Hornaday-Sprague rivalry builds truck series

JEFF SHAIN

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

Jack Sprague felt betrayed.

The Michigan-born driver had just won the NASCAR truck race in Indianapolis, surviving a fender-banging duel that sent Ron Hornaday into the wall.

As Sprague entered Victory Lane that night last July, he was greeted by a cascade of boos.

"It really blew my mind," he said. "That's as close to my hometown as you can get, as far as racing. I couldn't believe the people that just wanted to kill me."

If close competition and a little controversy are the best ingredients to fuel a rivalry, Hornaday and Sprague have mastered that as well as anybody in racing in recent years.

In doing so, they are as responsible as any for generating interest in the truck series, which launched its fifth season last week in Homestead, Fla.

"I just think it's racing," Hornaday said. "Jack and I race side-by-side and do what we need to try to win. If that brings fans into it, they're going to have a heck of a year."

It's a compelling rivalry. Hornaday has won two of the past three Craftsman Truck Series championships, with Sprague finishing second both times and winning the title himself in 1997.

Last year, they battled to the wire before Hornaday won by three points.

Together, the duo has combined to win 36 of the 98 races in series history, collecting more than $4.7 million in prize money. They have finished second or third an additional 42 times, meaning at least one of them usually is on the podium after each race.

There's also a fair amount of intrigue that spills over from Winston Cup. Hornaday drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Sprague's owner is Rick Hendrick, who has Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon in his garage.

Fans in those two factions aren't likely to agree on the color of the sky, and those passions have carried over into trucks.

"It always seems to come back to being affiliated with Gordon and Earnhardt," Hornaday said.

Not that Hornaday and Sprague haven't had their own scrapes over the past few seasons.

In 1996, the two were racing on a slick track in Richmond, Va., when Hornaday tried to pass underneath and wound up putting Sprague into the wall. Sprague got his measure of redemption at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

"There's been incidents when I've come out on the short end of the stick and incidents where he's come out on the short end of the stick," Sprague said. "I really don't believe any of it was 'I'm going to wreck this guy.' You're racing.

"It's tough to pass him anyway. You see a hole and think, 'I can make this work.' Sometimes it does and sometimes it don't."

Hornaday's philosophy is similar.

"It's good hard racing," he said. "We've got two different driving styles. Sometimes we're going to clash on the racetrack."

Last year's points battle seesawed down the stretch. Hornaday led Sprague by 26 points with four races left, then Sprague was ahead by 18 and 28. Hornaday reclaimed the top spot by 13 points.

Needing to win the season finale in Las Vegas, Sprague did just that after passing Greg Biffle with two laps left. But Hornaday moved into second on the final lap to secure the championship.

"When it was all said and done, Jack and I did doughnuts (on the track) together and shook hands in the middle," Hornaday said. "It shows Jack's a true gentleman and hard racer. It was kind of cool to do that. It wasn't a put-on show."

Still, the result has eaten at Sprague all winter. A one-place improvement in any race, and he would have won the title.

"I guess it was just one of them deals where you're not supposed to win it," he said. "We gave it everything we had and put on a good show trying."

Hornaday got the jump in the rivalry this season by finishing fourth in the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 400. Sprague was 22nd.

Both figure to be in the thick of the championship chase again. And fans on both sides will have ample opportunity to voice their loyalties.

"As long as you've got them all doing something, you know they know what's going on," Sprague said.