Three-time champion Jack Sprague is all smiles this week -- even if things didn't exactly go his way at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Saturday's Ohio 250 (Entry List) at Mansfield Motorsports Park is next on the schedule and Sprague's record at the .5-mile oval is nothing short of incredible.

Sprague has competed at Mansfield four times, winning in 2004. Since then, he's finished second in three consecutive races.

It might be the half-mile track. Sprague is third in series short-track wins (13) and is the only driver to have won at all five such tracks on the schedule.

Sprague can't completely explain his success at Mansfield but said, "Mansfield is a short track just like I grew up on. I have the most experience with these types of tracks and I am most comfortable racing at these venues."

Sprague, however, is candid in explaining one element.

"A lot of my success can be attributed to pit strategy," he said. "We have always had great pit stops and been able to make the right calls [for track position].

"Qualifying is very critical here. A good qualifying effort can set you up to have a great day."

ThorSport an outsider but ...

ThorSport Racing is based in Sandusky, Ohio, and is the only full-time team not headquartered in North Carolina or Virginia.

"The fans in Ohio look forward to this race all year, and they really let us know how much they enjoy having [us] visit. They treat the drivers like kings," said Shelby Howard, driver of ThorSport's No. 13 Chevrolet. "It adds extra excitement being at our home track, less than an hour from our shop. There's just an electricity in the air."

ThorSport is coming off a win this past Friday at Lowe's when Matt Crafton drove the No. 88 Chevrolet to Victory Lane.

"I can't thank Duke and Rhonda Thorson enough for the money they put out of their own pocket," said Crafton, who won for the first time in his 178-race career.

A full-time team since 1998, ThorSport Racing hadn't won since Terry Cook posted its only victory on Aug. 8, 1998 at the now defunct Flemington (N.J.) Speedway. Crafton won in the team's 237th start since that win.

Auton: Nice town, track tough

"When we were a lot younger, it was always exciting when the circus came to our area of North Carolina.

"That's how I'd explain the response of residents in and around Mansfield, Ohio, since the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made its first visit to the community in 2004.

Fast facts

What	Ohio 250 at Mansfield
When	Green, 1:15 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	SPEED, 12:30 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 1 p.m. ET

• Track Page | Tickets | Series

"We have been welcomed with open arms to say the least. It seems like the whole town turns out for the annual hauler parade and downtown street festival.

"Thousands of folks have taken the opportunity to meet our drivers, get autographs and tour team and NASCAR haulers.

"It harkens back to another era in racing -- when the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were in their infancies and visited tracks in small towns across the southeast.

"The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is definitely No. 1 in mid-Ohio during the fourth week of May.

"Mansfield Motorsports Park itself hasn't always been so welcoming to the drivers.

"The well-banked half-mile is among the most challenging short tracks on the schedule.

"A driver must be on top of his game and his crew chief more so.

"A year ago, Spears Motorsports gambled on a no-stop strategy and Dennis Setzer won. That won't happen this year as we've reduced the capacity of the fuel cell.

"One thing is certain. The fans will see a lot of close-up action.
-- Craftsman Truck Series director Wayne Auton

In the Loop: Mansfield

Racing at Mansfield is hit-or-miss for past Truck Series champions -- some are solid, some aren't. The two best active drivers are Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday.

In the four series races held at Mansfield, Sprague has finished inside the top two -- including a win in 2004.

In his three races since, Sprague has a Driver Rating of 107.6, a series-best Average Running Position of 8.8, 21 Fastest Laps Run and a series-high percentage of Laps in the Top 15 (80.4).

Hornaday, with a Mansfield win in 2006, owns the top average Mansfield Driver Rating of 120.1 in the past three races there. Additionally, he has an Average Running Position of 9.5 and a series-high 65 Fastest Laps Run.

But the success rate hasn't been so robust for champions Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner and Ted Musgrave. While none have fared poorly, there is only one top-five finish at Mansfield among them (Skinner's fourth-place finish last year).

In the past three Mansfield races, Musgrave has the strongest statistics of those three drivers. Musgrave, whose best Mansfield finish was 12th in 2005, has a Mansfield Driver Rating of 93.1 and an Average Running Position of 12.7.

Bodine has a Driver Rating of 88.2, an Average Running Position of 13.0 and 35 Fastest Laps Run, which ranks second in the series at Mansfield. Skinner has a Driver Rating of 87.7 and a Average Running Position of 13.6.

There have been five different winners in the most recent five short-track races. Go back six -- to Mansfield '07 -- and Dennis Setzer is the only double winner.

Howe among many Ohioans in Truck Series

The state of Ohio may be hundreds of miles from the North Carolina/Virginia bases of the Craftsman Truck Series.

But that doesn't mean the state isn't well-represented. Some might say Ohioans have more than their share of influence on the series -- starting with Jack Roush, a native of Manchester, whose trucks have won 48 times and sent Greg Biffle to the 2000 championship.

Among those whose Mansfield Motorsports Park visit will be a Buckeye homecoming is Doug Howe, crew chief of the No. 08 Dodge driven by Jason White. Howe hails from Cuyahoga Falls -- a town located 70 miles northeast of the track.

Howe became interested in racing as a youth and volunteered as a crew member for local driver Scott Baker. What began as a weekend hobby evolved into a decision to move to Mooresville, N.C., and pursue a career in NASCAR racing.

He's currently with SS Green Light Racing and has worked with a number of teams including JR Motorsports and what became Germain Motorsports.

"He's worked for various teams but he always seems to come back to Green Light," said his wife, Sheryl, who also works for the team in an administrative capacity. The Howes have two daughters, Crystal and Julia.

Both describe their father as "quiet."

"Doug is one of the hardest-working and most loyal people in all of racing," said Bobby Dotter, the team's general manager. "He brings a lot to our team. I don't think there is anyone in the garage area that doesn't like Doug."

Driver debuts at Mansfield

At least three drivers are bidding for their first Craftsman Truck action on Saturday. They are John Wes Townley (No. 09 Ford); Scotty Crockett (No. 12 Chevrolet) and Angela Cope (No. 73 Dodge). Cope, 24, is one of two racing twins and the niece of 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope. Cope will drive the No. 74 team truck.