David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story
From Trevor Bayne’s win of the Daytona 500 to Regan Smith’s win last weekend at Darlington, Cinderella stories have been all the rage in NASCAR.
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[/media-credit]One driver who is ready to put on the glass slipper in Victory Lane is David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. In fact, Ragan is indeed planning to be that next big underdog winner.
“Absolutely, I will be the next Cinderella story,” Ragan said. “I feel like we’re in a position to win a race. And if we can get a little more consistent, I think we have a team that can make the Chase.”
“From our practice and qualifying efforts, our races and our pit stops, everything is a couple of notches better than what it was even in the year when we finished 13th in the points,” Ragan continued. “I feel like any weekend we go, we’ve got the attitude to win the race.”
While Ragan may have the winning attitude for that Cinderella finish, he acknowledged that the upcoming race at Dover International Speedway will be a challenge. In fact, he has one word for the track affectionately known as the Monster Mile and that is “breathtaking.”
“You almost have to hold your breath all the way around,” Ragan said. “Even on the straight-aways, you still have to drive the car so you’re holding your breath most of the way around.”
Ragan also affirmed that Dover, in addition to earning the nickname ‘Monster Mile’ has also earned its stripes as ‘Bristol on Steroids.’
“If you took Bristol by your hands and stretched it out, you’d have Dover,” Ragan said. “You get a lot of speed and a lot of banking so ‘Bristol on Steroids’ is a good way to describe it.”
“It’s real intimidating the first time you get there,” Ragan continued. “But once you get the hang of it, you actually look forward to it.”
“You go into the corner and it feels like you fall down a story or two and as you get back on the throttle, you’re driving out of the corner,” Ragan said. “It’s a very cool sensation and when you have a fast car, it makes it even more fun.”
In spite of the monster challenges at Dover, Ragan takes solace in the fact that his team, Roush Fenway Racing, has a history of running well there.
“Clearly that’s a track that Roush cars are good at,” Ragan said. “So even in down years, we’ve been good there.”
“The concrete doesn’t change,” Ragan continued. “Dover stays pretty much the same so we’ve got a good set up we can work with, which makes life a lot easier.”
“We haven’t had the finish that we deserved,” Ragan said of his own Dover history. “We’ve had some crazy things happen there, from very bad pit stops under green to being caught up in a wreck or two.”
In addition to hoping for better Dover luck, Ragan and team are also bringing a brand new chassis, Primary RK-759, to the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks race.
“So, far having a brand new car has been very good,” Ragan said. “Our pole winning car at Texas was a brand new car. Our top five car at Richmond was a brand new car. The Daytona 500 car was a new car.”
“So, that’s a testament to how good our new cars are,” Ragan continued. “That gives me some extra confidence that we’re taking the best car we can take to the track.”
Last fall’s Dover race was also the first pairing of driver Ragan with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer.
“This is the first track where Drew and I got to work together, so we’re going back to a track that we’ve run at before,” Ragan said. “That’s shown to have been better for us, going back to Texas and Martinsville where we’ve run at before last year and scored top tens.”
“We have a great relationship,” Ragan continued about his crew chief pairing with Blickensderfer. “We’re both pretty young and we’re not afraid to venture out and be aggressive and try some different things on the race cars.”
“Drew and I are both very hungry so we know we are capable of winning and want to make it happen,” Ragan said. “So, we definitely have high hopes this weekend.”
One thing that Ragan wants to avoid happening this weekend is to get caught up in any of the ‘boys have it’ shenanigans that have occurred over the past two race weekends.
“I don’t know if you’ll have the same couple of characters that we’ve had the past few weeks, but Dover is an exciting track and there’s not a lot of give and take there,” Ragan said. “Accidents do happen so I would say that you probably have a good chance of having a little more fireworks this weekend.”
“I haven’t gotten into it with anyone but there’s always the next week,” Ragan said with a chuckle. “We’re just trying to stay focused on our plan and stay out of all that. But if something comes up, we’ll be ready.”
