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Tag: David Ragan

  • Favorites at Vegas and Cheering in the Press Box

    Favorites at Vegas and Cheering in the Press Box

    Who is the favorite in Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? There is a strong possibility that it could be Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, despite his woeful showing at Daytona two weeks ago, rebounded at Phoenix and seems ripe for a repeat victory at the track. Of course, a rejuvenated Jeff Gordon has momentum and you can never count out Matt Kenseth, so it’s up in the air. Or is it?

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The 2011 season has given us so many surprises, we can’t count on anything. If you had told me on February 1st that the Wood Brothers would win the Daytona 500, that not one Hendrick or Childress car would finish in the top three, Bobby Labonte would be a factor late in the race, and David Gilliland would finish third behind Trevor Bayne and Carl Edwards, I would have called for the men in the white coats. On top of that, if you had told me that Jeff Gordon, who hadn’t won in 66 races, would beat Kyle Busch to win at Phoenix, well…you get the idea.

    So, who’s going to win? Johnson won last year, Kenseth (and teammate Greg Biffle) have always been good here, and it’s the Busch brothers’ home track. And then there’s Kevin Harvick. He came so close last year. It’s not easy to call a winner, which is a big difference from the past few years. With multiple car wrecks being the rule at the first two races this year, it could be someone different, which would fit in with what would seem to be the pattern for the 2011 season. Maybe David Ragan?

    One thing is certain. With new television ratings better than last year and attendance at the track improving, maybe we’ve seen the end of what many considered a decline in the sport we all love. Maybe it has something to do with the results of the first two races. The measuring stick may be at Bristol in two weeks.
    —
    I have covered NASCAR races as a member of the “citizen media corps” for the last 15 years. I’ve been in either the press box or media centers at eight different tracks, and I cannot remember a time when the media really applauded a performance. Oh, I can remember many times when emotions were shared, but never outright cheering. As excited as I was over Trevor Bayne’s winning the Daytona 500 in the Wood Brothers Ford, I found myself restrained at home on February 20th. It’s just second nature. I can still remember February 25, 2001, the week after Dale Earnhardt left us, and the dramatic Steve Park victory. As emotional as that was, there was no cheering in the press box. I also remember October 24, 2004, at Martinsville Speedway. It was the day that Ricky Hendrick and many others perished in a plane crash near the track. No announcement was made about the tragedy and only a radio transmission from a scanner heard that the winner (Jimmie Johnson) would not go to victory lane. Soon enough the news filtered in on what had happened. Unfortunately, for some reason, broadband internet was lost and there was no cellular service available. There was no cheering, but I’ve never seen a group of reporters so upset. The press box was in uproar. No cheering, but plenty of emotion. Is there a difference? I think not.

    Maybe those of us who do this as a hobby should learn a little decorum. I didn’t go to Daytona, but I’ll be at many tracks this year. I will, as usual, be professional and report the facts as I see them regardless of my point of view. I have my favorites, and it’s only human that I do, but cheering is not being professional. I hate that Tom Bowles lost his job, and I understand his emotions and the reasons for clapping. Maybe si.com was a little harsh in their decision, but whether you like a driver or do not, or really a situation, you are on the job. Maybe that’s something those of us who blog need to understand a little better. Lessons in life are sometimes hard.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: PIR Subway Fresh Fit 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: PIR Subway Fresh Fit 500

    After one of the most exciting Daytona 500 finishes, the Cup Series promptly headed west to Phoenix International Raceway. Although it actually rained a bit in the Valley of the Sun, the second race of the NASCAR season, the Subway Fresh Fit 500, was filled with its own share of surprises.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”292″][/media-credit]Surprising:  In contrast to the youngest winner, 20 year old Trevor Bayne, celebrating in Victory Lane after his Daytona 500 win last week, a 39 year old veteran driver was finally able to celebrate a victory, ending a 66 race winless streak.  After receiving a big bear hug from team owner Rick Hendrick, the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, stood relieved and overwhelmed with emotion in Victory Lane.

    What seemed to mean the most to Gordon, in addition to beating Kyle Busch of course, was how the fans embraced his win.

    “Man, we just beat Kyle Busch!” Gordon said after getting out of his race car. “Are you kidding me? Pinch me, pinch me.”

    “I don’t really care how we do it because we just wanted to get to Victory Lane,” Gordon said. “But to do it that way, leading the most laps, and to see the fans’ reaction. What an awesome feeling it is.”

    “God, it feels so amazing,” Gordon said. “I’ve got to say thanks to the fans.”

