Texas Weekend

[Darnell99Fan]

~Race2Win

Dickies 500 - David Ragan Notes

David Ragan
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Dickies 500
Sunday November 4
3:00 PM Eastern – ABC/PRN

Fast Facts

David Ragan made his first start at Texas Motor Speedway with Roush Fenway Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series in the spring of 2006. He started 20th and finished eighth.
Ragan also competed in the Truck Series in the fall of 2006 where he started 21st and finished sixth.
Ragan competed in the NASCAR Busch Series in the spring of 2007. He started on the pole and finished fifth.
Ragan is currently 23rd in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings. He is also currently second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race.

David Ragan
Team: No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: Primary: RK-275 Previously ran at Kansas; finished 16th
Back-up: RK-201 Previously ran at Michigan; finished 21st

Ragan on racing at Texas Motor Speedway:“We had some bad luck at Texas earlier this year and have struggled quite a bit on the mile and a half tracks in general this season. We really have to improve on that before we head back to these tracks again next year. Texas will be the last mile and a half this year so I would really like to have a good run there. We had a rough week last week in Atlanta and we lost a few points putting us back in 23rd overall right now. With three to go we need some good runs and points.”

Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Texas Motor Speedway:
“The car that we are taking to Texas is the car that we ran at Kansas and finished 16th in. This will only be the second time that we have run that car this season and it will be the first time that we run it on a mile and a half track. Hopefully, this weekend will be the turning point for us on the mile and half-tracks. We ended up having a tire go down at Atlanta last week and that just started a downhill slide for the remainder of the day. I know that David has the talent to be successful at these tracks he is still just getting his feet wet at some of these tracks that he has only been to, at the most, once before. We have three races left and we plan to improve at each one.”

[Darnell99Fan]

~Race2Win

O'Reilly Challenge - David Ragan Notes

David Ragan
NASCAR Busch Series: O’Reilly Challenge
Saturday November 3
3:00 PM Eastern – ESPN2/PRN

David Ragan
Team: No. 6 Discount Tire Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
Chassis: RK-378 Last ran at Charlotte, Oct. ’07, finished sixth
Ran at Kansas, Sep. ’07, finished 34th
Ran at Kentucky, Jun. ’07, finished eighth
Ran at Nashville, Jun. ’07, finished seventh
Ran at Texas, Apr. ’07, finished fifth

Ragan on racing in the Busch Series at Texas Motor Speedway:
“We had a great run last weekend. I think our Discount Tire team is in a great rhythm right now. I know everybody believes we are very close to capturing our first win of the season. The pit crew has been great and our equipment has been superb. I think Texas could be a special weekend for the entire Discount Tire family. I am very familiar with the track and I know what to expect during the race. There will be a lot of talented and aggressive drivers in this race, but I believe we can run in the front among the elite all day long.”

Crew Chief Mike Kelley on racing at Texas Motor Speedway: “We are bringing our best car to Texas. We have four top-10 finishes with this Ford Fusion. I always believe we can win any race we enter. This weekend will be no different for the Discount Tire team. We have a lot of momentum going into this weekend and I know we have a shot at moving up in the point standings. I am proud of our guys for working hard in the shop, preparing great racecars and staying focused as the season winds down. David is eyeing the Rookie-of-the-Year crown, so it would be fitting to get a win to go along with that trophy.”

[Darnell99Fan]

David Ragan Finishes 37th at Texas Motor Speedway
David Ragan and the No. 6 AAA Insurance Ford Fusion
Texas Motor Speedway/November 4, 2007

FORT WORTH, TX (November 4, 2007) – David Ragan and the No. 6 AAA team returned to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the second time during the 2007 season.  They brought a car that has only ran once this year, just weeks ago at Kansas, where they finished 16th.

Ragan qualified 33rd for the Dickies 500, which was set to start at approximately 2:30pm CDT on Sunday afternoon. 

When the green flag dropped Ragan immediately began working his way toward the front, carefully picking off his competitors one at a time.  When the first caution of the day was displayed on lap 13 Ragan radioed to his team to let them know that his AAA Ford was a little too tight on exit from the corners.

Crew chief, Jimmy Fennig, brought Ragan down pit road on lap 16 for right side tires and an air pressure adjustment.  Ragan reentered the field in 22nd position.

Fennig opted to keep Ragan out of the pits during the next two cautions in an attempt to gain track position.  When he finally came back down pit road on lap 37 for more right side tires and another air pressure adjustment he was running in 18th position.

Ragan was running as high as 13th when he was forced to pit on lap 87 under the green flag.  He took four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment before returning to the field in 31st place.

It wasn’t until lap 118 that the caution flag was displayed again, this time for the No. 18 car who lost control and spun across the front stretch.  Ragan took this opportunity to fill his team in on the handling of his AAA Fusion. 
“I’m still a little tight,” said Ragan.  “The nose is starting to slide a little bit, but I have good forward bite.  The last change helped me stay free a little longer so I could use a little bit more of that.”

A little bit more is exactly what Ragan got.  He hit pit road on lap 119 in 20th position.  The AAA pit crew went to work giving him four fresh tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment.  Ragan reentered the field in 19th place.

The track went green again on lap 123 and less than ten laps later on lap 131 the caution flag was back out.  Ragan radioed to his team, under yellow, that his Ford Fusion was really tight in traffic, but otherwise felt pretty good. 

