVL VOL MYB SBO HCY DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT
41
CAR MAR 97th 40
1990 Pucci & Associates 14 Chevy DAY
40
RCH CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO 24th 2106
Frank Cicci Racing 34 Buick NZH
24
HCY
18
CLT
30
DOV
20
ROU
6
VOL
21
MYB
15
OXF
12
NHA
21
SBO
11
DUB
17
IRP
25
ROU
15
BRI
22
DAR
25
RCH DOV
36
MAR
20
CLT
35
NHA
46
CAR
19
MAR
17
1991 Fred Turner Racing 48 Olds DAY
28
RCH CAR MAR VOL HCY DAR
39
BRI LAN SBO NZH CLT
5
DOV ROU HCY MYB GLN OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR
12
RCH DOV
20
CLT
38
NHA CAR
31
MAR 43rd 629
1992 DAY
19
CAR
23
RCH
11
MAR
22
DAR
25
BRI HCY
10
LAN
22
DUB
2
NZH
21
Chevy ATL
13
CLT
37
DOV
10 ROU
28
MYB
13
GLN VOL NHA TAL
29
IRP ROU
26
MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT
32
MAR CAR HCY
1993 BACE Motorsports 74 Chevy DAY
44
RCH
20
DAR
24
BRI
21
HCY
19
ROU
21
MAR
9
NZH
12
DOV
27
MYB
16
MLW
32
TAL
15
IRP
17
MCH
9
NHA
20
BRI
23
DAR
33
RCH
13
DOV
4
24th 1590
Pontiac CAR
12
Olds CLT
24
GLN
21
Reno Racing 4 Chevy ROU
9
CLT MAR CAR HCY ATL
1994 Ingram Racing 10 Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR NA -
1998 Taylor Motorsports 40 Chevy DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN
6
MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT GTY CAR ATL HOM 85th 150
1999 Labonte Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN
12
MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 96th 127
2000 Andy Petree Racing 15 Chevy DAY
25
CAR LVS
36
ATL DAR BRI TEX
43
NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 86th 17
2002 Hendrick Motorsports 24 Chevy DAY
7
CAR
6
LVS
6
DAR
9
BRI
19
TEX
2
NSH
2
TAL
13
CAL
4
RCH
18
NHA
3
NZH
26
CLT
10
DOV
5
NSH
1*
KEN
16
MLW
14
DAY
28
CHI
42
GTY
4
PPR
14
IRP
17
MCH
15
BRI
28
DAR
5
RCH
33
DOV
3
KAN
20
CLT
25
MEM
18
ATL
42
CAR
10
PHO
22
HOM
11
5th 4206

