Under the Spotlight: David Ragan a Lucky Dog at Richmond with Season Best Finish

David Ragan pilots the #6 UPS Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing
Credit: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

It’s no wonder why Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan credits Richmond International Raceway as his favorite track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit as Saturday’s race at the track earned the driver a season-high fourth place finish.

The Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 started off rocky for the No. 6 UPS team. After starting in 27th, by lap nine, Ragan had dropped back to 29th due to a loose car.

Dealing with a mishap in the pits early on, the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion soon became one of the fastest cars on the track and moved into the top 20 by lap 70.

Ragan later fell one lap down, but with a caution for a wreck between Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya, Ragan received the lucky dog on lap 238. By lap 292, Ragan had moved up to 18th position.

As the leaders pit on lap 293, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer decided that the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion would remain on the track, a call that earned them a fourth place starting spot on the restart.

With the restart on lap 301, Ragan was able to avoid a wreck among the leaders who raced away from the start-finish line four wide.

After pitting on the next caution and restarting in the 14th position, Ragan wasted no time and was able to make it into the top 10 by lap 352. Laying down some of the fastest laps for the final 50 laps of the race, Ragan was able to pass his Roush Fenway teammates and move into the top 5 and ultimately nab a fourth place finish.

“It was a fun night,” said Ragan. “This is my favorite track to come to. Back in 2007 we finished third here and I have really liked this place since. The last couple of years we have really struggled but it was fun tonight to have a car that could pass some cars. We had a bad pit stop the first run and got behind a little bit. We had to fight and get the lucky dog. Our team never gave up. Our UPS Ford was fast. Fast cars can find their way to the front. We were fortunate not to have any yellows that last run because our car was really good on long runs. I am proud that we were able to get the finish that we needed.”

Next weekend, the No. 6 UPS team heads to Darlington at the track “Too Tough to Tame” where they have one top-five and a top-10 finish.