    With the win at PIR, his 83rd, Gordon officially tied Cale Yarborough for fifth in NASCAR’s all-time win list. Gordon also catapulted up 21 spots in the points, now in the fifth position.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that Kyle Busch, who had won both the Truck and Nationwide Series races at PIR, was right there nipping at Gordon’s heels in the final laps. Busch battled back from an early incident to give Gordon a run for his money, just coming short of the sweep by finishing as the runner up.

    After paying homage to Gordon, Busch then apologized for getting into Carl Edwards, whose pole sitting race car was totally wrecked as a result of the contact.

    “It was unintentional,” Busch said. “All that aside, we came through a lot of adversity and kept battling through everything that was thrown at us. There at the end, Jeff just had a better car than us and flat out passed me.”

    Surprising: In a flashback moment to Daytona, there was actually a ‘big one’ at Phoenix International Raceway.  Thirteen cars were involved, including the likes of Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, David Ragan, Regan Smith and David Reutimann to name a few.  The race actually had to be red-flagged in order to allow for the extensive clean up needed.

    Clint Bowyer summed up his take on the ‘big one’ up best. “I’m pretty disgusted with the whole thing,” Bowyer said. “Our day is done.”

    Not Surprising:  Whether as a result of the big one or smaller skirmishes on the track, there were several drivers who were unhappy with one another, sparking the first rivalries of the season. One of the biggest differences of opinion occurred between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, who clashed in an early incident.

    “In my opinion, this was the car to win,” Edwards said after his tussle with Busch. “That’s too bold a move to make early in the race.  We had been in the running for the race win.”

    Other cross words were exchanged between Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth after getting into one another.

    “Matt wrecked us,” Vickers said simply. “It’s coming back to him.”

    Surprising: One of the most surprising finishes was for NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. After receiving a penalty for entering too fast into his pit, sliding through his pit stall, and breaking a wheel off the jack, Junior rallied back for a top ten finish.

    Not Surprising: Rick Hendrick’s wisdom in making his giant crew chief swap amongst the Hendrick drivers, sans Jimmie Johnson, certainly became evident at this race. Thanks to his pairing of Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the new duo was able to rally back from adversity, with Letarte serving as head cheerleader. And of course, the driver in Victory Lane, Jeff Gordon, credited his new crew chief pairing with Alan Gustafson, with getting him back to winning ways.

    Surprising and Not Surprising: It was surprising, yet not surprising, that last week’s winner Trevor Bayne had such a difficult time at Phoenix. He wrecked his primary car in practice and had the same experience in his back up car in the race. Bayne hit the wall hard, bringing out the third caution in the race and totally destroying the rear end of his No. 21 Wood Brothers race car.

    “I don’t know what happened,” Bayne said after the wreck. “That’s tough coming off of our high at Daytona to come to this, but we’ve got a great race team behind us.”

    “We’ll be back at Vegas,” Bayne continued. “I hate it ended this way this weekend, but we’ll be back.”

    Indeed all of the Sprint Cup drivers will be back and this time they will try their luck on the track in Sin City. The Kobalt Tools 400 will run at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 6th at 3:00 PM and will be broadcast on FOX and PRN.

  • David Ragan: I Will Think About It the Rest of My Life

    David Ragan: I Will Think About It the Rest of My Life

    Even as David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, prepares for the upcoming Phoenix race, Daytona is still on his mind.

    In the final laps of the Daytona 500, Ragan was in charge, working with Trevor Bayne in tandem and leading the pack. Yet on the final green, white, checkered restart, Ragan made a major mistake, changing lanes before the start finish line.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Ragan was black flagged and his error cost him the victory in one of NASCAR’s most prestigious event.

    “I absolutely thought we were going to win,” Ragan said. “We had a great car all day and we had an opportunity there at the end.  The violation, the black flag, took the wind out of our sails.”

    “I didn’t want to believe it at first,” Ragan continued. “I felt like the black flag was for Tony Stewart for passing on the outside.”

    “I knew that I had started to make my way toward the bottom but didn’t feel like that I changed lanes to improve my position because I was the leader,” Ragan said. “So, I didn’t fully interpret the rule like NASCAR did. Therefore, I didn’t think we did anything wrong.”

    “I thought they were warning us or that the black flag was for someone else,” Ragan continued. “So, I denied it for a lap or so.  Then I finally realized this is really happening.”

    Ragan still does not fully understand the interpretation of the rule that resulted in the penalty. After the race, he said that he most definitely wanted to seek out Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, to further discuss the situation.

