NASCAR NCTS (CHARLOTTE) - Jack Sprague and Wyler Racing Determined to be the Best

As the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series only three-time champion, Jack Sprague (No. 60 Con-way Freight Toyota) is arguably one of the best drivers in series’ history. He has wins at 18 of the 44 tracks at which he has competed and at least one top-five finish at 39 different tracks.

But if there is one place Sprague hasn’t conquered, it is Lowe’s Motor Speedway. In three races at the track, his best finish is 26th, in 2004. Last year, in his first race there with Wyler Racing and crew chief Tony Furr, Sprague finished 34th. He can’t figure out why.

“I don’t know what it is,” Sprague said. “I love this place. I won the first Sportsman race the track had – I can run fast here.”

His actions spoke louder than words Thursday, during the first day of a two-day series test at Lowe’s. Sprague’s test laps were among the top five quickest in each of the three sessions.

“I know the guys gave me two great trucks here at the test,” Sprague said. “Hopefully we can come back next Friday and at least contend for the win.”

Sprague is used to contending for wins. He has 28 career victories, one shy of all-time leader Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 AES HR Solutions Chevrolet). He leads all drivers with 128 top-five finishes (44 ahead of second-place Hornaday) and 176 top-10 finishes (41 ahead of his closest competitor).

Furr knows how high the bar is set with Sprague.

“Our goal every week is to be the best and win everything we can – win in practice, win the pole, win the race and win the championship,” Furr said.

The team currently is fifth in the standings, 171 points behind leader Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota). Sprague opened the season with a win from the pole at Daytona International Speedway, the eighth time he has won a race from the pole, another series record. Sprague also has claimed two top-five finishes this year, but finishes of 23rd at Atlanta and 16th at Martinsville have set back the team’s championship goal.

“We were a little behind because of the changes to the front end in the off-season,” Furr said. “We were able to catch up during the off-weeks and build up our truck inventory.”

Following the two-day test at Lowe’s – the last sanctioned test of the year – the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will compete on seven consecutive weekends, the longest stretch on the schedule.

“We’re looking to get into a rhythm starting next week,” Furr said. “There are several tracks coming up that are similar to what you learn here. At a mile-and-a-half track, everything, including horsepower and aero, come into play, so you have to take advantage of it all you can.”

Furr is confident the team is destined for great things this year.

“We try to bring the best truck in the field every week,” he said. “Jack does a really good job with what he has to do, our pit crew has really come around this year – they’ve been one of the best. We try to make everything the best it could be.”

Lap Leaders … Current standings leader Mike Skinner was fastest in Thursday’s three test sessions. Skinner posted the day’s fastest time with a lap of 30.141 seconds (179.158 mph) in the morning session in his “A” truck. A quick glance at the first day’s top times:

Morning session – top five lap times 1. Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota – 30.141 seconds/179.158 mph 2. Jack Sprague, No. 60 Toyota – 30.161 seconds/179.039 mph 3. Travis Kvapil, No. 6 Ford – 30.164 seconds/179.021 mph 4. Erik Darnell, No. 99 Ford – 30.329 seconds/178.047 mph 5. Kraig Kinser, No. 47 Chevrolet – 30.356 seconds/177.889 mph

Afternoon session – top five lap times 1. Jack Sprague, No. 60 Toyota – 30.478 seconds/177.177 mph 2. Todd Bodine, No. 30 Toyota – 30.559 seconds/176.707 mph 3. Ted Musgrave, No. 9 Toyota – 30.569 seconds/176.650 mph 4. Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota – 30.589 seconds/176.534 mph 5. Travis Kvapil, No. 6 Ford – 30.634 seconds/176.275 mph

Evening session – top five lap times 1. Kyle Busch, No. 51 Chevrolet – 30.241 seconds/178.566 mph 2. Tyler Walker, No. 36 Toyota – 30.290 seconds/178.277 mph 3. Jack Sprague, No. 60 Toyota – 30.337 seconds/178.012 mph 4. Travis Kvapil, No. 6 Ford – 30.384 seconds/177.725 mph 5. Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota – 30.400 seconds/177.632 mph

Note: For a complete listing of testing speeds from both days, visit www.nascarmedia.com.

Fast Facts

What: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series testing

Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval

When: Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11

Times: 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Who: 35 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams including drivers Willie Allen, AJ Allmendinger, TJ Bell, Johnny Benson, Kelly Bires, Blake Bjorklund, Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch, Joey Clanton, Terry Cook, Derrike Cope, Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Erik Darnell, Aaron Fike, Brendan Gaughan, Kevin Hamlin, Justin Hobgood, Ron Hornaday, Kraig Kinser, Travis Kvapil, Bill Lester, Chad McCumbee, Ted Musgrave, Steve Park, Clay Rogers, Tim Sauter, Ken Schrader, Dennis Setzer, Brian Silas, Mike Skinner, Jack Sprague, David Starr, Tyler Walker and Jason White.