NASCAR Driver Jack Sprague - Interview

SCR: So how did the race at Flemington go?
Sprague: I hated that track. I was thinking, "I'm going to Flemington to debut for my career and I hate this place." We finished fourth. I'm thinking this is the best finish I have ever had-I'm in. So we get home and they tell me we are going to Richmond for a one-race deal. Terry (Labonte) was running the DuPont truck and I ran the Budweiser truck. I tried to set it on the pole and qualified 21st. Terry set it on the pole. First lap running into one, Butch Miller tags me, I spin out and get hit. I'm tore all to hell. There I went again. Blew the whole deal. I went to the back and came back to pass Johnny Benson for 10th. I got out of the truck thinking I just ruined myself again. I was trying too hard and got myself in trouble. I no sooner got out of the truck and (Hendrick general manager) Jimmy Johnson walked up to me and said, "Be in my office tomorrow morning. We are going to sign you." Cool. They signed me for 1996.

SCR: You left the Truck Series with three championships under your belt. But it wasn't always easy was it?
Sprague: We went into last year with another team on board. We kicked some butt and set a lot of records. It would have been a lot better had we not had engine troubles in races we were leading. We were hurting the motors and didn't know it. The motor builders are retired now-probably because of that deal. They thought it was their fault. I thought it was their fault. Heck, it wasn't their fault. We were hurting the motors from the outside in instead of the inside out. Once we got that figured out we never lost another motor and we won races. The last seven years have been unbelievable. Prior to that was rather difficult. A lot of people don't see those years. If someone said, "You're done you have to go back and do it all over again," I would tell them to climb a tree. I think because of what I went through and had to go through to get to this point gives me an edge.

SCR: You certainly do have an edge.
Sprague: It might be a rough one. I don't ever give up, and I don't lie down for second place. I think a lot of that came from what we had to go through. Even what my wife had to go through to get to this point. I have never once got in a race and said, "Man I don't feel like racing. I'm just going to ride around here and if I get a Top 10, cool." Man, that doesn't happen. I see guys get out of cars and do interviews and say, "I wasn't on today." What does that mean? I don't think what I went through was a bad thing, I just wouldn't want to do it again.

SCR: Up until Daytona you had 170 starts in the Truck Series. Not many drivers can say they have raced in every race since a series started. How important is that to you?
Sprague: That is cool, but that is not what I set out to do. Three years ago I wanted to race Winston Cup so bad I couldn't stand it. Then I just got comfortable. I liked doing what I was doing. I could still be doing that right now and be happy. Running the Busch Series this year was a decision that Rick thought was best for the company, and I am cool with that, too. But, I was having the time of my life in the truck. I hope I have as much fun doing this. I have the same guys, the same crew chief and the same sponsor.

SCR: So is getting to the Cup level still a goal of yours?
Sprague: That is what I moved to North Carolina for, and what I worked so hard for and went through all the trouble to do. Then I watched guys like (Ron) Hornaday, who is a friend of mine, and Stacy (Compton) get themselves in situations they shouldn't have and be miserable. I'm not going to do that. If I am going to race Winston Cup I am going to be in a situation I am comfortable with-not be miserable.