Sprague all but wraps up NASCAR truck series title

Monday, Nov. 3, 1997 | 8:32 a.m.

PHOENIX -- Don't look for Jack Sprague to be taking in any thrill rides while he is in Las Vegas for this weekend's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Carquest Auto Parts 420K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sprague has a simple task before him in order to clinch the series championship in the season finale. And he has no intentions of doing anything risky prior to Sunday's race.

"All I have to do is take the green flag and I'll win it," Sprague said after extending his lead over Rich Bickle to 177 points with a third-place finish in Saturday's GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery 300 at Phoenix International Raceway.

"As long as I live long enough to take the green flag (I'll win the championship) ... if I don't, it doesn't matter anyway."

If he does anything in Las Vegas this week, it may be catching up on his sleep. The tightly contested points battle has caused many restless nights for the 33-year-old in recent weeks.

"I can sleep now," Sprague joked after piloting his Quaker State Chevrolet to his 15th top-five finish in 25 starts. "It has been tough, I'll tell you what. The first half of the year wasn't too awful good to us and the second half has been awful good to us."

Joe Ruttman's fuel economy was awfully good to him as he drove his LCI International Ford to the winner's circle for the fourth time this season -- without the benefit of a fuel stop late in the race.

Ruttman took over the lead for the first time with 56 laps remaining when debris on the track brought out a caution. While the leaders used the caution period to stop for fuel, Ruttman stayed on the track and led for the remainder of the 186-lap event.

"I don't know how they made it on fuel but they did," Sprague said of Ruttman's team.

"It's just one of them deals (where) maybe we could have (gone the distance without stopping or fuel) but it wasn't worth taking a chance and running off and being in trouble. But if I could have got back out front and they would have pitted for fuel along with me, it would have been over with."

Chuck Bown, who also elected not to pit during the earlier caution period, took second in the Exide Batteries Ford and Sprague beat rookie Kenny Irwin's Raybestos/Ford Credit Ford to the line in a photo finish for third place.

Sprague neared his first truck series championship with the help of Bickle, who finished 18th after his Sears Diehard Chevrolet developed engine trouble late in the race. Sprague could have wrapped up the title at PIR had either he finished one place higher or Bickle one place lower but Bickle made a last-lap pass on Jimmy Hensley, delaying Sprague's victory celebration for another week.

Sprague said he never considered trying to race for a better position late in the race in order to wrap up the title in Phoenix.

"If this was the spring, it would have been a lot different," Sprague said. "I got a run on Chuck a couple of times but I had to make sure I did not make contact. If I could get clean air, I was really, really good. When I'd get right up on him and try to make a run on him, I'd go to junk. In the big picture, there was no sense (in trying to win)."