Jack Sprague Set for 200th Career Start in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Bobby Labonte Set to Kick Off 2005 Chevrolet Silverado All Star Program

Chevrolet Team Silverado drivers Dennis Setzer, Jack Sprague and David Starr have one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race under their belts at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) but Ron Hornaday will be a "rookie" when the green flag flies on Friday night for race three of the 2005 season. 

Bobby Labonte has never raced a truck at AMS but considering his amazing record of six victories in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series (NNCS) competition, the Texas native is clearly favored to show the way to victory lane in the World Financial Group 200.
 
Despite being on crutches recovering from a broken left heel, Sprague, three-time NCTS champion, will become only the second driver in series' history to make the milestone 200th start.  Sprague was injured on February 23 at his Concord, NC home when he lost his footing on a frozen patch of roofing while cleaning the gutters.

Track Conditions:
The March 18 event will mark just the second time the NCTS has raced at AMS but lessons learned in 2004 will not necessarily apply this year.  The 2005 event will be run under the lights, which significantly changes the track conditions.  Additionally, with the new rules package just implemented requiring teams to fit every truck with side skirts and increase the size of the front cowl flap, teams may have to make adjustments in their previous setups to accommodate the skirting which brings the truck down as close to the track as possible.  Both changes were instituted by NASCAR to keep trucks from lifting easily when they get turned sideways on high-speed tracks.  While tested extensively in the wind tunnel, this will be the first time the changes will be at the track in competition.
 
"We tested extensively at Atlanta in early March," said Dayne Pierantoni, program manager for Chevrolet Team Silverado in the NCTS.  "We focused specifically on our aero package during the two-day test because in last year's race, the Silverado teams dealt with their trucks being too loose. 
 
"We are happy with the results of the test.  All of the Silverado teams left the track confident we are well prepared for the race.  Racing at night will certainly change the dynamic of the competition but we had enough opportunity to work under conditions very similar to what we will have during the race, we feel like we did our homework and will have a strong contingent of Silverado trucks in the front of the field at Atlanta."
 
The GM Team:
Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado driver, will team with 2000 NASCAR Cup champion Labonte for the Atlanta event.   Labonte is the kick-off driver for the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado All Star Program in the No. 47 Silverado with country music star Phil Vassar on the hood and "Nashville" on the rear quarter panels.
 
In 2004, Setzer qualified eighth and finished 11th on the way to his second consecutive runner-up season-ending points finish.
 
Hornaday, driver of the No. 6 GM Goodwrench Silverado, has driven in NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) and NNCS events at the fast Georgia oval but testing earlier in the month gave the California native his first laps in his Silverado.  The two-time NCTS champion was so excited, he sounded like it was his first time on a race track.
 
Starr and the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Silverado team head to AMS determined to drastically improve their 36th place finish in 2004.  Engine failure on just the 12th lap of the race sidelined the Texas native.

The World Financial Group 200 is race the third event on the 25-race 2005 NCTS schedule.  Racing for under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time, the 130-lap, 200-mile event will take the green flag at 9:15 p.m. EST on Friday, March 18, 2005 with live flag-to-flag television coverage provided by SPEED.  The race can also be heard on MRN Radio as well as XM Satellite Radio.

Pre-Event Notes and Quotes

DRIVER:  DENNIS SETZER
TEAM: No. 46 Morgan-Dollar Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado
Date of Birth: February 27, 1960  Hometown:  Newton, NC
ON ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "The truck we are bringing is the same one that we raced in at California last month.  That was the first race we competed in with that truck, which features a new chassis (Robertson) here at Morgan-Dollar.   We are going to set our truck up to be really tight this time.  Last year we were very loose and didn't have a very good race.  Most of the Chevrolet teams that tested here a few weeks ago could go wide open all the way around, but I think that will be a different story in heavy traffic."