But what David Ragan is most ready for is that first, and to date elusive win, which for him would complete his dream of a Cinderella race weekend.
“Your first win is always special and at a track like Dover, it would be very special to get a win,” Ragan said.
“Regan Smith proved that if you’re in a position to win, it can happen,” Ragan continued. “If we put ourselves in the top five or top ten, anything can happen.”
“I can tell you one thing, there won’t be anybody trying any harder this weekend.”
NASCAR Wisely Leaves ‘Payback’ To Drivers
After a weekend of confrontations at Darlington, NASCAR handed out punishment on Tuesday, with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick each receiving four weeks probation and a $25,000 fine. Ryan Newman and Juan Montoya were given a “final warning” for their ongoing feud that allegedly led to Newman punching Montoya at Darlington. Did NASCAR wimp out with its disciplinary actions?
What’s the greatest thing about NASCAR when it comes to discipline? No one listens to them. That doesn’t make them wimps. It makes them brilliant marketing strategists. What’s four weeks probation to Busch and Harvick? Four weeks to plot their next moves, four weeks to belittle their rival with vague and veiled insults, and four weeks to closely test the boundaries of NASCAR’s “probationary” period. Probation? To fans, that means NASCAR will be watching. Not surprisingly, to NASCAR, that means fans will be watching. And the $25,000? Harvick would say that’s “chicken” scratch to Busch, and he’d be right. Busch, for his part, would say that $25,000 is the price Harvick had to pay for “window shopping” at the No. 18 Toyota.
But who’s complaining about the lack of severity of NASCAR sanctions? Apparently, only people who want NASCAR’s punishment of drivers to actually discourage behavior like Busch’s and Harvick’s. That would be discouraging, to fans. NASCAR’s not stupid. They only look stupid. And they know it. Appearances can be deceiving, and NASCAR wants only to appear to discourage such driver behavior with their brand of punishment. NASCAR puts the “pun” in punishment.
What’s the purpose of a minimal fine and simple probation? For NASCAR, it’s their version of discipline with maximum effect (in their eyes) and minimal impact. It’s the equivalent of asking drivers to wear “promise rings.” NASCAR’s punishment says to drivers “Don’t let it happen again, but if it does, please make sure you make it look like a ‘racing incident.’”
NASCAR knows just as well as everyone else that their rendered judgments are often, if not always, deemed not severe enough. Sure, they are carefully considered, but in most cases, the punishment does not fit the crime. For that, NASCAR should be applauded. The last thing NASCAR wants is to bar a driver bent on retaliation off the track. NASCAR doesn’t want to play the bad guy. No, they want the bad guy on the track, plotting his next mildly punishable action. It would take a truly heinous on-the-track act for NASCAR to suspend a driver. In the realm of NASCAR discipline, it’s not “My way or the highway.” It’s “My way and the speedway.”
In case you missed it, Busch and Harvick’s shenanigans overshadowed Regan Smith’s first career Sprint Cup, and then some. And that begs the question, if a winning driver does victory burnouts and no one is watching, does it make any smoke? Let’s thank the good lord it wasn’t a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. win that was overshadowed. Otherwise, there would have been fans trying to punch Busch and Harvick for the very
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[/media-credit]though of stealing some Junior thunder. In any case, the brewing feud was by leaps and bounds more entertaining than the race itself. The Busch-Harvick game of cat and mouse was both controversial and entertaining, a true brouhaha.
You can call Busch a coward for driving off. And, you can say “it” runs in the family. You could even say he “turned tail.” Indeed he did. He spun Harvick not once, but twice. Busch is no one-hit wonder, like the band Sniff ‘N The Tears, who performed the 1978 hit “Driver’s Seat,” which Busch was surely humming when he sent the No. 29 Budweiser car astray. After those two dramatic left turns, Harvick will now be known as the “King Of Veers.”
