AAA Sponsors #6 Ford Fusion

AAA and Roush Racing have teamed for the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup racing series. AAA, the organization that helped pioneer and officiate motorsports in the United States until 1955, is the primary sponsor of Roush Racing's flagship No. 6 Nextel Cup Ford Fusion.

RAGAN FINISHES 33RD AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

 

David Ragan and the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion

 

HAMPTON, GA (March 18, 2007) – David Ragan qualified the No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion in 38th position for the Kobalt Tools 500 after struggling through all three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday afternoon. 

The No.6 AAA Ford rolled off pit road shortly after 2:00pm EST on Sunday afternoon. Once the green flag fell Ragan quickly dropped back to 43rd place and radioed to his team that his car was not handling well.

The first caution of the day came on lap 34 for debris and on lap 37 crew chief, Jimmy Fennig, brought Ragan down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment – which the team hoped would improve the car’s handling.  Ragan reentered the field in 39th position.

102 laps were completed before the caution flag flew again forcing the AAA pit crew to pit twice under the green flag taking tires and fuel and making another chassis adjustment on the first stop. 

On lap 145 Ragan made his fourth pit stop of the day coming in for tires and fuel and heading back out in 39th position and two laps down.

Ragan continuously reported the same scenario about the handling of his race car.  It was “loose” for the first part of the run then became pretty neutral and finally it would “tighten up” near the end. 

The No. 6 AAA pit crew made one final green flag stop on lap 194.  Ragan took four tires and fuel and headed back out on track in the 40th spot. 

On lap 222 the track went under caution again when the No. 10 car blew an engine.  Fennig took this opportunity to come in for tires and fuel once again sending Ragan back out in 37th position.

Three laps after going green again another caution came out, but Ragan and his team opted to stay out.

By this time Ragan was three laps down and still struggling with the handling of his race car.  When a caution for debris came around on lap 269 Ragan came into the pits, this time for tires, fuel, as well as another round of chassis adjustments.  He reentered the field in 33rd position.

With 16 laps to go the No. 6 AAA team made a final stop on lap 314 for tires and fuel and crossed the finish line in 33rd place and three laps down.

“Today was not a great day for the AAA team,” said Ragan “but it was an okay day.  I finished the race and my car is still in perfect condition.  It is going to take days like today which involved a lot of learning on my part, to mold me into a good race car driver.  I gained experience today and that is important to me as a rookie driver.  The AAA pit crew did an awesome job on pit road today and my spotter really helped me make it through some tight spots and gave me some good feedback about some of the different lines I was running during the race.  From here we will go to Bristol for the first car of tomorrow race which will put us on even ground so that should be pretty interesting.”

Ragan will compete next at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25th in the Food City 500.  Coverage begins at 1:30PM ET on Fox and PRN.  Ragan is 23rd currently in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Championship point standings, and 2nd in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race. The Food City 500 will feature the debut of NASCAR’s “Car of Tomorrow,” a new race car designed to be safer, more competitive and more cost-effective for teams.

About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating 13 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O’Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil and Erik Darnell. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. For sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.