Tag: David Ragan

Grading the Sprint Cup Rides – 2013 Third Term Report

Crunching The Numbers: Talladega

David Ragan Discusses Driving For Front Row Motorsports

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, I got the chance to talk to Talladega race winner, David Ragan. In the interview, we talked about the progression of Front Row Motorsports, his sponsors, his future and even a little about fans that claimed to be related to him but weren’t! Here’s the complete interview; enjoy!

First off, I want to talk to you real quick about that incredible win at Talladega. Was that one bigger than your first one with Roush just because of the circumstances surrounding it?

Every win in the Sprint Cup Series is big but the win for Front Row probably meant more than the other. Every win is very special in any of the top three series of NASCAR. To get the first win for the organization is big and to overcome all the challenges we faced (to get there). A 1-2 finish makes it even more special; that was definitely a team effort and it was a big day for myself as well as our car owner Bob Jenkins and the whole team.

You’ve had the rare opportunity to both race and win for a top level organization as well as one of the smaller teams; one most would call underfunded so what’s the major differences from a driver’s standpoint?

The biggest thing from the larger, more established teams vs. a smaller, growing team is just resources. The larger teams have been in the sport for 25+ years and got a lot more money, a lot more sponsors and a lot more employees so that’s something we fight on a daily basis. We fight to create more revenue and get more partners for Front Row and it’s a slow process but we’ve been very successful in making it happen.

Do you have aspirations to return to a top level team or are you happy here trying to help Front Row grow and build?

Well my aspirations are to win more races and compete for championships and I’m only 27 years old. I feel like I got a long time left in this sport and if that’s going to be growing Front Row Motorsports and getting them to a be able to be competitive consistently and win multiple races; that would be great. But if a opportunity comes up with a larger team that puts me back immediately into a more competitive program, then that’s something I have to look at too but I am very happy at Front Row and helping them grow and get better…that would be a great story to tell.

Do you feel more pressure racing for a team like Front Row because being competitive means everything to them; it’s about survival but with a bigger team, you are just expected to do well?

There’s pressure in every situation whether you’re trying to make the race and you’re going to finish 43rd or if you’re trying to win a race and go for the championship. There’s a lot of pressure in every situation; it just comes from different directions.

This team is definitely making progress…I don’t know if you knew this but Front Row Motorsports was listed as No.800 on Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing companies last year. What are you guys doing that other small teams that seem to be stuck in a rut aren’t?

Well I think that we got a good attitude and we work hard and we got Bob Jenkins who is an entrepreneur, a smart business man. We all got a good attitude when we come to work each day and we’ve leveraged ourselves to some really good partners with CSX, Love’s Travel Stops, Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts, and Farm Rich. You got three or four companies there that that are solid companies. The more we can develop those relationships, the better off we’ll be.

That kind of leads me to my next question…where do all these sponsors come from? It seems like every week, you or Gilliland have a new or different sponsor on the car. Where are you getting all these sponsors?

I don’t know; that’s a good question there. They come from all around. We got ourselves a marketing team that works hard and we can provide a good package for a company that has been burnt out by spending too much money with larger teams or companies that are fairly new to the sport and want to grow and get involved. I think we got a unique situation and that makes us fortunate enough to have some of the partners that we do have and the ones we’re able to get.

Front Row has been noticeably faster in 2013. You’ve been awesome in qualifying recently and both you and David Gilliland seem to be running in the top 20 a lot more often; where’s the speed coming from?

It’s a combination of the things we’ve talked about. Just working harder, trying to build better racecars and getting more confidence with our team and having a better notebook with this Gen-6 car and beeing able to test a few more times this year so it hasn’t been one particular thing. It’s been an awry of five or six small things that’s helped us get to this next point and that’s where we need to focus to get even better. Just need to keep working on a lot of small things; I don’t think we’re going to have one grand-slam that jumps us to the top 10 but a lot of little, small items will eventually get us there.

How soon before you think Front Row is capable of winning races at places other than plate tracks?

In the right situation, we could have a shot to do it this year in the final ten races. Hopefully, there’s not a lot of rule changes for 2014 and we can build some better racecars and we can learn from our 2013 experiences. It’s coming and hopefully, sooner rather than later.

When you’re not at the track racing and when you’re not with your family; what is it you like to do?

Well, you just about explained every day of my life. I do the NASCAR racing about 40 weeks a year and I go do some short track racing with my Late Models a couple weekends a year…the other five or six weekends a year, I’m with my family and spending some time at our Ford dealership down in Perry, Georgia. It keeps us busy.

What’s the strangest fan encounter you’ve ever had?

Well, we have a lot of crazy fan encounters. I’ve met guys that have their name, David Ragan spelled the same way and people who claim they’re your cousin but they’re really not and people that want you to sign “unique” stuff. There’s a lot of crazy/passionate NASCAR fans out there and it’s hard to just pick one because they’res a lot of them.

September 25, 2013

This grading system is pretty basic. Top 10’s, with extra consideration given for wins and Top 5’s, can help you earn an A+. Keep it in the Top 20 each race and that is worth a B. Just by finishing 30^th each time out and that would still get you a C-. Less than that is a failure; a failure to compete, a failure to get noticed.

