Shortly after hearing his name uttered by Mike Joy on the Fox telecast, former Haas CNC Racing driver Jack Sprague joined Kurt Busch's Victory celebration at Martinsville.
 |
| Sprague's Glamor Shot |
"Woo! We've been waiting for this for years!", an excited Sprague yelled into an open microphone. "When Gene (Haas, team owner) started this thing back in 2003, I knew we were on to something big. Now, after 11 years of hard work, we've finally won one for Gene!"
Sprague, who enthusiastically congratulated Busch--who was heard to mutter "Who the hell was that?" to a PR flak--said that it was no problem at all to come on such short notice to the out-of-the-way track.
"Oh, I'm still keeping up with the series, even though I'm on a bit of a hiatus right now", Sprague said to Fox reporter Jeff Hammond, who was interviewing runner-up Jimmie Johnson at the time. "I mean, it's like I told Jeff Green and John Andretti--when you join Haas CNC Racing, you're a member forever. Even a name change, an address change, and a security guard refusing to let you in to work on cars doesn't change that."
Sprague, who last ran in a national touring series race in 2008, was quickly escorted out of the improvised Victory Lane celebrations by on-track security.
"Oh, this must be because the Truck (Series) race is coming up next, right?" Sprague said to the armed guards. "Hey, I know all about the Truck Series--I'd better go up to the TV booth, maybe the Speed Channel guys could use some help broadcasting today! I hope Gene doesn't mind me leaving early, but I'll see him again to discuss my ideas for the new F1 chassis."
In other news, Brad Keselowski challenged Busch to a fight over their on-track skirmish today, with former Penske driver David Stremme adding, "Yeah!"