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Ragan Brings Home a Top-10 Finish at Kentucky |
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Sparta, Ky. (June 16, 2007)
David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire team survived under
the lights in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday
night. The Discount Tire team had another solid run in the
NASCAR Busch Series on a night when finishing on the lead
lap was a victory in itself. Ragan qualified 10th and then
proceeded to run a steady race, picking up an eighth-place
finish. Ragan's fourth top 10 of the year. |
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The Discount Tire team was optimistic about the kind of car
they had when they took to the track on Saturday night.
The Ford Fusion had handling problems in practice but was
very fast during qualifying. |
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The race started very slowly, with three cautions in the
first 17 laps. Ragan spent the early part of the race
avoiding wrecks and trying to survive. It was clear from
the start that Ragan had a fast car that could run in
the top 10 all night. But the Discount Tire team pre-race
fears would come to fruition on lap 17. Ragan commented
the car was tight center off. On lap 21 Ragan said the car
was still tight but it had no bearing on his performance.
Ragan had moved into the ninth position. A hard charging
Ragan would stay in the ninth position for the next 20
laps before falling to 13th on lap 61. Ragan worked his
way back to the 11th position by lap 66. |
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The No. 6 Discount Tire team made their first pit stop
under green on lap 67. Crew chief Mike Kelley ordered
four tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment.
Ragan was in the 15th position after the stop as when
green-flag racing continued the Discount Tire Ford Fusion
was making up ground on the leaders very fast. |
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On lap 87 Ragan had climbed back to the 11th position.
At that same point Ragan commented the car was pretty
loose. Kelley told Ragan to concentrate on catching the
race leaders, and he would come up with a plan to get
the car adjusted correctly on the next pit stop. The
caution flew again on lap 90 for a two-car wreck in turn
four. Upon entering the pit stall on lap 91, Kelley ordered
four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment.
An average pit stop would cost the Discount Tire team
valuable track position. On the restart on lap 95 Ragan
was in the 15th position. The yellow waved again just three
laps later when the No. 56 driven by A.J. Frank pushed the
No.35 driven by Bobby Hamilton Jr. into the wall. Ragan was
clearly frustrated at the lack of green-flag racing. He knew
he had a lot ground to make up with the race already at the
halfway point. |
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The race went green on lap 105 and Ragan quickly gained two
positions over the next seven laps. But on lap 117 Ragan said
the car had gotten so loose he felt like the back end would
snap around at any moment. Oddly enough Ragan still picked
up three more positions over the next 30 laps. Ragan had moved
into the top 10 when the caution flew on lap 150. A chance for
redemption on pit road was on every crew members' mind as Ragan
pitted on lap 151. Kelley called for four tires, fuel and a track
bar adjustment. A great effort by the pit crew allowed Ragan to
stay in 10th upon exiting the pit stall. |
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The caution flew three more times during the next 26 laps, but
Ragan picked his way through the field on each restart and by
lap 190 he was running in eighth. Ragan seemed poised to make
one last charge on the leaders, but he ran out of laps. |
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Ragan held on to the eighth position for the final 10 laps of
the race. A sold finish and a great points day for the Discount
Tire team. |
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"We had a hard fought top-10 finish tonight," said Ragan. "The
last few weeks have been very consistent. Our car has been fast
but we haven't been able to get it handling properly from start
to finish. It was a wild race tonight with a lot of mishaps on
the racetrack. I am just glad we survived and made up some ground
in the points. We are getting closer to where we want to be every
week. All of the hard work is paying off, but we still haven't
gotten what we want just yet. A win is still the number one goal
on this team." |
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The eighth-place finish leaves Ragan sixth in the Busch Series point
standings. Ragan and the team will return to action next Saturday,
June 23rd at The Milwaukee Mile. |
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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
and Erik Darnell. 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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The Racing News Archive to read previously featured stories. |
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