A 5th Hendrick team with Sprague? UPDATE 3 will NOT run at Lowes next week: been told that Hendrick Motorsports BGN driver, Jack Sprague, will drive the #60 Haas Chevy in the Coca Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in May and possibly up to six more Cup events. See an image of the car on my Paint Schemes Gallery.(3-19-2002) UPDATE: Dr Jerry Punch interviewed Jack Sprague on ESPN2’s RPM 2 Night and it was mentioned that the team just got the new #60 car in the shop and plans to test at Charlotte/Lowes Motor Speedway in a few weeks. Other races include New Hampshire, both Lowes races and Homestead. Rick Hendrick will be part owner of the team.(4-9-2002) UPDATE 2: Three-time CTS champ Jack Sprague will run five Cup races this season with a new team owned by Haas Automation. The team will use engines and cars built by Hendrick Motorsports, who Sprague currently drives in the BGN. The team will move full-time to Winston Cup in 2003. The team will debut at the Coca-Cola 600 next month in Charlotte. Other races scheduled are: New Hampshire in September; Charlotte in October; Atlanta in October; and Homestead, Fla., in November. Additional races may be added. “I have been waiting a long time to get the right opportunity to go Winston Cup racing,” Sprague said. “Ive had opportunities in the past, but they just werent structured in a way that would give me and the team all the ingredients needed for success.” “This new association with Haas Automation has everything needed to make the deal go, both on and off the track. This deal is worth the wait.” Sprague’ current and long-time crew chief, Dennis Conner, will also serve in that capacity with his Cup team. Joe Custer will serve as the team’ general manager.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-19-2002) UPDATE 3: The new Haas CNC Racing Chevy Cup team, owned by Gene Haas, that was announced a month ago at Talladega Superspeedway, entered a #60 Haas Automation Chevrolet for BGN driver Jack Sprague in the May 26 Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, was withdrawn May 13, after the team tested at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s oval. “We just didn’t feel like we were prepared enough and quick enough to go there and do it,” Sprague said. “So we’re going to hold off and get our stuff better prepared and go test again.” Dennis Connor, crew chief for both of Sprague’s programs, said there was no quick fix for the Cup team’s planned first outing. HCR initially announced a five-race program for this season, after which it will run a full Winston Cup schedule in 2003. But Connor stressed that both operations agreed that the Winston Cup team, which employs Hendrick Motorsports cars, engines and technical support — as well as most of Sprague’s Busch Series crew — should not impact this year’s Busch championship run while preparing for next season. Connor said team manager Joe Custer and Haas put no pressure on he and Sprague to run at Charlotte, even though the team’s announcement was geared toward the high profile 600 race week. Connor said both of thier Cup cars would ultimately be taken to a wind tunnel, the team would build another new car and then take an existing car from Hendrick’s #24 (Jeff Gordon) or #48 (Johnson) stable and test at Kentucky Speedway July 29 and 30. He said the team also had tests scheduled at Darlington Raceway and Kansas Speedway and would make a decision after that on which race to run to replace the Lowe’s event — with the possibility it would do both. If it is to run five races this season, it has to also replace the September New Hampshire 300. The additional races the team originally planned to run are in conjunction with Busch Series events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Atlanta and Homestead.(NASCAR.com)(5-20-2002) AND The team won’t race at Lowes after a disappointing test session two weeks ago at the speedway. The team will also skip their next scheduled Cup race which would have been New Hampshire in July, aiming to debut at Chicagoland.(PRN’s Garage Pass)(5-20-2002)
