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Ragan Captures Sixth-Place Finish at New Hampshire |
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Loudon, N.H. (June 28, 2008)
David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire team put in a workman-like effort on Saturday in the
Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Ragan struggled during qualifying
and rolled off the grid in the 22 nd position. The Discount Tire team made a multitude of
adjustments throughout the race and by the halfway point had one of the fastest cars in the
field. Ragan cracked the top-10 by lap 54 and never looked back. He finished in the sixth
position. It was Ragan's 11 th top 10 of the season. |
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Ragan was optimistic from the outset of the race that his Ford Fusion was good enough to contend
for a win. Crew chief Mike Kelley reminded Ragan that he needed to be cautious starting in the
middle of the field. Ragan drove the Discount Tire Ford Fusion conservatively the first 15 laps
of the race, but by lap 30 he made his move to the front. Ragan settled into the 13 th position
and never looked back. The first caution of the night flew on lap 47 for a multi-car wreck.
Kelley called Ragan to the pits on lap 49 for major adjustments. Kelley ordered four tires,
fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a track bar adjustment. A stellar effort by the Discount
Tire pit crew got Ragan back on the track in the ninth position. |
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On the restart on lap 54, Ragan maneuvered through the top 10, and for the next 50 laps ran in
the eighth position. On lap 100 Ragan commented his Ford Fusion needed to cut a little better
under throttle. Ragan's minor handling problems did not seem to affect his performance. Ragan
ran some of his fastest lap times of the race during the ladder part of the race. A debris caution
on lap 127 slowed the action. Ragan told Kelley the car was still tight through the center but the
handling problems were just about fixed. A critical pit stop loomed large for the Discount Tire team. |
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Upon entering the pit stall on lap 129, Kelley ordered two right side tires and fuel. Kelley's
strategy paid off. Ragan gained two positions upon exiting the pit stall. Green-flag racing resumed
on lap 132 with Ragan in the sixth position. Ragan battled the likes of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and
Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards for position the last 60 laps of the race, before finishing
the race in the sixth position. |
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"I knew we had a good car," said Ragan. "I didn't get a good lap in and just didn't do the right
adjustments for qualifying. We knew our car was pretty fast yesterday and track position is huge here.
You see a lot of these guys just out front dominating like the 99 and the 2, but then they get back in
the back and can't do anything. I feel like our pit crew did a good job today and our Discount Tire Ford
was fast, but it takes the whole package to win these things. We were close, it was a good day, but we've
just got to keep getting better." |
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The sixth-place finish leaves Ragan fifth in the Nationwide Series point standings. Ragan and the team
will return to action next Friday, July 4 th at Daytona. |
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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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