NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series No Fear Challenge: #24, Jack Sprague
16 October 1997
#24 Jack Sprague, Quaker State Chevrolet NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The No Fear Challenge Advance California Speedway QUAKER STATE'S SPRAGUE FEARLESS IN FONTANA TRUCK LEADER TAKES TITLE HOPES & 56-POINT LEAD INTO THE NO FEAR CHALLENGE FONTANA, CA - Heading into this Saturday's running of the No Fear Challenge at California Speedway in Fontana, Quaker State driver Jack Sprague knows he has to improve on last weekend's 10th-place showing in the Dodge/California Truckstop 300 to solidify his bid for a 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Sprague, who began in the 10th position from a difficult outside fifth-row start, dropped back to 12th at the mandatory midway break before regaining his familiar spot in the top-10. He leads all NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers with 20 (out of a possible 23) top-10 finishes this season. "It's good to finish among the top 10 drivers, but we have to do better than that the rest of the way to wrap up this title," Sprague said. "We had good experiences at Phoenix and Las Vegas around this time last year. But Fontana comes first and we need to get the momentum rolling this weekend." After contending with the less-than-stellar starting spot and a "tight" truck for the first half of the race, Sprague go some valuable assistance from crew chief Dennis Connor and the Quaker State Chevrolet crew. "We were lucky to come out of here with a top-10 finish and the points lead," Sprague said. "Dennis and the guys worked miracles at the break." The "good experiences" at Phoenix and Las Vegas that Sprague alluded to were victories in the final two events of the 1996 season. While history and the longer distances might favor Sprague the rest of the way, he doesn't have to look far to find runner-up Rich Bickle behind him: 56 points to be exact. Bickle, who qualified second and finished fifth at Bakersfield last weekend, did what he could to ensure a close race by hacking 21 points off Sprague's lead. Sprague (3,484 points) was in the same role as Bickle (3,428) last year when he was the one stalking eventual champion Ron Hornaday. So he knows what it's like to be the hunter and the hunted. "Of course it's nice to be out in front as opposed to chasing somebody else. And I feel real good about our chances," Sprague said. "But we need to remember that there's work left to do. I think we all learned some valuable lessons from last season's experience. Finishing second last year was quite an accomplishment for our team because it was our first year together. Quaker State and Hendrick Motorsports have provided us with everything we need to get the job done. Now, we've just gotta go out and do it." The No Fear Challenge will be the first series race on an oval track of more than 1.5 miles in length. Sprague, who has finished among the top five in three of four series races held on 1.5 mile tracks, is one of five drivers entered in this weekend's race to have won at a superspeedway. The man known as "Mile Track Jack" will be looking for the eighth superspeedway victory and more importantly, the first championship of his career. By Muhleman Marketing