    “I haven’t talked to him yet,” Ragan said of Helton. “I’ll catch him in Phoenix. I understand what the deal is but I’d like to hear it from those guys as well.”

    In spite of finishing top 15 and currently being 13th in the Sprint Cup standings, his mistake, the black flag and his win slipping away from him will always haunt him.

    “I’ll always think about it, I’m sure, the rest of my life,” Ragan said. “Until we get another opportunity to win another Daytona 500 or another Sprint Cup race, I’ll always think about it.”

    “But we have to stay focused on what’s in front of us,” Ragan continued. “We learn from the past.  Of course, you’ll never completely forget about it but we’ll take from that day and hopefully it will make us stronger.”

    Now that Ragan has also had a few days to reflect, he has realized that there were many positives for him and his team to take forward from his experience.

    “Throughout the whole race, we put ourselves in position to win,” Ragan said.  “We didn’t make any mistakes on pit road.  I did a nice job on the race track not getting caught up in any of the wrecks.”

    “So, those are some positives to look at,” Ragan continued.  “And then the last call, I’ll always make sure now that on any restart that I’m aware of the rules and the way that the governing body interprets them.”

    Ragan also could not be more pleased for Trevor Bayne, NASCAR’s youngest Daytona 500 winner.

    “I’m happy for Trevor,” Ragan said.  “If our UPS team couldn’t win it, I couldn’t think of any other guy to do it.”

    “The Wood Brothers deserve the win, and Ford Racing, and this kid, I say a kid even though he’s just a few years younger than me, he promotes believing in the Lord and I think that’s great,” Ragan continued. “It’s good for NASCAR.”

    “I’m not going to lie, I wish I were there,” Ragan said of his missed chance to be in Victory Lane.  “But if we couldn’t do it, I’m proud for Trevor and I feel like we played a part in getting him there.”

    Having said that, however, Ragan acknowledged that he is more than ready to put the Daytona finish in his rear view mirror and move forward.

    “If we can go to Phoenix, if we can lead some laps and run in the top ten throughout the race, I would be happy with that,” Ragan said. “I have a lot of confidence in our team.”

    “The sooner that we can get there, the sooner we can forget about this one,” Ragan said. “It’s a long season.  I have to keep my head up and keep our eyes on the prize.”

  • The Final Word on the Daytona 500

    The Final Word on the Daytona 500

    So, what did we learn at the Daytona 500?

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”270″][/media-credit]Well, we learned that if the rest of the races this season are comparable to the first, 2011 will be one hell of a year in NASCAR. To start with, you have a 20 year (and one day) old driver winning his first race in his second Cup start in an event it took Dale Earnhardt 20 years to finally claim. Trevor Bayne demonstrated throughout all the practices and his duel qualifier that he has that certain something. Jeff Gordon recognized it, and now most race fans should as well. The only question remaining is, what is the kid going to do now for an encore?

    We learned that Dale Earnhardt, even ten years after his death, is still held in reverence. In sports, only hockey’s Maurice Richard comes to mind as being even close. Only Elvis can still spark such emotions. Few people in this world can still bring tears to the eyes of strangers after a decade as the memory of the Intimidator did over the past week.

    We learned that his son can still run strong at the big track and remains as popular as ever. Too bad he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as Junior went from a Top Ten to sit 24th. David Ragan messed up the re-start of a green-white-checkers, which started a chain reaction of misfortune behind him that concluded Junior’s day. Earnhardt’s three team mates all got caught up in the 15-car Big One of Lap 29, with Jimmie Johnson and Gordon limping around to finish in 27th and 28th place. At least Mark Martin recovered to wrap up 10th.

    We learned that Hendrick engines can, and did, fail. Kevin Harvick was gone from the scene within 20 laps, while Jeff Burton didn’t even make half way. J.J. Yeley got in ten before he was done, deemed the day’s Biggest Loser and collecting his single point for coming out.

    We learned that eight cylinders beats seven, which is why last year’s Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray had to settle for 18th. We learned that Furniture Row’s Regan Smith is another fellow to watch for this season as he did himself proud to wind up seventh. Of course, we learned that two cars in tandem not only move fast at Daytona, but if the manoeuver isn’t done just right one can help ruin the day of the guy you were trying to help.

    We learned that FOX came in with some new toys. They had cameras that showed heated tires and images that showed how much the drivers were turning the wheel. Nothing as stupid as ESPN’s bogus draft track, but unfortunately someone there insists on keeping Digger alive. Digger is dead, so let’s move on.