Grade: A

The top students have been to joy to have in class, even though Jimmie did cost himself an A+ by playing hookey in the weeks leading to the Chase. We are hopeful Kyle continues his stellar work through the final part of the year, though he has had trouble in the past. Matt has really hit the books as of late, and could wind up class valedictorian if he continues his progress. Carl once again is near the head of the class, but time will tell if can charge to the front to finally be number one.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
48	Jimmie JOHNSON	4	11	17	21	25
18	Kyle BUSCH	4	13	17	20	22
20	Matt KENSETH	7	8	15	21	24
99	Carl EDWARDS	2	8	14	24	26

Grade: A-

Kevin has been in the top half of the class pretty much the entire year and only twice has the dog eaten his homework. Clint is usually a very popular boy, but for some reason I detect that many of his classmates do not want him to wind up at the head of the class this year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
29	Kevin HARVICK	2	7	14	25	25
15	Clint BOWYER	0	8	14	24	26

Grade: B+

Kurt, who usually does not play well with others, has some cheering for him. It will be interesting how he works with his new friends when class resumes next year. Kasey had some trouble last week, as did little Joey a week earlier. Dale is once again a very popular boy while Ryan has had some issues to work through, but seems to have replaced former friends with some new ones for next year. Martin has had some problems as well due to the company he keeps, and I am not sure how that will work out. Greg remains a solid student, with Mark helping Tony since he hurt his leg. Meanwhile, Jeff needed some help near the end of the term, though I am not sure it will be enough for him to realize his dreams by the end of the school year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
78	Kurt BUSCH	0	9	14	20	23
5	Kasey KAHNE	2	8	11	18	20
22	Joey LOGANO	1	8	14	19	23
88	Dale EARNHARDT, Jr	0	5	15	21	24
39	Ryan NEWMAN	1	6	13	21	22
56	Martin TRUEX, Jr	1	6	12	21	23
16	Greg BIFFLE	1	4	11	23	24
14	Tony STEWART	1	5	10	19	27
24	Jeff GORDON	0	5	13	21	22

Grade: B

It has been a disappointing year for some students. Brad has stumbled a bit since being last year’s valedictorian. Juan Pablo plans to transfer out of our school next year, returning to where he had previously enjoyed very good grades. His friend Jamie will remain with us, and has hopes of improving his status next year. Mark has been busy, first helping Brian earlier this year and now Tony. I am expecting good things when Brian returns full-time next year. Along with Paul, they might not make the honor roll this year, but these boys have done enough work to show they belong here.

Grade: B-

Aric has shown signs that we might expect better things ahead for him. Jeff, as always, was expecting more. As he leaves us a year early, we will miss this well spoken young man.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
43	Aric ALMIROLA	0	1	5	22	24
31	Jeff BURTON	0	2	6	17	23

Grade: C+

Marcos and Ricky have been okay, though not great. They both manage to get their work done, but I still would like to see better things from them before the year is out.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
9	Marcos AMBROSE	0	0	5	19	23
17	Ricky STENHOUSE, Jr	0	0	2	20	25

Grade: C

I do not know what to say about Denny. I know he was hurt earlier in the year, but he has not been his old self since he returned. It appears he would just as soon end the year, go on vacation, and start afresh next year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
11	Denny HAMLIN	0	3	6	12	19

Grade: C-

Casey is not quite ready to compete with the big boys just yet, but I have been pleased with his progress. I am interested to see how he might do next year. I will miss Bobby, though he has had another disappointing year. Some seem happy with Danica’s progress, but I feel we should expect more by this time. She is blessed with so much more than a lot of the other students. David did succeed on the subject of Alabama geography, with some help from his close friend, the other David, but neither are quite there yet. As for A.J., who sometimes goes by Regan or Austin or, just last week, by Michael, might make some real progress once he figures out who he really is.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
13	Casey MEARS	0	0	1	9	23
47	Bobby LABONTE	0	0	1	8	21
10	Danica PATRICK	0	0	1	6	23
34	David RAGAN	1	1	1	4	21
38	David GILLILAND	0	1	1	5	20
51	A.J. ALLMENDINGER	0	0	2	7	18

Grade: F

To be honest, I am not sure why these boys are even in my class. Both Dave and Travis, I am sure, would do so much better at Nationwide High. What can you say about J.J. (other than he enjoyed Daytona seven months ago), David S. (who just isn’t the same boy the past two weeks), David R. or Timmy? No, really. What can you say about them? Well, I’ve seen worse. I feel bad for Trevor, as I think if he would attend class more often he might be able to pull in a better grade than this. However, to be fair, of the nine assignments he has done, none have been much to write home about. As for Landon, things just don’t seem to work out. He and Tony R. have done most of the assignments for Austin, which is too bad as the young fellow has done so much better on the two he has written on his own. There are other students who drop in from time to time, but I have reserved my remarks for those who have tried to attend class at least nine times this year. God bless Scott, Michael, Joe, and Mike, but if the school board ever considers reducing class size, they make a good argument. To be honest, they usually do not stick around long enough to become a nuisance. The sad thing is, all four have ability but you never get to see it.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
7	Dave BLANEY	0	0	0	2	18
93	Travis KVAPIL	0	0	0	4	15
36	J.J. YELEY	0	0	1	2	14
30	David STREMME	0	0	0	4	13
83	David REUTIMANN	0	0	0	1	14
32	Timmy HILL	0	0	0	2	12
21	Trevor BAYNE	0	0	0	4	8
40	Landon CASSILL	0	0	0	4	8
33	Austin DILLON	0	0	0	2	12
95	Scott SPEED	0	0	1	1	3
98	Michael MCDOWELL	0	0	1	1	2
87	Joe NEMECHEK	0	0	0	0	3
19	Mike BLISS	0	0	0	0	1

September 24, 2013

NASCAR’s Mistake in Adding the 13th Chase Contestant

What a strange week. Just when I thought NASCAR was handling things right, things go haywire. After the events at Richmond (I won’t go into it—you know the story), I thought the sanctioning body had made some tough decisions in displacing Martin Truex from the Chase and adding Ryan Newman, but what happened today was almost unbelievable. Despite the sincere explanation of the officials of NASCAR, I just don’t see it. The rationalization that Jeff Gordon should be added to the field of 12 (make that 13 now) makes no sense. I’m not a mathematician (and you have to be to understand the complicated new point system, though they supposedly made is simple for the fans and drivers, let’s go through the changes.

