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Ragan Has Tough Day in Nationwide Race at Nashville |
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Lebanon, Tenn. (March 22, 2008)
David Ragan and the No. 6 COATS/Discount Tire
team rolled into the Pepsi 300 on Saturday afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway
with very high expectations. The team had gotten off to a very fast start in the
series this year and has been among the elite in every race. Unfortunately the
day started off slow due to a sub par qualifying session and a bit of bad luck
during the race. Ragan and the team started in the 26th position but found
themselves behind the eight-ball halfway through the race due to a pit road
commitment line violation on lap 126. Ragan managed to recover from the penalty
and an ill-handling race car to finish in the 21st position. |
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Ragan rolled off the grid in the 26th position. Ragan wanted to get out of the
middle of the pack as quick as possible. There were a lot of young drivers trying
to find their way early on and Ragan was determined not to get caught up in the fracas.
Ragan managed to pick up seven positions the first 30 laps of the race, but his good
fortune was short lived. On lap 49 Ragan commented his Ford Fusion was tight center
off and sliding the nose. On lap 55 Ragan said his car was getting tighter by the lap.
The ill-handling was evident when Ragan lost three positions on one lap. Crew Chief
Mike Kelley told Ragan to stay calm and trust in his ability to handle the race car.
A much needed caution flew on lap 60 for debris on the back-stretch. |
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Ragan ran comfortably in the eighth position for the next 25 laps. A competition
caution was set for lap 45. On lap 45 Ragan radioed to Crew chief Mike Kelley that
there was a lot of wreck less driving going on from the cars a lap down. He also
said his Ford Fusion was a little free. On lap 47 Kelley called Ragan to the pits
for minor adjustments. Kelley ordered four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
The Discount Tire pit crew ripped off a blazing pit stop. Ragan was able to gain three
spots upon exiting the pit stall. |
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On the restart on lap 64 Ragan was in the 19th position. The next 60 laps saw Ragan
climb to as high as 13th. The COATS/Discount Tire Ford Fusion came to life, but it
was short lived. On lap 111 Ragan said his Ford Fusion was bouncing all over the race
track. The longer the run, the worse the handling became for Ragan. Ragan went one lap
down on lap 122. |
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On lap 126 Ragan and the team made a scheduled green-flag stop. As Ragan tried to get
on pit road a fellow competitor spun in front of him impeding his vision of the commitment
line cone. Ragan was penalized for a commitment line violation on entry onto pit road
seconds later. He was called back down pit road a lap later for a pass through. The penalty
put Ragan two laps down and out of the chase for a good run. The No. 6 COATS/Discount Tire
team kept working hard to improve their position and never gave up during a tough day. Ragan
finished the race and secured a 21st place finish. |
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"It was definitely a disappointing day," said Ragan. "We had handling problems all day long.
The pit road penalty didn't help either, but we never gave up and we tried some different
adjustments that may help us down the road. I am confident we will bounce back from this.
We have a solid team and a lot more racing to do this year. I would not count us out just yet." |
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The 21st-place finish leaves Ragan fourth in the Nationwide Series point standings. Ragan and the
team will return to action April 5th at Texas Motor Speedway. |
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About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR's largest team operating 13 motorsports teams,
five in NASCAR Sprint Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle,
Carl Edwards and David Ragan; seven in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle,
Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Erik Darnell and Colin Braun; and three in the Craftsman
Truck Series with Braun, Darnell and Joey Clanton; and one in the ARCA/REMAX Series
with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto
www.RoushFenway.com.
For sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645. |
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