David Ragan – Race Recap
Centurion Boats at the Glen-Watkins Glen, NY / August 12, 2007
Started 22nd / Finished 32nd

DAVID RAGAN MAKES FIRST NEXTEL CUP SERIES START AT THE GLEN
David Ragan and the No. 6 AAA Insurance Ford Fusion

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 12, 2007) –David Ragan made his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International when the competed in the Centurion Boats at the Glen on Sunday afternoon.

The field was set according to points after qualifying was rained out on Friday afternoon putting Ragan in the 22nd spot for the start of the 2:00pm EST race.

Ragan struggled to get acclimated to the handling of his car on the course at first and on lap 10 he brought out the first caution of the day when he spun out and ended up in the gravel.

He came into the pits on lap 11 for four tires and fuel and headed back out on the track in 42nd place and the first and only car one lap down.

The second caution of the day came on lap 22 for debris. Ragan was declared the “lucky dog” rule and after making a pit stop for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment he returned to the lead lap.

Over the next 15 laps Ragan fought to work his way toward the front of the pack. He moved up to 28th position by the time the next caution came on lap 38. Crew chief, Jimmy Fennig, took this opportunity to bring Ragan down pit road for fresh tires and fuel.

Ragan returned in the 28th spot, but had trouble maintaining that position on the restart. He quickly dropped back to 40th position before radioing to his team that his AAA Insurance Ford was extremely tight on new tires.

The fifth caution flag of the day flew on lap 52 when the No. 48 car wrecked. Ragan came into the pits on lap 53 for tires and fuel and reentered the field in 28th place.

Ragan worked his way up to the 24th spot at the time of the next caution, which Fennig decided to keep Ragan out on the track during to improve their track position. When the green flag dropped again on lap 66 Ragan was in 21st place and moved up to 19th by the following lap.

Ragan planned to stay out on the track for the remainder of the race since Fennig notified him that he was good to go on fuel.

The on lap 72 the biggest wreck of the day took place in turn one. Several cars were involved, however Ragan managed to stay out of the mess. The field was red flagged and the cars were stopped near the start finish line while safety crews did their best to remove all of the grease and oil from the track.

When the track went green again there were 11 laps left in the 92 lap event. Ragan was in 13th position and the highest running rookie at the time.

There were only five laps remaining when Ragan drove his AAA Insurance Ford Fusion into the corner too hard and ended up in the sand trap. He was able to stay on the gas and get out without assistance which also prevented a caution, but Ragan dropped back 32nd position with little time left in the race.

He crossed the finish line in 32nd position and on the lead lap.

“I felt like my job today was to keep my car on the racetrack,” said Ragan. “And certainly my pit crew did an awesome job. Jimmy did an awesome job getting everything ready. I feel like I just let them down. We knew we couldn’t come here and contend for the win. I don’t have the experience the other guys have on the road courses. But the least I can do is try to drive a perfect race, and I didn’t. So I feel like I let the guys down a little bit. Certainly, we did run all the laps and finish on the lead lap. But we put ourselves in position to finish in the top 25 or the top 20, and that would’ve been a decent run today. I feel like the road courses are the number one thing on my plate right now to work on.”

Ragan is currently 23rd in the NEXTEL Cup Series Championship point standings and is second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race.

Ragan will compete next in the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 19th. Coverage begins at 1:00pm EST on ESPN and MRN.