After Matt Kenseth won the last regular NASCAR championship in 2003, it was decided changes were needed to mold NASCAR in the form of stick and ball sports and have a playoff. The problem was the problem whereby Kenseth only had one win that season and the thought of that wasn’t kosher. So, we went to a ten-race playoff where almost anyone could win just like the NFL, NFL, and NBA. Later on they added bonuses for wins and two more “wild cards” based on wins by drivers who came close. Huh? Now you can finish 11th or 12th and still not make the cut because of your win total. So we turn around and place a driver in the Chase because he’s won no races? And guys who have won are left out? I’m sure David Ragan is thrilled. Who’s running this show?

I have nothing against Jeff Gordon, but the crying over the last few days has been over the top. Once NASCAR made the decision to disqualify Truex and install Newman in the chase, Gordon’s car owner went to the media saying he was “robbed.” Gordon fans (and there are plenty of them left) went to social media to state their case for their driver. It was constant. One fan posted on a web site many times that his man should be in the Chase. NASCAR simply yielded to pressure, which is never good. Lots of scenarios show it would have been difficult for Gordon to gain a place in the Chase and no reason that NASCAR should have changed the rules, though they are very good at this and have for years, to add a 13th driver. Funny, but they did and made themselves look like the WWE in the process. It wasn’t necessary. It is sort of like the contrived effort to make sure the most popular driver somehow got in the playoff (you know what I’m talking about, surely), or seemed so.

Wonder what will happen next year if the same thing comes up again and another driver, maybe Junior, misses by one point? Will NASCAR add a 13th driver? Sort of like the Big Red Machine missing the playoffs by a half game in 1976 and adding them in because one of the qualifiers had a pitcher use PED’s. NASCAR has set a precedent and they will be sorry for that in the future.

I’ll end this tirade with one question. How many times have teammates swapped the lead to get the bonus points? How many times have teammates back in the pack let a teammate pass them as victory is in sight? Going back in history, you have to ponder these points. A friend today told me money talks, and he has a point. If the driver missing the Chase had been David Ragan, would they have added him after a controversy? You can bet your life it wouldn’t have happened.

September 14, 2013
David Ragan paces first practice

David Ragan, the surprise winner earlier this season at Talladega, was fastest in first practice on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway driving the No. 34 Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts Ford. His lap of 125.322 mph edged out series points leader Jimmie Johnson. Who turned a lap of 125.134 mph in his Lowe’s Chevrolet.

Ragan commented after the session, “You know, Bristol is a track we feel like we can come to as a team and not have to worry about your aero platform and how your valance and sideskirts are sealed off to the racetrack. It’s a lot more mechanical grip and driving the racecar. The racecar seems to have some speed we made some good changes, it was a good qualifying lap we up toward the end of that practice, so we still got some more work to do in race trim in second practice, then we’ll probably try to make another qualifying run. Qualifying is important here, track position means a lot, so you know, I think our Peanut Patch Ford is good, but we certainly have some room for improvement and uh hopefully we can do that in second practice.”

Ragan drives for Front Row Motorsports, a smaller team that is trying to make gains and take that next step to becoming more competitive week in and week out. The win at Talladega and strong performances like this are just what the team needs to attract the attention of a major sponsor that will give them the funding they need to get their cars closer to the front and more consistent.

Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, winner of Wednesday night’s Camping World Truck Series race and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 5 in the first session.

Final practice and qualifying will take place Friday afternoon, with the Irwin Tools Night Race starting at 7:30 Saturday night.

August 23, 2013
Dillon Makes Nationwide Series History at Michigan

Driver of the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet, Austin Dillon, captured the Coors Light Pole Award for the 22^nd Annual Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway. With a qualifying lap of 37.523 seconds, 191.882 mph, Dillon broke the track qualifying record of 190.375 mph, which he set at Michigan last year. This is Dillon’s seventh pole in 57 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. Today’s pole award marks Dillon’s fourth consecutive pole, which sets a NASCAR Nationwide Series record. Dillon’s previous three poles came at Charlotte, Dover, and Iowa with top ten finishes in both Dover and Iowa.

Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing teammate, Paul Menard, will be starting in 2^nd position. The 22^nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250 marks Menard’s first NASCAR Nationwide Series start of 2013. This is the fourth top-10 start out of eight races at Michigan International Speedway.

RAB Racing driver, No. 99 Alex Bowman, was the fastest qualifying rookie for the 22^nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250. Bowman will be starting in fifth position driving his St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Toyota.

Last week’s winner of Iowa’s Dupont Pioneer 250 and newlywed, Trevor Bayne, will be starting in fourth position in the Roush Clean Tech Ford. Bayne has six top-10 finishes this season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and is currently 9^th in points standings.

Nationwide Series points leader and driver of the Taxslayer.com Chevrolet, Regan Smith, didn’t fare as well in qualifying for the 22^nd Annual Truck Parts 250. He will be starting in 20^th position with ten top-10 finishes this season and one win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Sprint Cup Series regular, Kyle Busch, who has dominated the Nationwide Series this season will be starting in 14^th position in his Monster Energy Toyota. No. 54 Busch has won three Nationwide Series pole awards, and has had nine top-10 finishes with six wins in 2013. Busch has one win and four top-10 finishes at Michigan International Speedway.

The green flag will fall on the 22^nd Annual Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Saturday at 2:15 pm EST.

June 16, 2013
Aric Almirola and David Ragan Lend A Hand for Military Families

NASCAR Cup competitors Aric Almirola and David Ragan joined together to lend their hands in assembling comfort kits for children whose family members were being deployed through the various branches of the military.

The event “With You All the Way”, hosted by Pocono Raceway, was sponsored by NASCAR, The NASCAR Foundation, the USO, Comfort Crew for Military Kids, and the Trevor Romain Company.

