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Sprague gets to victory lane; Dodge finally doesn't

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Two streaks came to an end this past Friday night (June8) at Texas Motor Speedway, and two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Jack Sprague ended both of them. By winning the O'Reilly 400, Sprague ended the longest non-winning streak of his career (22 races). His last win came on June 3, 2000. Sprague also ended another streak. It was the first time this season a truck made by a manufacturer other than Dodge visited victory lane. Dodge claimed win in all three of the eight races run so far in 2001 until the trip to Texas.

Sprague did have someone else on his mind while celebrating in victory lane. He dedicated the win to the late Tony Roper, a truck series driver who lost his life in a racing accident last October at Texas.

Sprague wasn't the only bright spot for Chevrolet over the weekend. Over half (six) of the top-10 finishers took the checkered flag behind the wheel of a Chevy Silverado. In an udominating-like fashion, Dodge claimed three spots in the top-10 while Ford's only appearance in the top-10 was produced by Nathan Haseleu, barely cracking the top-10 with his 10th-place finish.

The highest finishing Dodge was driven by reigning Winston West champion Brendan Gaughan. The second place finish was the best-ever truck series finish for the driver and also the best-ever finish for TKO Motorsports.

The day didn't end so positively for a handful of other drivers. Points leader Scott Riggs ended his day early by getting involved in a wreck on lap 143 and wound up 26th. It was Riggs' first finish outside of the top-five so far this season. Despite the bad day, Riggs still holds on to the points lead with a slim 43-point edge over second-place Joe Ruttman.

Things also sort of ended on a sour note for Ted Musgrave and Terry Cook. It looked as though both drivers were certain top-10 finishers going into the final laps, but each ran out of fuel within the last 10 laps of the event.

The truck drivers will take the upcoming weekend off before heading to Memphis Motorsports Park for the Memphis 200 on June 23. Sprague won the race in 2000. If he can repeat last season's performance in Memphis, perhaps he can get another streak going, this one a more positive one than the streak he just ended.

A breakdown of the top-10 in Texas: 1. Jack Sprague 2. Brendan Gaughan 3. David Starr 4. Joe Ruttman

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