Back with Front Row Motorsports, Ragan looking for faster 2017
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a familiar place for David Ragan.
The Unadilla native grew up driving there. His father, Ken, runs the Legends racing program at the track.
Things are even more familiar for Ragan this week as the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series runs the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Ragan is back with Front Row Motorsports, a team he drove for from 2012-14.
Ragan hopes the return to Front Row can help him bounce back from a poor showing in 2016 in which he failed to post a single top-10 finish with BK Racing. He’s driving the No. 38, a Ford sponsored by Camping World.
“It’s been good to come back to Front Row Motorsports,” Ragan said. “There’s a lot of familiar faces. I kept in close contact with (owner) Bob Jenkins and (general manager) Jerry Freeze and a lot of the crew chiefs. We were really good buddies, and it was good to not burn that bridge so that I was able to come back.
“This is a different Front Row than when I left a couple of years ago. They have some good partnerships on the sponsorship side that they continue to renew, and there was the addition of Camping World and Good Sam to our Ford this year. We have a strong sponsorship base and some really good employees who have been there for several years who are trying to get our race cars better. So far, so good, and it’s definitely been a good homecoming.”
Last week at Daytona, Ragan ran strong in qualifying, starting 20th after posting the fastest time in the first practice session. Damage slowed him down, but he finished the race running in 25th.
In qualifying Friday, Ragan scraped the wall before posting a speed and will start 34th. He ran 28th in both practice sessions.
“So far, so good,” Ragan said after Friday afternoon’s practice session. “We didn’t get the finish we wanted at Daytona, but we had a good Speed Weeks overall. Our car had good speed, the crew did a really nice job on pit road and did a nice job of preparing the car for the race.
“We have a real test the next two to three weeks, to see how our downforce cars handle, how they react and what kind of speed they have,” Ragan said.
As far as this Atlanta race goes, count Ragan among the drivers who will miss Atlanta Motor Speedway’s well-worn surface. The track will be repaved after Sunday’s race, and several drivers have stated their regrets regarding the upcoming development.
Sunday’s race is set for a 2:30 p.m. green flag drop.
“It’s a little sad,” Ragan said of the upcoming repave. “I’ve watched a lot of races here on this surface, competed in a lot of them. I won some races on the quarter-mile track with my Legends car. It would be fun to get a good run or a win in this final race.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Back with Front Row Motorsports, Ragan looking for faster 2017."