“It means a lot to their families and those that wish their loved ones were at home with them,” David Ragan, driver of the No. 32 Taco Bell Ford, said as he packed the comfort kits. “To send a little care package that says, ‘Hey, we’re with you and thinking about you and supporting you’ goes a long way.”

“It’s great the NASCAR community gets involved at events like this,” Ragan continued. “It means a lot because they are certainly sacrificing a lot.”

“It’s great to get the fans, the drivers and Miss Sprint Cup involved too,” Ragan said. “It’s the least we can do to say thank you to the military and their families.”

Ragan shared that he could definitely relate as he has had many family members who have served in the military over the years.

“I’ve had a lot of family members in service, some in the Air Force and some in the Army,” Ragan said. “My father was a little too young to go to Vietnam but I had a lot of uncles involved.”

“So I know that it is important to let the military families know we are thinking about them.”

“Everyone’s enjoying doing this and it puts things in perspective,” Ragan said. “It makes you forget about all those small things that you think are trouble.”

Richard Petty driver Aric Almirola also participated in the comfort kit assembly line. And for the driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford supporting the military is also very personal.

“It definitely touches a personal spot for me growing up in a military family,” Almirola said. “My dad was in the Air Force and I was born on Eglin Air Force base.”

“It means a lot to me to be able to give back to these military families,” Almirola continued. “To do something as simple as pack up some boxes for kids and put a smile on their face means so much.”

One of Almirola’s major tasks was to assemble and dress the teddy bears, complete with flight caps, goggles and scarves.

“We had a good team going on with a group building these bears,” Almirola said. “Just looking at those bears; it makes me wonder whose hands they’re going to get in.”

“Hopefully it makes them happy when they get it,” Almirola continued. “It’s really a cool event and it makes me appreciative of our military and all who support our country.”

Like Ragan, Almirola acknowledged that events like this comfort kit assemblage really helped to put his racing life in perspective.

“It certainly puts a lot of perspective on life in general,” Almirola said. “Without the military and those that keep us free, we certainly wouldn’t be out here riding around on a race track.”

“I respect those people tremendously and we owe them a lot to what we get to do on a daily basis and for the protection they provide for us,” Almirola continued. “We’re building bears and giving them gifts because they deserve it.”

“It puts things into total perspective.”

This unique packing event came about due to the partnership between the NASCAR Foundation and the USO.

“The NASCAR Foundation approached us to be a part of their “American Salute” campaign this year and wanted to have a way to give back to military families,” Emily Branch, Account Manager for the USO, said. “So, we thought the “With You All the Way” program was a perfect fit and was a good way to get the drivers and the crews engaged.”

“We have three military families to support the event today and tomorrow they will have a VIP experience at the track,” Branch continued. “We also have some drivers, crew members and general volunteers from the industry.”

Branch acknowledged that the comfort kits are lifelines for many of the military children at all ages.

“These kits mean so much to the military children,” Branch said. “They give comfort and provide support.”

“There is a DVD in the kit and a journal, as well as a caregiver manual,” Branch continued. “The kits are designed by the Comfort Crew for Military Kids.”

“The Trevor Romain Company is also a partner and we have multiple kits for the deployed, for children of wounded service members, and kits for children of fallen soldiers.”

The creator of the comfort kits, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Comfort Crew for Military Kids Ronda Englander, was also on hand for the Pocono packing party.

“We designed all the elements to be a comprehensive set of resources to help kids with all aspects of deployment,” Englander said. “There is a journal and we feel strongly this is an important way to express their feelings.”

“It’s an opportunity to document what happens in their lives when their loved one is away,” Englander continued. “One family that received our resources shared that the father who was away cried when he read his daughter’s journal.”

“That’s how she knew she had gotten her daddy back because he got his feelings back.”

For Englander, as for the drivers who participated in this packing event, this is also a very personal event and passion.

“My dad served in Viet Nam so I was a military kid and know a little bit about the sacrifices military families make,” Englander said. “He did not survive his tour.”

“I was three at the time, Englander continued. “So, this most certainly is a labor of love and most important to me to make sure that this generation of military kids does not feel alone and that they have the support they need to overcome the challenges.”

“The theme of our deployment kit is “We are with you all the way” and that’s what we want military families to know.”

Englander also expressed her gratitude to the NASCAR community for their support of the effort.

“The NASCAR community is such a great fit for our work and for this type of event,” Englander said. “NASCAR fans understand that our military are the true rock stars.”

“We’re in awe of the drivers here but the NASCAR community is so supportive of the military community,” Englander continued. “It’s a great fit.”

The other partner in the USO Comfort kit project is one of the most important, the host Pocono Raceway.

“It’s all about the families and the kids,” Brandon Igdalsky, President and CEO of Pocono Raceway, said. “To be able to give back to the troops and to help for all they do is so worth it.”

“Of everything in these boxes, the one thing that stands out to me are the teddy bears,” Igdalsky continued. “I know they would be most meaningful to my children.”

“To see these kids here having fun and helping out makes it all worthwhile.

For more information on the “With You All the Way” comfort kit project, visit www.comfortcrew.org or www.uso.org.

June 9, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Bojangles’ Southern 500

On what has become a Mother’s day weekend tradition at the historic Darlington Raceway, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 64^th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500.

Surprising: While bad news often comes in threes, Matt Kenseth had the opposite experience, with only good news in threes for this Joe Gibbs Racing team member. Kenseth scored his third Sprint Cup win of the season and advanced one spot to third in the point standings.

Not only was it a stellar evening for JGR with Kenseth in Victory Lane, but teammate Denny Hamlin gutted out a surprisingly good full-race performance after returning from his back injury. Hamlin finished in the runner up position, scoring his seventh top-10 at Darlington and his second top-10 finish for the season.

“I think our whole team, we’ve just got a great team from top to bottom,” J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “Gosh, I couldn’t feel much better about our year so far.”

