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Ragan Earns Another Top-10 at Gateway |
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Madison, ILL. (July 19, 2008)
David Ragan and the No. 6 Discount Tire team had another solid run in the
Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway on
Saturday night. Ragan qualified 10th and ran in the top-10 for most of the
race. He overcame major handling problems halfway through the race to claim
a 10th-place finish. It was Ragan's 13th top-10 finish of the season and
helped Ragan move into fifth place in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point
standings. |
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Ragan and the Discount Tire team started the race in the 10th position but
quickly moved into the eighth position by lap 15. On lap 19 Ragan commented
his Ford Fusion needed more rear grip. He also said the front end needed
to cut a little better. A much needed competition caution flew on the same
lap for a partial failure of lighting in turn one and two. Crew chief Mike
Kelley called Ragan to the pit stall for major adjustments on lap 22. Kelley
ordered four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The Discount Tire
pit crew had a blazing 13.8 second stop, but many other teams opted to take
two tires instead of four, putting the Discount Tire team behind slower cars
on the restart on lap 25. |
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When green-flag racing resumed Ragan overtook the ninth spot within a few laps.
He was able to maintain this position for the next 25 laps despite an ill-handling
racecar. On lap 44 Ragan said the car was bouncing really bad and the front end
would not turn. The second caution of the evening flew on lap 62 for a wreck in
turn one. Ragan was called to the pits two laps later for four tires, fuel, an
air pressure adjustment and a spring rubber taken out of the left rear. The many
adjustments cost Ragan valuable time getting out of the pit stall. Ragan was 12th
on the restart on lap 71. |
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Ragan managed to stay in the top-10 for the next 75 laps despite the cars handling
woes. A pile-up several moments after a restart on lap 116 wiped out a handful of
strong cars and stopped the race for nearly 25 minutes. Ragan managed to avoid much
of the wreck, but did have some fender damage that caused little concern. Ragan
managed to get as high as ninth before running out of green-flag laps. |
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Overall, it was a solid points night for Ragan and the Discount Tire team. The
finished was not what they were looking for, but the patience and consistency shown
thus far in the season has been a breath of fresh air for the team. |
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"Our car was pretty good in practice, but very inconsistent during the race," said
Ragan. "We would have liked to been up there battling my teammate Carl Edwards for
the win, but I will take this hard fought top10. It's definitely frustrating when
you have a good car that for whatever reason doesn't respond to the changing race
conditions. We worked on a lot of things during our pit stops. I feel like we were
always o "Our car was pretty good in practice, but very inconsistent during the race,"
said Ragan. "We would have liked to been up there battling my teammate Carl Edwards
for the win, but I will take this hard fought top10. It's definitely frustrating when
you have a good car that for whatever reason doesn't respond to the changing race
conditions. We worked on a lot of things during our pit stops. I feel like we were
always one adjustment a way from getting it right. At the end of the day we were a
little off, but we'll take it and move on to next week." |
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The 10th -place finish leaves Ragan fifth in the Nationwide Series point standings.
Ragan and the team will return to action next Saturday, July 26 th 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 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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