DAVID RAGAN -- RACE RECAP
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 – Martinsville, Va., April 1, 2007
Started 27th - Finished 15th

TOP FINISHING ROOKIE, DAVID RAGAN, IS 15TH AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 1, 2007) – David Ragan’s re-acquaintance with Martinsville went well after finishing both of the final two practice sessions on Saturday afternoon as 11th quickest overall. He battled with a tight race car throughout the first half of the event, but after the short rain delay, which came about 355 laps into the race, Ragan’s Ford Fusion improved and he was able to race his way to a top-15 finish.

Ragan rolled off pit road in 27th position for the start of the Goody’s Cool Orange 500. The immediate problem, which he reported to his team during the caution on lap 36, was that the front end was not turning through the center and that it was just sliding the nose a little. This gradually turned into his Ford running super tight thru the center, which prompted the AAA pit crew to make several adjustments over the first couple of stops to help improve the handling.

On lap 151 the yellow flag flew for the fifth time of the day so Ragan headed down pit road to continue the ongoing attempt to loosen up the No. 6 AAA Ford. This time it was four tires and fuel with a track bar and air pressure adjustment. Ragan reentered the field in 25th position.

The field went green again and stayed green for nearly 60 laps. During that time Ragan went a lap down when he was passed by the leader on lap 200. From that point forward the goal for the AAA team was to move into position for the lucky dog as soon as possible.

By lap 289 Ragan radioed to the team that the AAA Ford was improving and with a few more minor adjustments he predicted a good race car. On lap 310 Ragan came down pit road, the team gave him four fresh tires, fuel along with a wedge and air pressure adjustments and sent him back out in 23rd position.

When the caution flag flew again on lap 335 crew chief, Jimmy Fennig and Ragan began to strategize and the decision was made to stay out in an attempt to gain track position.

Finally on lap 353 Ragan was given the free pass to move return to the lead lap after being the first car a lap down when the caution came out. Just as he was named the lucky dog the rain, which had been anticipated all day, began to fall.

They red flagged the field and the line of cars came down and parked on pit road.
It was about 30 minutes later that the race resumed and Ragan was now on the lead lap and running in 21st place. Just before the green flag dropped, restarting the race, Ragan came in for fresh tires, fuel and the team made an air pressure adjustment.

On lap 375 the yellow flag flew for the 11th time and another strategic decision was made to stay out in order to gain track position. When the field went green again Ragan had moved all the way up to 8th position. He fell back a few spots, but maintained his positioning near the front of the field.

Two more adjustments were made to the AAA Ford Fusion over remaining laps of the race.

As the number of laps dwindled down Ragan raced as hard as he could to gain as many final positions as possible. On lap 495 Ragan passed Juan Pablo Montoya for the 15th place position and the title of top finishing Raybestos Rookie.

Ragan maintained his position and crossed the finish line in 15th place.

“It was a good day for the AAA team,” said Ragan. “We were able to gain some spots by pitting when we did and being able to stay out when the leaders were pitting. We struggled to get the car loosened up at the beginning of the race, but by about mid-way through it was handling a lot better. Last year I finished 25th in my second Cup race ever and this year we are 15th so we are showing improvement at this track. I definitely want to thank AAA and its 50 million members for all their support and all the fans too. Cup has a week off next weekend but we will be in Nashville racing the Busch car so make sure you tune in the following week when we race in Texas and cheer for the No.6 AAA Ford.”

Ragan is currently 19th in Nextel Cup Series Championship points, and will compete next at Texas Motor Speedway on April 15th. Coverage begins at 1:30PM Eastern Time on Fox and PRN.