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Ragan Has Electrifying Run at Gateway |
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Madison, Ill. (July 21, 2007)
David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire team had an electrifying
run in the NASCAR Busch Series 250 at Gateway International Raceway
on Saturday night. Ragan qualified 21st but on this night the Discount
Tire Ford Fusion was better than most cars in the field, running in the
top 10 all night and finishing a strong fifth. The top-five finish helped
Ragan move into fourth place in the NASCAR Busch Series point standings. |
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Ragan and the Discount Tire team started the race in the middle of the
field but quickly moved through the pack with ease and precision. The
Ford Fusion was awesome early on as Ragan moved from 21st to 13th the
first 30 laps of the race. By lap 54 Ragan had moved to the 11th position,
but the car was starting to get tight center off. Ragan put the handling
problems behind him, gaining five more positions by lap 68. |
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Ragan made a green-flag pit stop on lap 69. Upon entering the pit stall,
crew chief Mike Kelley ordered four tires, fuel, and an air pressure
adjustment. Ragan exited the pit stall in the 16th position but quickly
regained his dominance on the track, moving into the ninth position by lap
76. On lap 80, Kelley told Ragan he was the fastest car on the track by
two-tenths of a second. Ragan's momentum was slowed by a caution on lap 91.
Ragan was ordered to the pit stall on lap 93 for fuel, four tires and an air
pressure adjustment in the left rear. An average pit stop put Ragan in the
12th position for the restart on lap 96. The caution flew yet again two laps
later for a three-car wreck. |
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When racing resumed on lap 106 Ragan was in the eighth position. The fourth
caution of night flew on lap 109 for another three-car wreck in turn three.
Kelley told Ragan to be patient on the restart on lap 118. Ragan took his
advice and found himself in the eighth position by lap 120. The caution flew
yet again a lap later and Ragan made his third pit stop of the night. Upon
entering the pit stall on lap 123, Kelley ordered four tires, fuel and a track
bar adjustment. Kelley's decision to take four tires and possibly sacrifice
valuable track position was a gutsy call, but paid dividends later in the race. |
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The race went green on lap 126. Ragan ran in the 10th position for the next
nine laps until a debris caution flew on lap 139. The lack of green-flag
racing was clearly frustrating Ragan, but Kelley quickly calmed Ragan,
telling him his lap times were as fast as the race leaders and it was only
a matter of time before he ran in the top five. Three more cautions flew over
the next 20 laps, but it did not slow Ragan. He passed cars effortlessly on
each restart and by lap 159 ran in the sixth position. On lap 165 Kelley told
Ragan he was the fastest car on the track. The final caution of the night
flew on lap 178 when points leader and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl
Edwards backed into the wall. |
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Ragan was in the fifth position when green-flag racing resumed on lap 180. He
was embroiled in an exciting battle for the fourth position with the No. 38
driven by Jason Leffler the last 20 laps of the race. It was an exciting and
much needed finish for Ragan and the Discount Tire team. |
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"We didn't have any track position the whole race," Ragan said. "Pit stops were
average, at best. We just couldn't seem to pass any cars on pit road. Our car
was pretty good. I felt like at one time, it might have been the car to beat, if
we could have had good track position up front. It just made it hard to battle
through trying to take care of the race car. At the end of the race, I thought
the car was pretty strong. It wasn't where we needed to be; it was a good run.
We would have liked to have been up there to battle the guys for the win but we'll
take it and move on to next week. Everyone was racing real hard. This was good
Saturday night short track racing." |
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The fifth-place finish leaves Ragan fourth in the Busch Series point standings.
Ragan and the team will return to action next Saturday, July 28th at O'Reilly
Raceway Park in Indianapolis. |
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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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