Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Goody’s 500 Advance – Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, October 25, 2014
David Ragan has a special paint scheme on his No. 34 Ford Fusion this weekend at Martinsville Speedway that honors 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Wendell Scott. Ragan spoke about that with members of the media prior to today’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice.
DAVID RAGAN – No. 34 Wendell Scott Hall of Fame Tribute Ford Fusion – “Personalities like Wendell Scott and the guys back in the day that made our sport what it is today is certainly why we’re here in front of all you guys and girls here at Martinsville Speedway with millions of people watching on TV and thousands here watching on Saturday and Sunday. It’s their commitment many years ago that allows us to come out and do what we’re doing today, but I think a little extra light can shine on what Wendell Scott and his family was challenged with in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. I think what he was able to accomplish by competing in the premier level of NASCAR stock car racing is something special. Obviously, I’ve got a big appreciation for all the guys and girls back in the day that made our sport what it is today, so it allows us to come out and have a good career, to have a lot of fun doing what we love to do and that’s driving race cars. All of that is based on what they had to work with years ago, so it’s an honor to drive a tribute car for Wendell Scott and his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and driving the No. 34 in the Sprint Cup Series it only seems fitting. As a driver you always pay attention to the car numbers that you have and you’re always interested to go back and look at the history of those numbers and throughout a career you don’t often see one driver stay with one car number their entire career through the different divisions, so when I got in the number 34 you definitely look back and see who raced it and who won. That was one of the first things that crossed my mind when we were able to get that victory last season, the significance of it, and it was quite a big deal so it’s definitely coming full circle here driving a tribute car for them here at Martinsville this weekend.”
WENDELL SCOTT WAS AN INDEPENDENT AND DID A LOT FOR HIMSELF. HOW MUCH TUNING AND TIRE-CHANGING HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THIS WEEKEND AND IF YOU WERE FORCED INTO DUTY HOW WOULD YOU DO? “It’s cool to embrace that. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of good employees that are gonna be wrenching on our Front Row Motorsports car this weekend, so they probably won’t let me touch it, but I grew up racing and working on my own race car, so I have an appreciation for what goes into building one of these cars and to know what Wendell was able to do with limited resources and probably a small crew back in the day it makes you appreciate the accomplishments even more.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO POTENTIALLY WIN THIS WEEKEND? “I think anytime you’re paying tribute to a Hall of Famer a little extra pressure goes on just from the attention you get from the media, their fans, their family, and the pressure that you put onto yourself. You certainly want to pay tribute the best you can with a lot of respect and maturity over the weekend, but it’s all about running well, running fast and having an opportunity to win. Our Ford has been OK. We’ve got one more practice to work on it some and anything can happen here at Martinsville. You stay on the lead lap and have a good strategy at the end a lot of crazy things can and sometimes do happen, so it would definitely be a good day to have a good strong finish and you’d feel like you did the right things. If you can leave here with a good finish and a good feeling that you had some fun and paid tribute to Wendell the right way.”