But give Harvick credit for instigating the situation and bumping Busch when it appeared Busch did nothing wrong. Say what you will about Harvick, but the man has guts. And it takes guts to confront a Busch brother with only window netting separating you. Wait. No it doesn’t. Anyway, Harvick is known to take no guff from anyone, and once Busch spun him, he was obligated to retaliate. What’s worse for Harvick and Busch? A piddly fine and probation from NASCAR, or the ignominy of knowing they let a heated rival get the upper hand. A lenient sanction, wisely administered by NASCAR’s marshmallow fist, ensures that Harvick and Busch, as well as other drivers, won’t be afraid to seek their own justice.
As for the fates of Montoya and Newman, NASCAR again made the right call, issuing warnings instead of punishment. Montoya wrecked Newman at Richmond, and Newman punched Montoya at Darlington. With warnings, NASCAR is essentially saying “Your move, Montoya.”
Who was most entertained by the Busch-Harvick fiasco? Why, Jimmie Johnson, of course? In his quest for his sixth Sprint Cup championship, Johnson has to be satisfied to see two of the three biggest challengers to his title in a conflict that is sure to spill over to the remainder of the season. And, with the volatile Carl Edwards due to blow his top soon, Johnson could very well see all three of his greatest rivals facing NASCAR discipline. What’s the biggest difference between Johnson and Harvick, Busch, and Edwards? Besides five Sprint Cup championships. It’s Johnson’s level-headedness. If he gets angry, it’s often at his crew chief, Chad Knaus. When he’s wronged, Johnson doesn’t get even. He gets even better.
In short, NASCAR needs the excitement and controversy that comes with feuding drivers. If there’s a knock against NASCAR, it’s the boredom of races that lack action or controversy. NASCAR has a monopoly on monotony. If NASCAR’s discipline exacerbates this problem, then they have gone too far. Wisely, NASCAR only loosely practices what it preaches.
NASCAR Bad Boys: Top Ten Most Fined Sprint Cup Drivers
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This weekend’s race at Darlington provided a storyline to the viewer that will be talked about for weeks to come. It was a simple phrase that we have heard several times throughout the year…..”Boys, have at it!” And that, they did!
We saw a sucker punch thrown. Overheard a name-calling shouting match between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick’s team. We listened to rumors of a possible punch during a NASCAR meeting between Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman.
We also saw Montoya accidentally get into the back of Johnson while Montoya’s actions were being scrutinized. We even got to see a runaway car endangering the lives of NASCAR officials and crew members.
After such an epic event, “Boys have at it!” will have consequences for the first time in 2011. Those consequences come with a price tag in the form of a penalties.
Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Most Fined Sprint Cup Drivers…..
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#10. Jeff Gordon, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, finds himself ranked #10 on our most fined list with $126,000 in assessed penalties.
In 2007, Gordon’s car was found to have a fender flare which created an unfair advantage. This infraction led to the single highest penalty of $100,000 for the team.
Good Boy Gordon did manage to lose his temper and decked Jeff Burton after being wrecked at Texas Motor Speedway in 2010.
Since the two were able to work through their spat, NASCAR did not penalize either driver.
[/media-credit]#9. Car owner/driver and published author, Michael Waltrip and his team have been fined a minimal $140,500 despite some of his crazy antics.
After initial qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR inspectors found evidence in the engine manifold that Waltrip’s team had used an illegal fuel additive. This became known as the “jet fuel” scandal, costing his team $100,000.
An inappropriate gesture during a television broadcast in 2005 set him back $10,000.
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#8. Kurt Busch, winner of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Championship using the “Chase for the Cup” point system, is a bit of a hothead. Busch and his team have been levied $156,000 in penalties.
Tempers flared after some on-track antics between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart at Dover in 2007. Busch ran into Stewart’s car on pit road, barely missing the jack man.
The No. 2 Penske Dodge driver was fined $100,000 for endangering crew members on pit road.
In another on-track scuffle, Busch bumped Robby Gordon’s car from behind, spinning him out and causing a caution to “allegedly” improve his position. The bump cost Busch $10,000.
