Jack Sprague’s (No. 16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series record at Martinsville Speedway mirrors the previous Augusta National stats of golf professional Phil Mickelson, who broke his Masters drought last Sunday.

Sprague, on three occasions, has finished third at the .526-mile venue, site of Saturday’s Kroger 250 – just as Mickelson did in his past three starts at Augusta before snapping an 0-for-47 winless run in professional golf’s four major tournaments.

And like “Lefty,” who’d previously won 22 PGA Tour events, there’s no question about Sprague’s credentials. The three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion has fashioned 23 victories in 174 series starts.

Breaking through at Martinsville – arguably one of the series’ most difficult short tracks – would be a two-fold accomplishment for the 39-year-old Spring Lake, Mich., veteran. It would fill a big blank on Sprague’s resume and – after a pair of lackluster efforts – would kick-start IWX Racing back into the championship form it enjoyed in 2002-03.

Sprague is the first to admit that Martinsville hasn’t always suited his game, explaining perhaps why he and Ron Hornaday Jr. – numbers one and two in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories with 49 – haven’t won there.

Both are hard-chargers and a Martinsville win doesn’t always go to the swiftest.

“Keeping a cool head is what you have to do to get to Victory Lane,” Sprague said.

That explains why Martinsville’s victory list is peppered with names of those who’ve called on a veteran’s savvy to take the checkered flag. Among them are Dennis Setzer (No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet), Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge) and Mike Skinner (No. 42 Toyota Tundra Toyota).

Saturday’s 250-lap race will be Sprague’s first at Martinsville for the Steve Coulter-owned team. In 2002, Mike Bliss drove the team’s Chevrolet to a second-place finish en route to the series championship.

Sprague believes he can build on that performance.

“I feel like our short track program is right where it needs to be,” said Sprague, who has tested on several non-series tracks since last month’s Atlanta race.   

Uncharacteristically, both driver and team are far down in the points standings after an accident at Daytona International Speedway and a variety of problems in Atlanta. Sprague is 25th, 161 points behind leader Travis Kvapil (No. 24 LINE-X Toyota). Still, Bliss faced a 121-point deficit after the first two races of 2002.

“We haven’t had the results we had hoped for so far but there are 23 races left in the run for the championship,” he said. “We are well-prepared for Martinsville and the guys are pumped up.

“It is a team effort and we are all working toward the same goal.”

Sprague realizes that preparation and desire are no guarantees of success at any short track.

“I think we have everything in place to get a win (but) we just need luck to ride with us as well,” said Sprague, who has yet to lead a lap at Martinsville in seven previous starts. He finished 29th on the track in last spring’s Virginia 500 in NASCAR’s premier series. “You have to put yourself in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a situation. To do that, you have to qualify well so at the start of the race you can run toward the front, get your truck sorted out and let everyone get settled down.

“Martinsville is definitely a place where you have to be well-prepared and get some luck to fall your way.”