Fennig brought Ragan into the pits on lap 133 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to help tweak the handling of his race car.  Ragan reentered the field in 22nd position.

The green flag fell again on lap 139 and Ragan immediately began to show improvement.  He was running in 14th place when it came time to pit again under green.  He radioed to his team that his AAA Ford was a little tight center off and was starting to lose forward bite.

Ragan came down pit road on lap 191 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.  He returned to the track under green and in 23rd place.

The yellow flag was not displayed again until lap 211 and Ragan quickly came over the radio to inform his team that the balance of his race car was pretty good, but it started to get a hair tight on late exit from the corners over the last few laps.  He also mentioned that his entry into the corners was solid and he was not having any problems in that area.

Ragan came down pit road once again on lap 214.  The AAA pit crew gave him four tires, fuel, a track bar adjustment and sent him back out in 15th place.

Ragan finally had his AAA Ford running solidly in the top-15 when on lap 218 the team’s promising run came to an end.  As several cars began wrecking ahead of Ragan, the backstretch filled with smoke leaving the young rookie to navigate his way through the mess with little to no visibility.  Much to his disappointment Ragan did not make it through unscathed and his AAA Ford was brought, by tow truck, to the garage for repairs.

The AAA pit crew worked quickly to remove the front end of Ragan’s Fusion and repair damage under the hood of his race car and to the rear quarter panels.  Ragan reentered the field on lap 259.  He made one lap before reporting to Fennig that the car was all over the race track and he had to put a lot of wheel in it to keep it on the bottom of the track.  Fennig responding by telling Ragan to take it back to the garage and park it.  The No. 6 AAA team was done for the day. 

Jimmie Johnson took home his third consecutive win in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series after beating Matt Kenseth to the finish line at the conclusion of the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. 

“I don’t know what happened.  I just saw everyone checking-up,” said Ragan.  “My spotter even said ‘Hey, the bottom lane is checking-up.’  We were on the outside and before I know it, I don’t know if I got drilled in the back or just checked-up too quick and lost it.  It’s just very unfortunate for the AAA team.  Everyone worked really hard.  I thought we had a pretty good car.  I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.  I felt like we had a top-10 or top-15 car when we wrecked.  I really don’t know what happened.  I just need to see a replay.” 

Ragan is currently 23rd in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings and is second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race.

Ragan will compete next in the Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil at Phoenix International Raceway on November 11th at 3:00pm PDT.

About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating 14 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O’Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell and T.J. Bell; and one in the ARCA/REMAX Series with Colin Braun and Darnell.


~RFR

[Darnell99Fan]

Ragan Claims Top-20 Finish at Texas
David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire Ford Fusion
Texas Motor Speedway/November 3, 2007

FORT WORTH, Texas (November 3, 2007) – David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire team had an uneventful day at Texas Motor Speedway. The young team had a good car but an average finish in the O’Reilly 300 on Saturday afternoon. Ragan had a great qualifying run on Friday, starting in the eighth position, but a tight race car left Ragan and the team in the middle of the pack for most of the day.   

Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire team wanted to be aggressive from the outset of the race. It was clear the team was hungry for a win and wanted to stay up front all day long.  Ragan was instructed by crew chief Mike Kelley to take care of his race car and hit his marks early on. The race started dramatically with two cautions in the first 20 laps and all that drama carried over to the Discount Tire team early in the race as well. On lap four, Ragan commented the car was tight before getting into the throttle and he had to run the top groove of the race track to keep his momentum. The handling problem was evident as the Discount Tire Ford Fusion lost six positions the first 21 laps. A caution flew on lap 20 for a wreck on the back stretch and a much needed pit stop was on the horizon.   

Ragan and the team made their first pit stop under caution on lap 22. Crew chief Mike Kelley ordered four tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a wedge adjustment in the right rear. Ragan exited the pit stall in 18th position. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 27.

On lap 65, Ragan commented his Ford Fusion was aero-tight. Ragan still managed to gain two positions over the next 10 laps. It was clear that Ragan was frustrated with the ill-handling race car, but he worked hard to stay within striking defense of the race leaders. The race had a 100 lap green-flag run that hurt the Discount Tire team. On lap 88, Ragan was ordered to the pits for a scheduled green-flag stop. Kelley called for fuel, four tires and an air pressure adjustment. Ragan exited the pit stall in the 16th position.

The race became a test of patience and perseverance.  Ragan stayed in the top 20 for much of the race, but was one lap down by lap 130.  During the latter part of the race, Ragan said the Ford Fusion was handling nicely. It was evident the Discount Tire team had run out of laps to challenge for a win.

At the end of the day, it was a steady performance by the young team. 

"This was a frustrating afternoon for all of us,” said Ragan. “We had some handling problems early but I felt the team did a great job getting our Ford Fusion just right by the second half of the race. Unfortunately, it was too late to make a move towards the front of the pack. It was a solid run today and we brought our car home with no damage. We will just move on and get ready for Phoenix.”

The 17th-place finish leaves Ragan fifth in the Busch Series point standings.   Ragan and the team will return to action next Saturday, November 10th at Phoenix International Raceway.

About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating 13 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O’Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell and T.J. Bell; and one in the ARCA/REMAX Series with Colin Braun and Darnell.

~RFR