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#7. Some would say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a chip off the old block. Naysayers would argue Jr. has a chip on his shoulder. With $168,000 in penalties, we will let you decide.
Dale Jr. took a hit when the COT debuted in 2007. He and other Hendrick teammates were each fined $100,000 for unapproved modifications.
2004 was the year of “Poop-gate.” Earnhardt Jr. was fined $10,000 for using profanity during a live post-race interview.
When asked about the significance of his fifth victory at Talladega, Jr. replied, “It don’t mean s— right now. Daddy’s won here 10 times.”
#6. The No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry driver, Martin Truex Jr. lands on our Top Ten list at no fault of his own. Crew Chief, Kevin Manion, has garnered a whopping $175,000 in penalties for the Truex Jr. team.
Manion’s biggest folly came in 2008 when the No. 1 Chevrolet failed a template inspection before the Coke Zero 400. The penalties levied were $100,000 and a six-race suspension.
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#5. Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch is a force to be reckoned with. Holding the record for most NASCAR wins in a season between the top three NASCAR series comes with a price…$190,000 in penalties to be exact!
We have all seen the endless replays of the skirmish between “Rowdy” Busch and Kevin Harvick from this weekend’s race at Darlington. The tiff cost each driver $25,000 and earned them a four-race probation.
Kyle is known for his garish antics. He was recently penalized $25,000 for giving an obscene gesture to a NASCAR official during a live televised race.
#4. Carl Long holds the record for the single largest penalty handed out by NASCAR at the tune of $200,000.
What could Carl do to cost his team so much money you ask?
After making just 23 career Cup starts and not appearing in a points-paying Cup race since 2006, Long felt he could qualifying for the 2008 All-Star Race and the Daytona 500. Preliminary to the All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Long overheated the engine. His team made an engine switch.
Under the NASCAR rules, the bad engine was examined. It was later determined that the engine exceeded the maximum cubic-inch displacement specifications.
In layman’s terms, Long was using an engine that was far bigger than NASCAR allows.
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#3. NASCAR elite driver and five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner, Jimmie Johnson, has managed to rack up the fines on his way to supremacy.
Crew Chief, Chad Knaus, aka “Cheating Chad” has earned $202,500 in penalties for the team with his Go Big or Go Home mentality.
Johnson was fined $10,000 for his role in the “Bottlegate” fiasco when he placed a Lowe’s logo in front of some plastic Powerade bottles after he got out of his car in Pocono Raceway’s Victory Lane.
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#2. When it comes to drama, Kevin Harvick is where it is at! Don’t get me wrong….I am a proud firesuit- T-shirt wearing fan who loves the Harvicks! However, I was surprised to find $236,000 in penalties for all that drama.
This weekend, Harvick landed a punch on Kyle Busch through an open window net. This netted Harvick with a $25,000 fine and a four-race probation.
Kevin has on-track altercations involving Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Gregg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Burton.
In Kevin’s defense…not all of the $236,000 were fines from altercations. Harvick’s team had issues with aerodynamics, oil and fuel filters, rear suspension and a few other miscellaneous penalties to the tune of $156,000.
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#1. Yes, you read that correctly! Robby Gordon takes the cake with an whopping $325,000 in NASCAR penalties.
This driver/owner has been fined for just about everything thanks to his never-ending supply of crew chiefs. Most notably, $150,000 for an unapproved front bumper while under the direction of Frank Kerr.
Robby Gordon remains on probation after an altercation in Las Vegas with Kevin Conway regarding money and pending litigation.
FAQ:
What data was used for this article? We used the Jayski penalties posted from 2001-May 10,2011. All data is assumed under the umbrella of each driver. Article assumes readers will know a driver name, but not a crew member name.
Example…..If the stated driver’s crew chief was fined $50,000 for unapproved modifications..then that driver’s penalties will reflect that amount.