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NCWTC Pts
1995 Griffin Racing 31 Chevy PHO
6
TUS
5
SGS
14
MMR
6
POR
10
EVG
23
I70
7
LVL
9
BRI
6
MLW
9
CNS
8
HPT
7
IRP
28
5th 2740
Hendrick Motorsports 25 Chevy FLM
4
RCH
10
MAR
20
NWS
4
SON
11
MMR
4
PHO
6
1996 24 HOM
2
PHO
1
POR
8
EVG
12
TUS
5
CNS
4
HPT
2
BRI
5
NZH
1
MLW
1
LVL
8
I70
14
IRP
2
FLM
5
GLN
4
NSV
3
RCH
29
NHA
2
MAR
3
NWS
2
SON
6
MMR
5
PHO
1
LVS
1
2nd 3778
1997 WDW
15
TUS
7
HOM
5
PHO
1
POR
4
EVG
2
I70
10
NHA
2
TEX
31
BRI
7
NZH
1
MLW
4
LVL
8
CNS
16
HPT
2
IRP
2
FLM
4
NSV
1
GLN
3
RCH
2
MAR
10
SON
5
MMR
10
CAL
6
PHO
3
LVS
2
1st 3969
1998 WDW
4
HOM
2
PHO
2
POR
4
EVG
1
I70
5
GLN
5
TEX
6
BRI
2
MLW
3
NZH
10
CAL
1
PPR
31
IRP
1
NHA
8
FLM
29
NSV
11
HPT
4
LVL
9
RCH
1
MEM
9
GTY
4
MAR
10
SON
9
MMR
2
PHO
13
LVS
1
2nd 4069
1999 HOM
22
PHO
2
EVG
2
MMR
7
MAR
3
MEM
9
PPR
2
I70
1
BRI
1
TEX
5
PIR
28
GLN
3
MLW
2
NSV
5
NZH
13
MCH
4
NHA
8
IRP
34
GTY
3
HPT
26
RCH
5
LVS
2
LVL
5
TEX
11
CAL
1
1st 3747
2000 DAY
33
HOM
3
PHO
2
MMR
3
MAR
3
PIR
3
GTY
1
MEM
1
PPR
4
EVG
1
TEX
28
KEN
2
GLN
5
MLW
8
NHA
34
NZH
5
MCH
13
IRP
17
NSV
30
CIC
17
RCH
6
DOV
27
TEX
22
CAL
4
5th 3316
2001 DAY
12
HOM
3
MMR
2
MAR
20
GTY
8
DAR
12
PPR
3
DOV
2
TEX
1
MEM
23
MLW
2
KAN
23
KEN
3
NHA
1
IRP
1
NSH
21
CIC
9
NZH
3
RCH
1
SBO
4
TEX
3
LVS
2
PHO
2
CAL
31
1st 3670
2003 Xpress Motorsports 11 Chevy DAY DAR MMR MAR CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA CAL LVS
5
SBO TEX MAR PHO HOM
5
66th 310
2004 16 DAY
25
ATL
24
MAR
3
MFD
1
CLT
26
DOV
9
TEX
4
MEM
7
MLW
35
KAN
8
KEN
2
GTW
29
MCH
27
IRP
18
NSH
14
BRI
28
RCH
8
NHA
2
LVS
36
CAL
3
TEX
5
MAR
28
PHO
2
DAR
11
HOM
7
7th 3167
2005 DAY
13
CAL
22
ATL
8
MAR
11
GTY
20
MFD
2
CLT
27
DOV
29
TEX
1
MCH
10
MLW
2
KAN
30
KEN
36
MEM
13
IRP
9
NSH
21
BRI
3
RCH
26
NHA
15
LVS
4
8th 3137
Wyler Racing 60 Toyota MAR
29
ATL
4
TEX
6
PHO
16
HOM
2
2006 DAY
5
CAL
5
ATL
17
MAR
17
GTY
4
CLT
34
MFD
2
DOV
9
TEX
11
MCH
10
MLW
4
KAN
29
KEN
11
MEM
1
IRP
28
NSH
2
BRI
23
NHA
18
LVS
13
TAL
33
MAR
1
ATL
10
TEX
4
PHO
7
HOM
5
5th 3328
2007 DAY
1
CAL
3
ATL
23
MAR
16
KAN
3
CLT
34
MFD
2
DOV
28
TEX
26
MCH
29
MLW
11
MEM
2
KEN
13
IRP
9
NSH
15
BRI
8
GTW
32
NHA
24
LVS
32
TAL
27
MAR
2
ATL
25
TEX
6
PHO
10
HOM
16
9th 3001
2008 Kevin Harvick Incorporated 2 Chevy DAY
19
CAL
22
ATL
6
MAR
24
KAN
2
CLT
14
MFD
7
DOV
2
TEX
4
MCH
30
MLW
13
MEM
6
KEN
22
IRP
17
NSH
4
BRI
14
GTW
5
NHA
9
LVS
26
TAL
27
9th 3125
Wyler Racing 60 Toyota MAR
11
ATL
13
TEX
15
PHO
17
HOM
20

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ARSC Pts
1996 Hendrick Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY ATL SLM TAL
4
FIF LVL CLT CLT KIL FRS POC MCH FRS TOL POC MCH INF SBS ISF DSF KIL SLM WIN CLT ATL 157th -

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Pts Ref
2002 Pontiac DAY
4
CAL
5
CHI
10
IND
6
8th 36 [4]

References

  1. Kelly, Godwin (May 24, 1989). "Sprague pockets opener in late model sportsman". The News-Journal. Daytona Beach, FL. p. 7B. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  2. "Sportsman Driver Has Win Nullified". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. May 25, 1989. p. 5D. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  3. Sprague returns to NASCAR in 2012 Archived 2011-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. Sirius-Speedway. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  4. "Jack Sprague − 2002 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ron Hornaday, Jr.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion
1997
Succeeded by
Ron Hornaday, Jr.
Preceded by
Ron Hornaday, Jr.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion
1999
Succeeded by
Greg Biffle
Preceded by
Greg Biffle
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion
2001
Succeeded by
Mike Bliss
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