Ragan and Team Know 600-Mile Race Forces Constant Adjustment
STATESVILLE, MAY 20, 2014 – David Ragan, driver of the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford, comments on racing 600 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
“These mile-and-a-half tracks are tough because there’s such a critical balance between aero grip and mechanical grip of your racecar. The Showdown and the All-Star race last week gave David (Gilliland) and me two different races at two different times of the day to try some things, so that was a big help for our team.
“It’s such a long race and the conditions change so much that, if you try something that doesn’t work, you’re not stuck with it for 600 miles. The track gains a lot of grip as it gets later. It’s really tough on the crew chief to make adjustments throughout the night, trying to predict how fast the racetrack’s going to get. When they drop the green flag, you usually have an issue to fight, and it’s going to be a different issue when they drop the checkered flag. You’re definitely making adjustments every single stop.”
JUST THE FACTS: Ragan has 14 Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway … He has one top-five, three top-10 and five top-15 finishes at the 1.5-mile oval … His best finish in a Sprint Cup points race at Charlotte is second (2011).
The No. 34 @TacoBell pit crew will get a workout Sunday. Teams average between 11 and 14 pit stops for the #Coke600. #NASCAR
About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is a race-winning organization competing in the NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series, fielding the No. 34 of David Ragan, the No. 38 of David Gilliland and the No. 35 Ford. The team is owned by Bob Jenkins and is headquartered just outside of Charlotte, N.C. FRM was named to INC Magazine’s “INC 5000” list in 2012, recognizing the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The team’s partnership base is representative of more than $200 billion of the U.S. economy and includes organizations such as Ford Motor Company, CSX Transportation, Love’s Travel Stops, Farm Rich, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s. Visit teamfrm.com.