Where did we get the data? http://jayski.com/pages/penalties.htm
What happens to the money from the penalties? Starting in 2008, all money collected from fines issued to drivers go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives; before, the money collected from driver/crew member penalties are generally placed into the Drivers Points Fund awarded at the end of the season.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: A TAILGATE PARTY ON THE DOVER CONCRETE
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[/media-credit]After a three break in their schedule, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action this Friday night, on the Dover International Speedway’s concrete oval, for the running of the Lucas Oil 200.
It’s already been duly noted that this event is being held on “Friday the 13th”. While luck is always going to be a major part of racing, this series doesn’t need superstition like formidable calendar dates, black cats or walking under ladders to generate a lot of action. This NASCAR style tailgate party is quite capable of generating intensity with the 36 trucks that will take the green flag.
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THE STORY BREAKDOWN
Once again the words feud and retaliation have entered the NASCAR news thanks primarily to the episode between Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch during the Sprint Cup race at Darlington last weekend. We are already reading and hearing about a possible appearance of round two in this fight during Friday night’s truck race. These reports are being enhanced by the fact that neither driver is eligible, under new NASCAR guidelines, to compete for the truck series championship.
That strikes me as being rather absurd and there are a few factors that supports the theory. First off, it’s a safe bet that NASCAR officials have already considered the possibility and the drivers have to be aware that they may be watched Friday night a little closer than usual.
Secondly, the Sprint Cup cars that Harvick and Busch crashed at Darlington are owned by Richard Childress and Joe Gibbs respectively. They are the one who had to pay the repair bills on those cars. In direct contrast, the trucks Harvick and Busch will drive Friday night are actually owned by Harvick and Busch. That means they’re both responsible for paying the bills generated by their respective race teams. When the driver is also the owner he has a tendency to be a little more protective of the equipment he’s using.
While it’s true that neither driver is eligible to win the truck series championship, there is another coveted title in the series they are racing for: the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner Points Championship. Going into the Dover race, Kyle Busch Motorsports leads those standings with a healthy 39 point lead over Mike Curb, the owner of record for Johnny Sauter’s Thor Sport Racing team. Somehow I can’t imagine Kyle Busch sacrificing any part of that lead so he can tease Kevin Harvick again.
Here’s one final question that could add to the fire already lit by the NASCAR conspiracy theorists: is it an omen that the Chevrolet Truck Kevin Harvick will be driving Friday night is sponsored by Bad Boy Buggies?
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The championship points profile for the series is also intense. Johnny Sauter remains on top of the standings with 187 points. But there’s only a 12 point separation between the top five with a Dover race coming up Friday night where anything can happen.
The one title contender to keep an eye on is veteran Ron Hornaday Jr. The 2011 season, for the four time series champion, got off to a terrible start. He left Daytona 28th in the points. But the drive for five is apparently on and Hornaday followed the season opener with four consecutive top five finishes that has quickly elevated him to fourth in the standings and only five points away from the lead. Also bear in mind that Hornaday is a former series winner at Dover and has ran a ton of laps on this track in the other two NASCAR national touring series as well.
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With Dover Air Force Base being so close by, it’s an great opportunity for NASCAR to salute the men and women serving in our armed forces. No fewer than 16 teams will be extending hospitality to men and women from Dover AFB who have declared honorary crew members. On Thursday night team members from ThorSport and Red Horse Racing were treated to a private tour of the Air Force Base.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Lucas Oil 200 is 200 laps/200 miles around the Dover Speedway’s challenging one mile concrete oval.
The race has 36 entries for the 36 starting positions. That means the go or go home qualifying system will not apply for this race and all entries will be allowed to take the green flag Friday night.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has raced at Dover 11 times in the past and has produced 11 different winners. Five of the 11 won their first ever series race at Dover. The only previous winners in the field Friday night will be Ron Hornaday Jr and Kyle Busch.
Conservation of fuel and tires are going to be a must do situation in this race. The truck series events at Dover are notorious for long green flag runs. Some of those runs in the past have lasted as long as 150 laps.
The Lucas Oil 200 will be broadcast by the Speed Channel beginning at 830 pm eastern time.
