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Ragan has Rough Ride at Dover Nationwide Race |
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Dover, Del. (May 31, 2008)
David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire Ford Fusion team endured one of the toughest days of the
season at Dover International Speedway. Ragan and the Discount Tire team were very optimistic when
they unloaded on Friday morning, but they struggled mightily in the second practice and during
qualifying on Saturday morning. After qualifying in the 28 th position, Ragan ran in the 23rd and
24th position much of the race until being taken out on lap 163 by the No.11 driven by Jason Keller.
It was an unlucky break and disappointing end to a promising weekend. |
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David Ragan rolled off the starting grid very optimistic about his chances at Dover International
Speedway. Ragan was confident his Ford Fusion would come alive during the race. |
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Ragan came out with wreck-less abandon, passing four cars the first five laps of the race. By lap 20
Ragan ran in the 23 rd position, but the excitement was short-lived. On lap 19 Ragan commented his
Ford Fusion was loose in the middle, tight off and bouncing getting into the corners. The first
caution flew a lap later and Ragan was called to the pits on lap 21 for major adjustments. Crew
chief Mike Kelley ordered four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment and pulled two spring
rubbers out of the left rear. Ragan got back on the track in the 27 th position. |
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Green-flag racing resumed on lap 25. |
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The next 80 laps were very difficult for Ragan and the Discount Tire team. Ragan said his Ford Fusion
was bouncing all over the track and the back end was over rotating. The teams handling problems were
evident when on lap 85 Ragan went a lap down. A much needed caution flew on lap 103 for a wreck in
turn four. Kelley ordered Ragan to the pit stall on lap 106. Kelley called for fuel, four tires and
an air pressure adjustment. Ragan came out of the pit stall in the 24 th position. Green-flag racing
resumed on lap 108. |
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For the next 40 laps Ragan picked up four positions and began to settle into a comfort zone on the
race track, but on lap 163 Ragan was hit in the left rear by the No.11 driven by Jason Keller. Ragan's
Ford Fusion was spun out and slammed into the wall very hard. Ragan drove his damaged Ford Fusion to
the garage for major repairs. The damage was too extensive for the Discount Tire team to repair. It
was a disappointing end to a tough day. |
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"The 11 [Jason Keller] just dumped us. It was kind of payback from earlier in the year," said Ragan.
"We've had few contacts here and there and just got back at us. I saw him coming and he hit us and
wrecked us. It was one of those things, its racing. We'll learn from it and move on. We've got a
strong enough team, we can rebound from it. We were wrecking loose all night. We went a little
different way set-up wise just trying to work a little bit. We were really loose all day, all weekend.
I just couldn't "The 11 [Jason Keller] just dumped us. It was kind of payback from earlier in the year,"
said Ragan. "We've had few contacts here and there and just got back at us. I saw him coming and he hit
us and wrecked us. It was one of those things, its racing. We'll learn from it and move on. We've got
a strong enough team, we can rebound from it. We were wrecking loose all night. We went a little
different way set-up wise just trying to work a little bit. We were really loose all day, all weekend.
I just couldn't find a handle. We were trying a little different set-up and just trying to find some
speed. We learned from it and we'll do something a little different next time." |
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The 29th-place finish leaves Ragan seventh in the Nationwide Series point standings. Ragan and the
team will return to action next Saturday, June 7 th at Nashville Superspeedway. |
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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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