    We learned on Friday night that Michael Waltrip still has some racing left in him, as he won the truck event 10 years to the day after he won the Daytona 500. Tony Stewart was 13th Sunday, but won his sixth season opening Nationwide race in his last seven attempts at Daytona on Saturday.

    Next Sunday, a most welcome schedule change moves up our first visit to Phoenix by more than a month. Last April, Ryan Newman was the man, with Gordon and Johnson finishing right behind him. After their Daytona experience, I’m thinking those two could use a little history repeating itself in Arizona. By the way, as Bayne isn’t in the running for a Cup title this year, Carl Edwards leads the standings by a single point over David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte. Huh? Oh, it could be a very interesting season.

    Enjoy your week.

  • Chase Elliott Steps Forward While Bill Elliott Claims Last Good Chance

    Chase Elliott Steps Forward While Bill Elliott Claims Last Good Chance

    The father and son combination of Bill and Chase Elliott are at a crossroads in both of their careers.  For young Chase Elliott, fresh off his recent win at Speedfest 2011, the sky is the limit as he steps forward in his career.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Yet his father Bill, who will drive for James Finch’s Phoenix Racing in 2011, is most likely taking advantage of the last great ride of his career.

    “This may well be my last really good chance as a driver,” Bill Elliott, age 55, said.  “I’m going to give it my best shot.  I feel like I’m still in good shape, and I thought we ran pretty good last year.”

    Elliott will run the No. 09 car for Phoenix Racing in at least 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in the 2011 season. The No. 09 has special meaning to Elliott and his family, the car number having been driven by his late father George Elliott, as well as being his own car number, the 9, in 1975.

    Along with the other NASCAR greats, Elliott will start his season by competing in the 53rd running of the Daytona 500.  The veteran ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’ is no stranger to the Daytona International Speedway.

    Elliott first raced at DIS on July 4th, 1976 in the Firecracker 400.  He finished that race in the 19th position in his No. 10 Ford.

    Elliott will, however, be changing manufacturers for his 2011 Daytona 500 bid.  For the first time in many years in his career, Elliott will be racing in a Chevrolet.

    “It’s big for us and big for Chevrolet to get Bill Elliott,” James Finch, Elliott’s new team owner, said.  “It’s the first time in his career that he’s committed to race a Chevrolet.”

    Finch also expressed confidence that Elliott, who has previously driven primarily Fords and Dodges, would be able to get the job done in a Chevrolet.  He cited Elliott’s  44 Cup wins, 55 poles, as well as his 1988 championship, as reasons for his confidence.

    “With the right equipment, he’s ready,” Finch said of Elliott.  “He was just a couple of hundredths of a second off the pole at Homestead last year.”

    Elliott will be teaming with crew chief Nick Harrison in his new Phoenix Racing ride.  The team plans to get their horsepower from Hendrick Motorsports.

    “I think this will be a really good deal,” Elliott said.  “James has really good race cars, and there’s no doubt about the Hendrick equipment.  After all, look at all the championships they’ve won.”

    While father Bill Elliott looks at starting the 2011 season staking claim to what will probably be the last chance for glory in his career, his son Chase has already gotten his young career off to an amazing start in the New Year.

    Chase Elliott swept the two Late Model features in Speedfest 2011 at Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Georgia.  Elliott beat many of the nation’s best short track racers, in addition to Cup racer David Ragan.

    Elliott, driving the No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine, started third in the first race for the Pro Late Models.  He quickly moved forward and took the lead, which he held until the 100 lap break.

    After the break, the young driver fell back to the third position.  But he was quickly on the move again, battling David Ragan for the lead and the eventual win.

    Elliott then moved on to the Super Late Model race, the main attraction of Speedfest 2011.  In this race, he started eighth, but again moved forward quickly.

    After two green-white-checkered finish attempts, Elliott finally prevailed.  Favoring the outside line, Elliott finally took the checkered flag to win his second race of the day.

    “My team is absolutely the best,” Elliott said.  “I wouldn’t trade Ricky (Turner), my crew chief for anyone out there.  We had some great drivers that I raced with today, and they definitely made me work hard to get here.”

    While Bill Elliott will start his 2011 season by competing in one of the sport’s biggest races, the Daytona 500, his son Chase will next race on March 6th at the South Alabama Speedway.  Young Chase will compete in “The Rattler”, the second event in the 2011 CRA Southern Six Pak Tour.