Not Surprising: For the other member of the Joe Gibbs Race team, however, three times was nowhere near a charm. JGR driver Kyle Busch, who was the dominant driver all evening long, in fact leading 265 laps, tussled with competitor Kasey Kahne for the third time this season to finish a disappointing sixth in the race.

“He’s pretty tore up that they’re racing hard and Kasey Kahne tore up another car,” Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota, said. “This is the third time we’ve been involved in an incident with Kasey and all of us over here have a ton of respect for that program.”

“Well, he needs to quit,” Kasey Kahne, recipient of the three incidents with Busch, said simply. “Three times this year. I mean he’s got to just race me.”

Surprising: While enjoying a much celebrated 700^th career start, Jeff Gordon, at the tender age of 41 years, also managed to set yet another record. Gordon posted his 300^th top-five finish, becoming only the fourth driver to accomplish this feat, along with NASCAR legends David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty.

“Well, we all wanted this 700^th start to be a memorable one,” the driver of the No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevrolet said. “I’m very proud of this.”

Not Surprising: As so often happens, David Ragan experienced the highs and lows of the sport, from his previous week’s win at Talladega to overheating and struggling to finish 39^th at Darlington at this weekend’s race.

“Yeah, that’s how it goes sometimes,” the driver of the No. 34 Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts Ford said. “That’s a character-building weekend for sure.”

“You’ve just got to work hard and stay focused and keep the right attitude.”

Surprising: In spite of decent race finishes for two of the Roush Fenway drivers, with Carl Edwards taking the checkered flag in seventh and Greg Biffle in 13^th, both expressed the feeling that they are lacking something so far this season.

“We struggled a lot and ended coming back to seventh so I’m proud of our effort,” Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Geek Squad Ford, said. “But we’re just missing something.”

“It’s a little disappointing,” Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Meguiar’s Ford, said. “We still don’t have the grip that we need.”

“We’re missing it ever since the season started with this car.”

Not Surprising: All good things must come to an end and so it was not surprising that Aric Almirola’s streak of top-tens came crashing down at Darlington. The driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford finished 20^th at the track ‘Too Tough to Tame.’

“That’s not the result we wanted at all,” Almirola said. “We fought hard, but just weren’t quite good enough.”

“That was a tough night.”

Surprising: The struggles of Tony Stewart surprisingly continued at Darlington and the trip to Victory Lane that he so badly wanted at a track where he had never won eluded the former champion yet again.

Stewart was poised to get a good finish, in fact starting eighth on a restart with under 60 laps to go. But the Lady reached out and grabbed the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, putting that old Darlington stripe right down the side of his race car.

Stewart finished a disappointing 15^th when the checkered flag finally flew.

“Darlington is such a tough track to get a handle on,” Stewart said. “You don’t see a lot of guys who have a lot of success there.”

Not Surprising: In spite of scoring a pole run, with a track record to boot, and a record number of laps led for his team, Kurt Busch still did not get the finish he wanted at Darlington.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet ran strong all night but slipped at the end after getting hit by the No. 13 of Casey Mears. Busch finished 14^th in the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

“We could not keep up with the changing conditions of the track,” Busch said. “We made a number of chassis and air pressure adjustments but couldn’t get the car hooked up.”

“We let it slip away and that’s disappointing,” Busch continued. “But we won the pole, led laps, ran up front for a good portion of the race and came away with a respectable finish.”

Surprising: Penske Racing had a surprisingly bad day, especially for reigning champ Brad Keselowski, who had never finished outside the top 15 in his four starts at Darlington. The driver of the Blue Deuce was caught up in an accident and finished 32^nd.

While teammate Joey Logano has had an admittedly up and down relationship with the track, with two top-10 finishes and two finishes outside the top-25, he struggled as well. The driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford finished in the same position as his car number, 22^nd.

Not Surprising: Although the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Emerald Green Chevrolet admitted that the track is tough, his love affair with Darlington continued, especially after scoring another top-five finish. Johnson now leads the point standings by more than a full race worth.

“It was just a great 500 miles here at Darlington,” Jimmie Johnson said. “I love this place.”

“I wish we could race here three or four times a year.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising that there were just enough cars at Darlington for a full 43 car field. For the first time in quite a long time, no one was sent home unhappy after qualifying for this Southern 500.

Not Surprising: Juan Pablo Montoya’s focus on execution continued at the ‘Lady in Black’. He and his No. 42 Target Chevrolet team had a great run, finishing eighth.

“Well, we didn’t unload as good as we wanted, but we got it really good,” Montoya said. “I keep telling the guys we have got to execute.”

“If every person here does their best, we are going to be looking like heroes here.”

May 13, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Aaron’s 499

With a three hour plus rain delay pushing the Aaron’s 499 from day into a Talladega Night, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Alabama 2.66 mile oval.

Surprising: While Talladega has seen its share of calamities, the 44^th annual race running seemed to be the granddaddy of all mayhem. There was not just one ‘big one’ but two, with sixteen cars involved in the first wreck early in the race and twelve cars in the second ‘big one’ near the end of the race.

In between the crashes, there was the weather red flag, which lasted three hours, 36 minutes and six seconds, pushing the race to its finish in what some called darkness.

There were two drivers, however, who experienced the most ‘Dega mayhem. Kurt Busch, driving the No. 78 Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet, was having a great run until getting clipped by another car as it slipped down the track.

This sent Busch airborne and rolling over and over to eventually land smack dab on top of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet of Ryan Newman.

“We just got hit from behind and along for the ride we went,” Busch said. “It’s Talladega, what can I say.”

“That’s no way to end a race,” Newman said. “You got what you wanted but that’s just poor judgment restarting the race, running in the dark and running in the rain.”

