Star-Gazette from Elmira, New York • 51

Star-Gazette Thursday, May 28, 1998 Trucks kick off Glen's 50th year By RON LEVANDUSKI Star-Gazette Jack Sprague has been a force in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since it began in 1995. The current truck series points leader's list of accomplishments are numerous, including nine career wins. But the reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion has yet to taste victory on a road course. Sprague hopes to be the one uncorking the Bully Hill champagne in victory circle when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series christens the 50th anniversary season of racing at Watkins Glen International with the Parts America 150 Saturday. The event, traditionally run just two weeks after the Bud at the Glen Winston Cup race in August, was moved to its new date this year to strengthen the event's appeal and fine tune the Glen schedule.

The 62-lap race on the Glen's 2.45-mile 11-turn NASCAR course takes the green flag at noon. It will be televised live on ESPN. Practice and qualifying takes place Friday. The Glen is the first of three road course venues for the 1 SPENCER PLATTStar-Gazette 27-race Craftsman Truck Series, which features full-size pickup trucks with chassis virtually identical to a Winston Cup car. Sprague, who drives the No.

24 Rick 1998 Parts America 150 When: noon, Saturday. Distance: 62 laps1 51 .9 miles. Posted awards: $353,905. Held: 34 trucks possible with provisionals. Fastest 29 trucks through time trials.

Trucks come out of The Ninety during the 1 997 Parts America 1 50. Fellows knows a repeat win won't be easy u- Chevrolet, has a 23-point lead over rival and 1996 truck series champion Ron Hornaday, 995-972. Stacy Comp-ton is third with 858 points. The competition in the Craftsman Truck Series, now in its fourth year, has been outstanding this year. Coming into the Glen, there have been five different winners in the first six races and a different pole winner at each venue.

The eight previous road course truck series races have been won by five different drivers. If Sprague is victorious at The Glen, he would be the series sixth different winner. "I could road race every weekend," Sprague said. "I liked doing it the first time I tried it, but now I've gotten to the point where I really enjoy it." Even though he is without a road course victory, Sprague knows how to tackle the variety of right and left turns of a road race track and can be counted on to run among the race leaders. In '97, Sprague scored top-five finishes in each of the three road course events.

He qualified third at the Parts America 150 in 1997, the fastest of the truck series regulars. He led most of last year's race, only to finish third after being passed by eventual winner Ron Fellows with six laps to go. In his only other Glen appearance, Sprague was fourth in the 1996 race. "Watkins Glen is my favorite road course," Sprague said. "It's a beautiful area, and it's an outstanding track with a great atmosphere.

We led last race, but didn't win it. Hopefully, this year's race at the Glen will be my first road course victory." Continued on Page 4 "But, being a non-regular on the circuit, I thing the odds are definitely against us. There are some pretty talented guys who are there week in and week out." Fellows and his Billy Hess- and Bob McGraw-owned team did just about everything right last year, from building a truck with superior brakes to calculating gas mileage better than the leaders. Fellows was able to brake deeper than his rivals, and that was the deciding factor as he passed Dorsey Schroeder, Mike Bliss, Joe Ruttman and Jack Sprague in the last 25 laps for the win. The Hess-McGraw team is making its first Truck Series start of the year at the Parts America 150, and it comes to Watkins Glen having done its homework.

"We haven't raced yet this year, but in a lot of ways I think we're more prepared than last year for the Parts America 150," said Fellows, who earlier this year drove a Ferrari World Sporto Car in the 24 Hours of LeMans and a Porsche at the 12 Hours of Sebring. "We've made significant upgrades in our equipment, and we've done a good bit of testing," Fellows said. "So in that sense, we're hoping those mechanical uncertainties you typically have going into your first race of the season will be kept away." By RON LEVANDUSKI Star-Gazette Ron Fellows is an unlikely defending champion of the Parts America 150. Competing in just his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, the Canadian road racing veteran completed a late race charge from fifth place to capture the second annual event at Watkins Glen International. The 38-year-old became the only non-regular series driver to win a race last year.

He joined Winston Cup regulars Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Ken Schrader as the only non-regulars to win in the four-year history of the Truck Series. Fellows, who competed in a limited schedule of five races last year, returns to Watkins Glen with the No. 48 AER Mfg. Chevrolet. The Toronto resident, who won Trans-Am races at the Glen in 1994 and 1995, certainly feels at home on the 2.45-mile, 11-turn track.

He paced the Craftsman Truck Series field last year at Watkins Glen with a record qualifying run of 117.387 mph. "We'd sure like to win it again this year," Fellows said. "I've had terrific success at the Glen over the years. It's one of my favorite circuits. 1 i if." rY Ll SIMON WHEELERStar-Gazette Pole sitter and race winner Ron Fellows, right, gives some driving tips to Andy Genzman in the garage at Watkins Glen International during the 1997 Craftsman Truck Series weekend..