Jack Sprague’s (No. 16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series record at Martinsville Speedway mirrors the previous Augusta National stats of golf professional Phil Mickelson, who broke his Masters drought last Sunday. Sprague, on three occasions, has finished third at the .526-mile venue, site of Saturday’s Kroger 250 – just as Mickelson did in his past three starts at Augusta before snapping an 0-for-47 winless run in professional golf’s four major tournaments. And like “Lefty,” who’d previously won 22 PGA Tour events, there’s no question about Sprague’s credentials. The three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion has fashioned 23 victories in 174 series starts. Breaking through at Martinsville – arguably one of the series’ most difficult short tracks – would be a two-fold accomplishment for the 39-year-old Spring Lake, Mich., veteran. It would fill a big blank on Sprague’s resume and – after a pair of lackluster efforts – would kick-start IWX Racing back into the championship form it enjoyed in 2002-03. Sprague is the first to admit that Martinsville hasn’t always suited his game, explaining perhaps why he and Ron Hornaday Jr. – numbers one and two in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victories with 49 – haven’t won there. Both are hard-chargers and a Martinsville win doesn’t always go to the swiftest. “Keeping a cool head is what you have to do to get to Victory Lane,” Sprague said. That explains why Martinsville’s victory list is peppered with names of those who’ve called on a veteran’s savvy to take the checkered flag. Among them are Dennis Setzer (No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet), Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge) and Mike Skinner (No. 42 Toyota Tundra Toyota). Saturday’s 250-lap race will be Sprague’s first at Martinsville for the Steve Coulter-owned team. In 2002, Mike Bliss drove the team’s Chevrolet to a second-place finish en route to the series championship. Sprague believes he can build on that performance. “I feel like our short track program is right where it needs to be,” said Sprague, who has tested on several non-series tracks since last month’s Atlanta race.
Uncharacteristically, both driver and team are far down in the points standings after an accident at Daytona International Speedway and a variety of problems in Atlanta. Sprague is 25th, 161 points behind leader Travis Kvapil (No. 24 LINE-X Toyota). Still, Bliss faced a 121-point deficit after the first two races of 2002. “We haven’t had the results we had hoped for so far but there are 23 races left in the run for the championship,” he said. “We are well-prepared for Martinsville and the guys are pumped up. It is a team effort and we are all working toward the same goal.” Sprague realizes that preparation and desire are no guarantees of success at any short track. “I think we have everything in place to get a win (but) we just need luck to ride with us as well,” said Sprague, who has yet to lead a lap at Martinsville in seven previous starts. He finished 29th on the track in last spring’s Virginia 500 in NASCAR’s premier series. “You have to put yourself in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a situation. To do that, you have to qualify well so at the start of the race you can run toward the front, get your truck sorted out and let everyone get settled down. Martinsville is definitely a place where you have to be well-prepared and get some luck to fall your way.”
NEWS & NOTES, PART II
* Martinsville opens 2004 short track season … Seven of this season’s 25 events will be held on tracks measuring less than one mile. The Kroger 250 opens a stretch in which three of the next six races are contested on short tracks. Following is the May 16 inaugural Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. The series returns to Memphis Motorsports Park for the O’Reilly 250 on June 15.
* Etc. … Kvapil’s crew will welcome a distinguished visitor at Martinsville, 1st Sgt. Clinton Reiss, an 18-year U.S. Army veteran and Desert Storm Bronze Star winner. Reiss, a member of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., is recently returned from duty along the Iraq/Syria border. He is the brother of the No. 24 team’s rear tire carrier, Herman Reiss. … Both 2003 races at Martinsville saw 17 lead-lap finishers, most of any series race. The fall event produced a Martinsville-low number of laps run under caution – 32 of 200. … No driver has competed in all 10 Martinsville races. Hamilton, Setzer and Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar Motel & RV Park Ford) have started eight times. Setzer has completed the most miles of any driver, 916.292, while Hamilton has led the greatest number of miles, 265.104. ON THE RIGHT TRACK
* Musgrave eyes record Bud Pole qualifying attempt … Ted Musgrave (No. 1 Mopar Dodge) has won the pole for each of the past two Kroger 250 races. A third consecutive pole run would match the series record for consecutive poles in the same event. Ron Fellows holds the mark, set at Watkins Glen International from 1997-99. Musgrave finished second in last year’s event. The Bud Pole winner has captured just one of nine races at the .526-mile venue. Rich Bickle won both the pole and the Kroger 250 in 1997.
* Setzer also streaks at Martinsville … The only double series winner at Martinsville, Setzer can run his Kroger 250 victory streak to three. He won from 33rd in 2002 – the deepest in the field by any series competitor – and repeated a year ago. Musgrave remains the only series driver to win the same event three straight times. His continuing California Speedway streak began in 2001.
* Most former winners in Martinsville race … The Kroger 250 marks the first time that four former winners have entered the same series race at Martinsville Speedway. Three former winners have started an event at the track – most recently in October 2003. The four are Skinner, 1996; Hamilton, 2000; Setzer, 2002-03 and Jon Wood (No.50 Roush Racing Ford), 2003.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
* Two of 10 series winners at Martinsville Speedway have hailed from the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state that’s hosted the most races – 22 – in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history. They are Jimmy Hensley of Ridgeway (1999) and Jon Wood of Stuart (fall race of 2003).
Fast Facts
What: Kroger 250 (Race No. 3 of 25).
Where: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
When: 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 17.
Track layout: .526-mile paved oval.
Race length: 250 laps/131.5 miles.
Posted awards: $444,480.
TV: SPEED Channel, 1 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2003 winner: Dennis Setzer.
2003 polesitter: Ted Musgrave.
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday – Practice, 9 – 11:15 a.m. Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. Final practice following NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series practice, time permitting.(NASCAR PR)(4-3-2004)
