Sprague cashes in at series banquet
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
November 9, 2001
11:48 AM EST (1648 GMT)
MIAMI -- The final official function in the 2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season took place Thursday night, and Jack Sprague was the big winner.
Tuxedos for the men, gorgeous gowns for the ladies, big trophies and small ones were the order of fare for the series championship banquet held at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Miami. In addition to the aforementioned attire and hardware, each of the top-10 finishing drivers spoke to the well-dressed crowd.
Sprague and the No. 24 NetZero
Platinum Chevrolet team took home the championship trophy, awards and rewards.
Sprague’s point money was $305,552 to bring his total season earnings to $967,462. That put him over the $4 million mark for career earnings, the first driver in series history to reach that.
Sprague, a 38-year-old native of Spring Hill, Mich., became the only driver in the series' seven-year history to win the championship three
times.
“This has been a very difficult year for me and my team,” Sprague said. “We had to overcome a lot of difficulties we weren’t used to dealing with. Without having the right leadership in place when we took on the second team of Ricky Hendrick, it could have been a difficult situation for everybody.
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Dennis Connor, Jack Sprague and Rick Hendrick (l-r)
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“(Crew chief) Dennis Conner was put in charge of both teams and I couldn’t think of a better person to handle it.”
The Rick Hendrick Motorsports-owned team also took home high honors in 1997 and 1999. Hendrick was in attendance to revel in his team’s accomplishments.
He missed the other two while recovering from leukemia.
Going into the season finale at California Speedway, all Sprague needed to clinch the championship was take the green flag. The big story was how the rest of the top 10 would shake out.
When the dust settled, Ted Musgrave utilized a race win to claim second in points. Behind him, in order, were Joe Ruttman, Travis Kvapil, Scott Riggs, Ricky Hendrick, Terry Cook, Rick Crawford, Dennis Setzer and Coy Gibbs.
Musgrave came onstage and presented a pair of boxing gloves to Sprague, because of his run-ins with drivers through the years.
“These are for you to hang on the mirror,” Musgrave said. “That way you’ll have them whenever you need them next time” as the crowd laughed.
Musgrave then thanked his owners, Jim and Marlene Smith, for revitalizing his career. He then followed that up by announcing he would be back with the team next year.
Ruttman was the feel-good moment of the night, picking up the Most Popular Driver Award. Ruttman is unsure of his future he was told a few weeks ago that sponsor DANA Corporation would not be returning to the team next year.
He also had the most humorous speech of the night, taking swipes at NASCAR, Sprague and others. He also made light of his own situation.
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Travis Kvapil (left) accepted the rookie trophy.
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“Somebody help me,” Ruttman said. “I’ve never worked a day in my life. And this is a heck of time to start.”
Kvapil captured the Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. Hendrick was the only other rookie to finish in the top 10, a mere 18 rookie points behind Kvapil.
Riggs thanked his fellow racers and drivers, saying that they have been like family to him this year. He then made a family announcement of his own.
“My wife Jada and I just found out we are going to be parents in June,” Riggs said with tears in his eyes. “Thank you for being my soulmate and for sharing in this with me, I love you. I also want to thank my mom and dad. They put just about everything they had into my racing career to get where I am today.”
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Scott Riggs was a title contender until the bitter end.
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Ricky Hendrick delivered his speech with a big lipstick mark on his left cheek from the trophy presenter.
An emotional Crawford thanked his team owner for all his support through the last 10 years. He choked back tears and had to pause a few times to compose himself.
“Dennis Mitchell is the owner of Circle Bar Racing,” Crawford said. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.” After composing himself once, he said, “It only takes two and a half minutes to make a fool out of yourself.”
Rick Hendrick was honored as championship owner of the year and Conner picked up the championship crew chief award. The team’s engine builder, Ronnie Rivas of BNR Engines, received the Clevite Mechanic of the Year.
Second-place owner award went to Jim Smith, owner of Ultra Motorsports. Bobby Hamilton was the third-place owner.
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Coy Gibbs celebrated a top-10 season.
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“We don’t want to win all the races,” Smith quipped. “Just the ones we enter.”
Dodge received the Manufacturer of the Year award for the first time in its history of involvement in the Craftsman Truck Series. Chevrolet had won the award the previous six times.
The championship sponsor of the year award went to Brian Woods of NetZero Platinum. It was his company’s first year of involvement in NASCAR sponsorships.
In addition to the championship award, Sprague also picked up contingency awards from Budweiser, Gatorade, Unocal 76, Featherlite and Goodyear. Each company handed the champion a check for $10,000.
The evening concluded with a live band and celebration well past midnight.
Henry Ferris, from series sponsor Craftsman Tools, was kind enough to remind everyone in attendance that there are only 14 more weeks until the first race in Daytona.
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