Ragan, father enjoy first Sprint Cup Series win

Ken Ragan knows firsthand how hard it is to win a NASCAR race.

He competed in NASCAR’s top level from 1983-90, taking part in 50 races without any wins.

That’s what made it so special to watch his son and fellow Unadilla native, David, earn his first Sprint Cup Series win Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

“I told him in Victory Lane, ‘David this is Daytona. It’s special,’ ” Ken Ragan said. “Every win is good, but to win at Daytona really makes it special. There are a lot of drivers who get to compete at Daytona, but only a few get to win there, and for him to join that group is really something you have to appreciate.”

David Ragan certainly enjoyed his first Sprint Cup win, especially with it coming at Daytona. In February, Ragan just missed getting his first win in the Daytona 500 after a late-race penalty, and that was hard for him to take.

He said he had family members present at both of his Nationwide Series wins, and having them there Saturday made the victory even more memorable.

“Especially after what happened in February, it was nice to win at Daytona,” Ragan said. “I felt like I gave that one away, and Daytona is one of the top motorsports venues in the whole world. So to get it there after not being able to win in February, that was nice.”

Saturday’s win helped in putting February’s race out of his mind.

“I certainly thought about that race for a couple of days, but in this sport, you have to move on quickly,” Ragan said. “You celebrate a win or dwell on a loss for a couple of days, but after that, you have to be ready for the next race. If I would have had a couple of days to go home and think about that race, that would have made it hard. But in the world we live in, you have to be ready to move on.”

In practical terms, the victory put Ragan on the Sprint Cup map for this season.

In 2007, he finished as the runner-up for the Sprint Cup’s rookie of the year award, and he finished 23rd in the points standings. In 2008, he was 13th, and he finished 27th and 24th, respectively, in 2009 and 2010.

Saturday’s win moved Ragan to 17th in this year’s points standings. He is 129 points behind leader Kevin Harvick and 41 points out of the top 10. The victory provided quite a confidence boost and put Ragan in the hunt for a spot in the Chase for the championship.

The series heads to Kentucky on Saturday for the Quaker State 400.

“We’re in perfect position, and we have some good tracks coming up,” Ragan said. “We’re in good shape to make a run for the Chase, and we feel good about our team. If we can continue to get some top-five and top-10 finishes, we’ll be right where we want to be.”

Ragan is exactly where his father thought he would be.

Ken Ragan said his own father raced at Daytona in the 1940s and 1950s, and then he followed suit with his NASCAR career. Ken Ragan saw early on that his son had the talent and desire to compete in racing, as well.

David Ragan raced with Reed Sorenson and Joey Logano in his younger days, and his father saw then that he would be a successful driver.

“He’s always showed that he has talent,” Ken Ragan said. “We always thought if we kept him in good equipment, that he would be able to do well. He believed in himself, and he wanted it, and you could see that. I’m not surprised he won; I’m actually surprised it took him a little longer than I thought it would to get that first win.

“But at that level, it’s hard to win. We’re just so proud of him that he was able to, and we don’t think he’s going to stop there.”

This story was originally published July 7, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Ragan, father enjoy first Sprint Cup Series win."