ON TEAMING WITH BOBBY LABONTE:  "You know, we couldn't have picked a better guy to run with here in Atlanta.  He has an outstanding record at this track and being able to utilize his insight is going to be priceless.  Matter-of-fact, we might even jump in each other's trucks to fine tune the set up.  If he is comfortable with his, I want to see what its like.  If ours is running better, we'll let Bobby take a spin.  Last year we were able to gather a lot of information by having a lot of great drivers come down and run our truck at various places including Bobby.  Having Bobby here is going to be very beneficial to both of us and I hope one of us can win.  This is the first Chevrolet All-Star race of 2005 and it should be a great race for the fans under the lights."

DRIVER: JACK SPRAGUE
TEAM:  No. 16 Xpress Motorsports Chevy Trucks Silverado
Date of Birth: August 8, 1964  Hometown: Spring Lake, MI
ON STATUS OF INJURED FOOT: "I am really starting to feel pretty good.  I can't put any weight on it and won't be able to for a few more weeks but the pain as pretty much subsided.  The Chevy Trucks crew has worked helping build me a protective boot that I will wear every time I crawl in the cockpit of the No. 16 Chevy Trucks Silverado at Atlanta this weekend.

"Getting out of the truck in California was without a doubt one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in racing. I know it was the right thing to do for the team looking at the big picture for the team.  But Chris (Showalter) and the crew had put together an awesome awesome truck for California and Bliss proved how good it was by taking it to the front before the fuel shortage occurred.

ON RACING AT ATLANTA: "We didn't have a good race last year at Atlanta but it was a good NCTS for the fans.  The Chevy Trucks team tested down there last week with my teammate Regan Smith doing the driving.  I went along to work with the guys to get my boot fitted correctly and help Regan get the setup we needed under the truck.  I feel really confident going down for the race.

"With qualifying just before the race, we won't do much with a qualifying setup because Atlanta is good track with room to race and pass so we will just make sure we have the right setup to start the race and concentrate on getting a good solid race under our belts."

DRIVER: DAVID STARR
TEAM:  No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Silverado
Date of Birth:  October 11, 1967     Hometown:  Houston, TX 
ON RACING AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "I'm looking forward to going back to Atlanta Motor Speedway; it's an awesome facility. Especially the way the racetrack is laid out.  That's the style of a racetrack I really like racing on, the mile and a half tracks. They always have plenty of room, which makes it a very challenging fun race.  The one thing about the Atlanta Motor Speedway that's different than the others is that it has multiple grooves. It has three or four grooves on the thing.   We are really looking forward to go back racing in Atlanta I think I have the right truck to run well in my Chevy Silverado. Atlanta Motor Speedway is the 2nd fastest race track in the circuit for us and it's a great race track to run at.  When the NASCAR Craftsman trucks are in Atlanta, we put on one heck of a show for the race fans and I believe they are going to love it."

DRIVER:  RON HORNADAY                          
TEAM:  No. 6 Kevin Harvick, Inc. GM Goodwrench Silverado
Date of Birth: June 20, 1958                   Hometown: Palmdale, CA
ON ATLANTA MOTORS SPEEDWAY AFTER TESTING: "I had heard that you could run flat-out here, but I didn't believe it until today. I'm not surprised -- I'm shocked. I can't believe you can run these trucks like that. It's great. I held my breath for the first lap and then I got comfortable. We're fast, we've got the track to ourselves, and there were a lot of trucks testing the last couple days that laid down a lot of rubber. The weather is perfect, and we're going to test both day and night, so I think we're going to have a very good feel for what we'll need next weekend. With all the banking here and the new rules NASCAR has made, this will be a good show. Fans thought last year's racing was good, wait until this year."

