May 24, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
September 15, 2007
September 14, 2007
David Ragan (born December 24, 1985 in Unadilla, GA)
is a stock car racer who drives the #6 AAA Ford in
the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series for Roush Fenway Racing
and is running for the 2007 Rookie of the Year
award. He has raced in ARCA, the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series, and the NASCAR Busch Series. His
father, Ken Ragan, is a former Winston Cup
journeyman.
Ragan made his Truck debut at the age of 18 at Texas
Motor Speedway in 2004 for Fiddleback Racing,
finishing twentieth. He ran nine more races that
year, finishing nineteenth twice. He also ran one
Busch Series race that year for Sadler Bros. Racing,
achieving a thirty-first place finish at the Ford
300. In 2005, he ran three Busch races for Day
Enterprise Racing, his best finish being a
thirty-sixth place at The Milwaukee Mile. In the
ARCA series, he won his first race at Lanier
National Speedway.
In 2005, Ragan was also featured as a contender on
Roush Racing: Driver X. Despite concerns from Roush
executives about his trait as being outspoken, Ragan
won a ride in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 2006,
Roush originally intended Nextel Cup regular Mark
Martin and Ragan to split duties in the #6 Scotts
Ford F-150. Ragan would run the #50 Ford in several
races that Martin was also scheduled to run. He made
his debut in the John Deere 200 at Atlanta Motor
Speedway, and started on the pole in his third
start, when qualifying was rained out, but struggled
in his four starts, crashing twice and never
finishing on the lead lap. He scored his first
career top-ten at Texas Motor Speedway, where he
finished eighth, then had four consecutive top-tens,
and won his first career pole at O'Reilly Raceway
Park. He made his first Busch Series start at
California Speedway, replacing Danny O'Quinn in the
#50 World Financial Group Ford Fusion. He qualified
for his first Nextel Cup race at Dover International
Speedway driving the #06 3M Performance Ford Fusion.
On October 11, 2006, Roush Racing named Ragan as the
full time driver for 2007 in the #6 AAA Ford Fusion,
replacing long-time driver Mark Martin.
Ragan attempted to run the remainder of the 2006
schedule under the #60 No Fear Racing banner (a
Roush-affiliated team that receives its equipment
from Roush), as the #06 team was limited to running
a maximum of seven races under NASCAR rules limiting
the maximum number of teams one owner can have, and
the 06 team had already attempted six races in 2006
(including a DNQ by Todd Kluever). He did not make a
race in the 60. During the closing parts of the
season, Ragan was restricted from running 1.5 mile
ovals due to a poor performance at Martinsville
Speedway where he was involved in several incidents
and drew the ire of several of his fellow Nextel Cup
competitors, including Tony Stewart, who called him
"a dart without feathers."
Ragan's first start in the #6 car was the 2007
Daytona 500, where he finished 5th. He finished 3rd
in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond, his best
finish to date, and he finished runner up to Juan
Pablo Montoya for Rookie of the Year. He also
competed in a full season in the Busch Series,
finishing 5th in points, and was named Rookie of the
Year. Also Ragan suffered more accidents than any
other driver with 26 in 2007.