Not Surprising: While ‘Dega may have been filled with mayhem for many drivers, it was a dream come true and the luckiest track ever for two Ford drivers, who both just happened to be named David.

For David Ragan, winning his first race at Talladega and scoring the first ever victory for his team Front Row Motorsports, Talladega was indeed a dream come true.

“I always knew in my heart I would get another chance,” Ragan said. “We know we are an underdog but we know ‘Dega is an equalizer.”

“How sweet to see all those Fords up there for the win,” Ragan continued. “I’m looking at my mirror and I was wondering if I was dreaming.”

While David Ragan stood in Victory Lane, he would not have been there without the push of his teammate David Gilliland, who himself pronounced Talladega as the luckiest track ever.

“It was a big day,” the driver of the No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford said. “A lot of it had to do with this little note from my 10-year-old daughter Taylor wishing me good luck.”

“She wrote that with a little horseshoe on it and put it on my dash before the race,” Gilliland continued. “And she had some horseshoe good luck earrings in too.”

Surprising: The race at Talladega was surprisingly nightmarish for one Trevor Bayne, who had once asked if he was dreaming after winning the Daytona 500. The driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford blew up, bringing out the first caution of the race.

“There was no warning at all,” Bayne said of his engine issue. “I got to turn one and it let go.”

“I’m surprised the whole field didn’t crash with as much oil that was pouring out of this thing.”

Not Surprising: Given the carnage on the race track, it was not surprising that Trevor Bayne was not the only driver watching the remainder of the race from his motor home. In fact, Kasey Kahne, who was involved in the ‘big one’ early on, watched what was left of the race from his couch at home.

“Btw I’m on the couch at home,” Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet for Hendrick Motor Sports, tweeted after being knocked early. “This sucks.”

Kahne finished 42^nd and lost three spots in the point standings, falling from the third to the sixth position.

Surprising: Demonstrating a new-found maturity, Kyle Busch accepted full responsibility for causing the first ‘big one’ at Talladega.

“Kind of caused it,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said. “I really don’t know what happened.”

“I know I got in the back of the No. 5,” Busch continued. “I hated that I caused a melee for everybody especially early in the race.”

“I hated that we all got crashed in that deal.”

Not Surprising: Restrictor plate racing does indeed make strange bedfellows. There was no better demonstration of this than the ‘friends’ that Denny Hamlin made to enable his successful comeback to the sport after his back injury.

“It means a lot as a driver to have your peers have your back like that,” Hamlin said of Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Waltrip and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., all of whom fell to the back of the pack to help him. “They really sacrificed the first part of the race for me.”

“I can’t thank them enough.”

Also, not surprisingly, the driver change between Hamlin and Brian Vickers went perfectly, allowing Hamlin to escape through the roof hatch to the broadcast booth in the Hollywood Hotel while watching his replacement Brian Vickers take the wheel, only to wreck out in the ‘big one.’

“Everything went seamless and painless,” Hamlin said. “Every week I feel a lot better.”

Surprising: Danica Patrick showed some surprisingly skilled evasive moves in avoiding the first wreck and was in good position until the late-race accident on lap 182 ended her day. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Stewart Haas Racing finished 33rd.

“We were watching and we were like, ‘Holy Cow’,” Tony Gibson, crew chief, said of Danica’s avoidance of the first ‘big one’. “I don’t know how she missed it.”

“It’s just unfortunate how it ended up with the late-race crash,” Gibson continued. “But that’s part of restrictor-plate racing.”

Not Surprising: With a rain delay of the magnitude at Talladega, it was not surprising that several drivers and cars had issues attempting to go back racing. Juan Pablo Montoya could not get his No. 42 Clorox Chevrolet re-started after the rain delay and ended up behind the wall before returning to the track for a 25^th place finish.

Joey Logano was right there with JPM struggling to restart after the rain delay, however, his problem was more serious and ultimately fatal. The No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford had some sort of engine issue that led to his 35^th place finish.

“We’re not sure what happened,” Logano said. “We’re thinking maybe an air pocket somehow got in the water system, but it doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s a bummer when you’re sitting third when it is raining and you don’t finish the race.”

Surprising: Toyota had a good day at Talladega with occasional Toyota driver and team owner Michael Waltrip surprisingly leading the way. Waltrip was the highest running Toyota with a fourth place finish, followed by Martin Truex Jr. in seventh and lap-leader Matt Kenseth in eighth.

“I love being a part of the Toyota family,” the driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Alabama National Champ Toyota said. “We had a great run.”

“I had a ball,” Waltrip continued. “I love being at Talladega and I love racing.”

Not Surprising: Jimmie Johnson extended his points lead to 41 over second place Carl Edwards with his fifth place finish at Talladega.

“It was obviously a very good day for our Lowe’s Chevrolet,” Johnson said. “We had a very fast car and I felt like we were a player all day long, and that’s awesome.”

Surprising: Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 51 Hendricks.com Chevrolet, was surprisingly disappointed with his top-ten finish, especially after winning the crash-filled Nationwide race.

“Well the last few laps I didn’t see much because it was pretty dark,” Smith said. “A little disappointed.”

“I kept getting stalled out by the cars on the outside.”

Not Surprising: Even with the mayhem of restrictor plate racing, Aric Almirola, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Gwaltney Ford, continued his streak of consecutive top-ten finishes. In fact, he will make history for Richard Petty Motorsports at Darlington if he finishes in the top-ten there.

“We sure are on a roll lately,” Almirola said. “I think we are the only people that aren’t surprised we are seventh in points and have the longest current top-10 streak in the series.”

“We just need to keep it up and start moving to top-fives and hopefully a win soon.”

