Sprague Overcomes Pain, Foes

Bruised ribs from an accident Friday didn’t prevent Jack Sprague from fighting off first Ron Hornaday and then Ernie Irvan to win one of the most competitive Craftsman Truck races of the year Saturday in a Chevrolet pickup.

“I don’t think any those fans sitting in 100-degree weather were disappointed at what they saw,” said Irvan of the No Fear Challenge 200 before an estimated 35,000 sun-soaked spectators at California Speedway.

Irvan drove a Ford.

Sprague, the defending series champion from Spring Lake, Mich., crashed during practice before qualifying Friday and raced with his ribs tightly taped.

“It hurt pretty bad all morning, but after about 10 laps I didn’t notice it any more,” said the winner.

It was Sprague’s second win this season and his 10th overall, of which eight have been on super speedways.

It didn’t come easy, however.

He started 12th and had moved up to eighth when he and Mike Bliss bumped and both slid into the grass. Fortunately for Sprague, that was the lap the race was halted, thus enabling him to put on new tires without losing track position.

“I couldn’t do anything and I spun,” said Bliss, last year’s Fontana winner. “The draft plays a big effect here and you just have to try and find a happy medium. All I saw was a big wall coming up. It’s too bad it happened.”

Had the accident happened on any other lap, Sprague probably would have lost a lap, but truck race rules call for a mandatory stop at one lap past the halfway point.

“Mike lost it and got into me and we both spun,” said Sprague. “It wasn’t fun when I was spinning and looking at that wall that I hit yesterday. I didn’t want to hit that thing again, ‘cause it was going to hurt. Luckily, I was able to keep it off the wall.”

After the restart, on lap 52, Sprague began a steady climb to the front. He picked up four or five positions during a caution flag brought out when Randy Renfrow stalled in the third turn.

Sprague passed Hornaday for the lead for the first time on lap 79 of the 100-lap race, only to have the former Saugus Speedway champion repass him on lap 87. The two stormed around the two-mile oval almost side by side before Sprague pulled his pickup back in front.

“Once I began to pull away from Hornaday a little bit, I looked in the mirror and saw No. 28 [Irvan] closing in on me.”

Irvan, who had not been higher than seventh through 80 laps, made a daring pass of two cars while running with his left wheels on the grass as the crowd jumped to its feet along the front straightaway.

Irvan never caught Sprague, finishing .364 seconds back. Four caution flags for 13 laps kept the winning speed down to 141.84 mph, but it was still the fastest in Craftsman Truck history. There were 16 lead changes, one shy of the Craftsman Truck series record, among six drivers.

Hornaday finished third, with pole sitter Andy Houston fourth and Mike Skinner fifth. The 23 trucks on the lead lap equaled a series record set in Richmond, Va.

The win extended Sprague’s series lead to 41 points over Hornaday.