NASCAR-CTS: Jack Sprague fastest in Craftsman Truck practice at Martinsville Speedway

16 April 1999

Martinsville, VA---If Wednesdays practice speeds hold up in the NAPA 250 Craftsman Truck qualifying at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, not only will the pole record be in jeopardy but the trucks may run faster than last year s pole speed for the Goodys Body Pain 500 Winston Cup race.

Jack Sprague turned a lap of 20.348 seconds, 93.061 miles per hour in Wednesdays test session that included 37 NASCAR Craftsman Trucks. Rich Bickle set the qualifying record of 20.406 seconds, 92.796 in 1997 and Bobby Hamilton won the pole a year ago in the Goodys Body Pain 500 with a time of 20.323 seconds, 93.175 mph.

"We are really good on old tires. I think we could run in the .20s if I can get it right on stickers. This place is hard to get a hold of when you qualify. Its a tough place," said the driver of the GMAC Chevrolet.

He was surprised by his speed.

"Yeah, because I am terrible here. The guys did a great job. We really struggle here. We went back and looked at our notes, and the best we had run here was in 1995 so we put that setup back in and we are good again. The GMAC truck is running real good and on old tires."

Stacy Compton, who is second in the Craftsman Truck points race was fifth fastest, and he ran more than two-tenths of a second fastest than he qualified last year. He turned a lap of 20.498 seconds, 92.380 mph. The driver of the RC Cola Dodge said wasnt sure why speeds were so much faster.

"I dont know, hopefully it the Dodge trucks with this (Joey) Arrington horsepower. Theres been a lot of cup guys testing and theres a lot of rubber on the track. The weather conditions are great. NASCAR has let us have a little more downforce and that may be what it is."

Dennis Setzer had a very fast truck last fall and was fourth quickest Wednesday with a time of 20.481 seconds, 92.456 mph.

"We had a really good truck here last year," said the driver of the Mopar Performance Dodge. "We could pass on the outside. This is the same truck, same setup and hopefully we will come back with the same thing."

Ron Hornaday tested along with his son, Ronnie, who will attempt to run his first Craftsman Truck Series race.

"This is only the second time he has driven a truck. He only has 50 laps in a Craftsman Truck Series truck before today," said the driver of the NAPA Brakes Chevrolet. "Im pretty excited about it. For him to come to Martinsville is a good experience."

Ronnie Hornaday said learning from a father who has been so successful in the Craftsman Truck Series and now trying to race with him is both good and tough.

"It helps you a lot, but at the same time it puts pressure on you because you have big shoes to fill," he said.

Kevin Harvick was second fastest in practice with a speed of 92.837 mph, Mike Wallace was third with a 92.628, Dennis Setzer was fourth at 92.456 mph and Ridgeway, Va. native Jimmy Hensley was sixth with a 92.344 lap.

Hensley and Hornaday put on a great show a year ago and had a couple of bumping incidents while battling for the lead late in the race before Jay Sauter passed them both for the win. Jimmy said he hopes to be in the same situation, but doesnt know if he would do it the same way.

"It depends on who is rubbing up beside me. I hope I am in the same situation as last year. We were leading the race near the end and thats what I want to do," he said. "Last year Ron (Hornaday) and I got together a couple of times. Hopefully weve got that out of our system and we can just go race. I thought we put on a good show for the fans last year. That was one of the best truck races we had all year. I think you will see that Saturday."

Tickets for the NAPA 250 Craftsman Truck race, which starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, are $25 for adults and $5 for children ages 6-12. Tickets are all unreserved and can be purchased the day of the race. There also are good seats available for the Goodys Body Pain 500 Winston Cup race on Sunday at 1 p.m. Another 8,000 unreserved seats for the Goodys Body Pain 500 go on sale race morning at 7:30.

Qualifying for the Craftsman Truck Series is 1:40 p.m. on Friday and the Winston Cup cars take time trials at 3 p.m.

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