May 8, 2013
The Front Row Motorsports Story: Giving Up Wasn’t An Option

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) has competed in 511 NASCAR sanctioned events over the last eight years and on Sunday night with the sun setting in the background; they did what many found inconceivable winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race in an FRM 1-2 finish! It’s an amazing example of David versus Goliath (In this case, two David’s) and NASCAR hasn’t seen an upset like this in quite some time. We all know what happened late Sunday night at Talladega Superspeedway but do you know the rest of the story? Do you know about all the adversity and the failures this team faced and had to persevere through to get to this moment of triumph? Well, you’re about to.

Bob Jenkins is the owner of Front Row Motorsports and funds his cars mostly through the money he makes from his many restaurant franchises that he owns such as Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W. He teamed up with Jimmy Means to form Means-Jenkins Racing in 2004 before Bob took full ownership the following year. With Stanton Barrett as his driver, Jenkins made his NSCS debut as the sole owner of a team at Bristol in 2005. Stanton started the race 23rd but did not finish bringing home a 41st place result. The team came from very humble beginnings and looked to be one of those little teams that would just fade away over time. Let me tell you this, Bob Jenkins had no intentions of going anywhere except for victory lane. The team battled through some unimaginable odds and kept fighting no matter how bleak the outcome looked.

Getty Images

They pushed through every 40th place finish and kept their heads held high knowing that if they wanted it bad enough and if they worked hard enough, that one day they would succeed. In their first four years of competition, they posted 15 finishes of 40th or worse, 16 DNF’s and a best result of 20th in 34 races. The team also tried out Nationwide in 2008 finding no success. FRM ran their first full-time NSCS season in 2009 with John Andretti behind the wheel. Their best result was a 16th at Loudon in route to a 36th place points finish. In 2010, they expanded their operation running two full-time cars and a 3rd for 21 races. They also made the switch to Ford’s in preparation for the Daytona 500. Kevin Conway, Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland piloted their cars and all three drivers led laps during the year. The cars finished 33rd, 34th and 36th in the owners standing which may not sound great but with the top 35 rule (and a couple cars ahead of them disappearing before 2011), all three cars were automatically locked into the first five races of 2011 which was a huge accomplishment for FRM.

Without having to worry about qualifying, Front Row was able to focus on strengthening the team as a whole instead of searching for a way to go fast for two laps. The 2011 Daytona 500 didn’t start off well for them with 2 of their three cars getting swept up in an early wreck. The No.38 of David Gilliland was the only FRM driver left and he made his small team proud as he came roaring down the backstretch on the final lap running down the leaders at a high rate of speed. Bobby Labonte pushed leader Trevor Bayne into turn three but Gilliland and Edwards closed in fast overtaking Labonte and making it a Ford 1-2-3. David finished 3rd marking the first ever top 5 finish for FRM. Their best result prior to that race was a 14th back in 2010. Later on that same year at Talladega, Gilliland scored another top 10 finish ending up 9th. He capped off the year with a respectable 30th place finish in the standings which was FRM’s best at the time.

2011 was a big year for the team scoring their first top 5 and top 10 finishes and putting two cars out on the track almost every single week. At the July race in Daytona, Gilliland finished a solid 16th while Roush-Fenway Racing’s (RFR) David Ragan won his first ever race at the Cup level. Ragan and Jenkins had no idea at the time that their fates would intertwine just a few months later. Ragan was released from RFR at the end of 2011 and was rideless until the opportunity to drive the No.34 for Jenkins came about. In 2012, they had two cars run every race on the schedule and a 3rd ran all but six. Ragan had two impressive runs of 4th and 7th both coming at Talladega….perhaps an omen of what was to come less than a year later? In the off season, Inc. Magazine named Front Row Motorsports as No.800 on their list of the 5,000 fastest growing companies and this little team that was progressively getting bigger and bigger was starting to turn some heads.

NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car put a strain on all the smaller teams who had to spend a lot of money building new cars but FRM persevered once again and showed up to Daytona with three brand new Ford Fusions. On lap 139, disaster struck for the team as they looked on in horror as all three of their cars piled into a wreck in turn 1. They were all damaged beyond repair posting DNF’s and finishing 35th, 38th and 40th. It was a massive blow to this team that had worked so hard to construct these new cars hoping to build on the momentum gained from 2011 and 2012. If that wasn’t bad enough, they destroyed two more cars in wrecks at Phoenix the very next week.

Photo Credit: George Diaz/Orlando Sentinel

The team arrived at Talladega Superspeedway with an intense feeling of trepidation knowing that their fleet of cars could be wiped out in an instant just like they were in Daytona. They dodged the massive 16 car crash early on in the race and when rain struck with 60 to go, it looked like the race was over but after a 3 hour rain delay, they went back racing. A second big wreck erupted in front the three drivers with just a handful of laps remaining. Gilliland and Ragan dodged the flipping No.78 of Kurt Busch by taking their cars to the apron as the spinning car of Jeff Gordon threw mud and grass everywhere. Josh Wise on the other hand was surrounded by smoke and spinning racecars but he somehow emerged from the carnage unharmed. The race became a 2 lap scramble to the finish as darkness crept over the light-less track.

Ragan restarted 10th, Gilliland 11th and Wise 14th. Josh went up the track with flat tire in the first corner but was able to limp home to a 19th place finish; the best of his NSCS career. The two David’s took the snarling pack of racecars head-on as they cut their way through the center of it. They passed the likes of Gordon, Kenseth and Johnson as they charged to the front of the field. With the titans of the sport all around them, this little team did not back down and fought their way to 2nd and 3rd with half a lap to go. The No.99 of Carl Edwards was the only driver that stood in their way and in a heart stopping moment, Ragan got sideways at 190mph and just about put it in the fence but thankfully, kept it straight. He dove underneath Edwards with the pedal through the floor and the No.38 followed.