DRIVER:  BOBBY LABONTE
TEAM:  No. 47 Morgan Dollar Motorsports Chevrolet All Star Phil Vassar Nashville Silverado
Date of Birth: May 8, 1964  Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX
ON DRIVING THE TRUCK RACE IN ATLANTA:  "Well, I'm looking forward to it. We tested down there the other day. I thought we were pretty good. It's kind of hard to tell. There was only a couple other trucks there at the time we were testing. You know, just looking forward to it. The Morgan-Dollar team, I was able to drive that truck last year at Martinsville, Homestead. Randy Goss (No. 47 crew chief), the guys, they did a great job. We had a lot of fun. We were competitive in both races. Finished third at Martinsville, running second at Homestead, then spun up and the engine blew up. Look forward to getting back in that truck and running good at Atlanta."

ON TEAMING WITH DENNIS SETZER:  "Well, Dennis, he's a neat individual. He's a great guy. We used to race against each other at Caraway, finished first and second in points with him. You know, we're a lot alike in a lot of ways, I think. We ran that truck last year at Martinsville to Caraway to test the two trucks. His didn't drive as good. Mine drove good. His was a little bit faster; mine was a little slower, okay. But he got in mine. He run the same speed I did. I got in his, ran about the same speed he did. I said, 'You need to take this truck because if you feel more comfortable in it, you're going for a championship'. He said, 'Well, we got another one at home.' I said, 'it would be funny, if people that were here a long time ago that used to see us race, if they saw us here today, they would probably think we were crazy' Everybody thought we hated each other, but we didn't. We were just competitors. I don't think we've ever laid a fender on each other the whole time we were there racing for a year every Saturday night. We didn't touch each other. But we always would kid with each other about, you know, good race, good race, whatever. We talked to each other about good racing. You know, I think the world of Dennis. He's a really neat guy. I hope he can go out there and win a bunch of races and the championship.

DRIVER:  REGAN SMITH
TEAM:  No. 19 Xpress Motorsports Silverado
Date of Birth:  September 23, 1983  Hometown: Cato, NY
ON ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "I have never raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway so the testing time we had there was invaluable to me.  I liked the track a lot.  It is fast and the truck handled well.  Even though he couldn't be on the track when I was because of his foot, it was good that Jack was there to give me an idea of how the truck should feel and what I needed to be feeling in the truck.

ON DISAPPOINTMENT IN CALIFRONIA: "We just need to have some good luck and finish a race.  We were having a decent run in California, not as good as in Daytona, but a good run and we lost an engine.  We just came back to North Carolina to regroup, went to Atlanta and had a good test and we are ready to hit the track and have a strong run and a solid finish."

DRIVER SHANE HMIEL
TEAM:  No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Silverado
Date of Birth:  May 15, 1980  Hometown:  Mt. Pleasant, NC
ON RETURNING TO NCTS COMPETITION AT AMS: "Being back with the Billy Ballew Motorsports team is like coming home for me.  Billy is like a father to me. He's always there to bring me back into racing, and last year he paid most of it out of his own pocket. Racing with him feels like Saturday night racing, six guys and the truck, that's it. It's was really good to test at Atlanta Motor Speedway be the fastest above those factory-backed teams. Our Chevy truck is great. Now all we're working on is trying to go back to Atlanta and win a race for Earl Small Harley Davidson and all of these Atlanta area sponsors that have pitched in to help this Billy Ballew Motorsports team."

DRIVER: MATT CRAFTON
TEAM:  No. 88 ThorSport Racing Menards Silverado
Date of Birth:  June 11, 1976  Hometown: Tulare, CA
ON ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "I am excited about going to Atlanta this weekend. It's my 100th start and maybe I can come out on top. I ran really well there last year, started 5th and stayed there all day, and I'm looking to improve from last year."

DRIVER: TRACY HINES
TEAM:  No. 13 ThorSport Racing Silverado
Date of Birth:  May 1, 1972  Hometown:  New Castle, IN
ON ATLANTA RACE: "I really liked Atlanta when we ran here last year.  As the race progressed, we were able to get our Silverado sorted out and got faster and faster.  I am looking forward to going back and am ready to have a good run like we did at Daytona."