Gilliland shoved with all his might and as Edwards made contact with the right rear of Ragan’s Ford. David Ragan drove across the track blocking a wall of cars hell bent on taking the victory away from him as the field roared through the tri-oval. He drove back down to the yellow line and began to throw sparks as his No.34 scraped the track with left side. With cars slamming into each other behind him with sparks and debris flying, David Ragan stunned the racing community and won the race! David Gilliland brought home 2nd as the crowd screamed in utter shock and amazement at this spectacular showing by Front Row Motorsports. Bob Jenkins’ 8 year struggle to win in NASCAR was over, now it’s time to go do it again. He made it this far by being smart, calculated and not making any imprudent decisions along the way.

Their battle is by no means over though, this is just another step forward in a never ending fight to find success in NASCAR. FRM is a team that refused to give up and refused to walk away even when there seemed to be no hope of prospering in this cut-throat business of auto racing. Quitting is not in this team’s vocabulary and their determination is paying major dividends now. They would not bow to the pressure and they prevailed against the greatest stock car racing has to offer. Finally, their dreams of winning in NASCAR have come to fruition and I’d like to say congrats to David Ragan and Front Row Motorsports on their incredible victory at Talladega!

May 6, 2013

Brad KESELOWSKI

Juan Pablo MONTOYA

Jamie MCMURRAY

Brian VICKERS

Paul MENARD

After a crazy weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series at the short track of Richmond International Raceway, both series pack up and move on to the biggest, fastest track on the circuit for some restrictor plate racing at Talladega Superspeedway. As is the case each trip to the 2.66 mile, high banked behemoth in Alabama, these races are sure to provide nonstop action and the driver who can play the 200 mph chess game just right and avoid the inevitable “Big One” will come out on top.

Sprint Cup Series

With Talladega being the second restrictor plate race for the new Gen6 Sprint Cup car after its debut at Daytona to open the season, only time will tell if the racing in the Aaron’s 499 on Sunday will mirror that from the Daytona 500 or if Talladega has a few tricks up its sleeve for these drivers as they try to figure out the new car in the restrictor plate draft.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Brad Keselowski	8	2	3	6	0	31	18.9	12.2
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	26	5	9	13	0	737	15.6	15.0
Kevin Harvick	24	1	6	10	1	155	22.0	15.4
Tony Stewart	28	1	9	13	0	317	16.5	15.8
David Ragan	12	0	3	5	0	27	19.8	16.0
Kurt Busch	24	0	6	13	0	143	20.8	16.1
Clint Bowyer	14	2	4	7	0	96	18.7	16.1
Jeff Gordon	40	6	15	19	3	839	11.5	16.4
Jimmie Johnson	22	2	5	9	1	234	10.2	17.7
Travis Kvapil	10	0	0	2	1	17	22.1	17.8

Who To Watch: As the defending spring Talladega race winner and two time winner at Talladega, Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers at the track with two wins, three top fives, six top tens, 31 laps led, and an average finish of 12.2 in eight starts at the track. Coming in just behind Keselowski is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has five wins, nine top fives, 13 top tens, 737 laps led, and an average finish of 15.0 in 26 starts. However, Earnhardt has not won at Talladega since the Fall of 2004 and only has five top tens in the eight years (16 races) since that last win, but Earnhardt can never be counted out at restrictor plate races, no matter the track.

Others that could find their way to Victory Lane this weekend include: Richmond winner and winner of the Fall race in 2010 at Talladega, Kevin Harvick; Tony Stewart, with one win, nine top fives, 13 top tens, and an average finish of 15.8, David Ragan, who hasn’t won at Talladega, but does have a Sprint Cup restrictor plate win at Daytona and a Nationwide Series win at Talladega under his belt as well as an average finish of 16.0; Kurt Busch, who has six top fives and 13 top tens in 24 starts and an average finish of 16.1; two time winner Clint Bowyer, who also has an average finish of 16.1 in 14 starts; Jeff Gordon, with six wins, but none since sweeping both races in 2007; and Jimmie Johnson, who has two wins, but has had horrible luck at restrictor plate races as of late, especially at Talladega.

Nationwide Series

If fans thought the season opener for the Nationwide Series at Daytona was wild, this weekend’s at Talladega is sure to provide just as many, if not more, thrills as that race did, due in large part to the two-car tandem drafting style that these drivers use in this series.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Joey Logano	4	1	4	4	0	21	10.5	2.0
Kurt Busch	1	0	0	1	0	1	31.0	6.0
Trevor Bayne	2	0	0	1	0	23	22.0	9.5
Sam Hornish, Jr.	2	0	0	0	0	4	10.0	12.5
Danica Patrick	1	0	0	0	0	1	17.0	13.0
Brian Vickers	4	0	0	2	0	17	11.2	14.0
Justin Allgaier	4	0	0	2	0	0	19.2	15.5
Joe Nemechek	18	2	7	8	5	202	10.7	15.9
John Wes Townley	2	0	0	0	0	0	28.5	16.5
Kyle Busch	9	1	4	5	0	114	11.6	16.6

Who To Watch: Sprint Cup regular Joey Logano will be making his first start in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing at Talladega and carries an impressive Nationwide Series record at the track with him. In four starts, Logano has one win, four top fives, four top tens, 21 laps led, and an average finish of 2.0. If Logano can reproduce those results that he obtained while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing with his new team, Logano will definitely be one of the favorites for the win on Saturday.

Logano isn’t the only favorite for the victory, several others will also be in contention, including: Kurt Busch, who will be teaming back up with Phoenix Racing, finished sixth in his lone Nationwide start at Talladega and won last July at Daytona, so he has ran well on restrictor plate tracks in the Nationwide Series; Trevor Bayne, who has two starts, one top ten, and an average finish of 9.5; Sam Hornish, Jr., the current points leader, has two starts and an average finish of 12.5; and Danica Patrick, who will be running for Turner Scott Motorsports, who has one Talladega Nationwide start and an average finish of 13.0.

May 1, 2013