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.

FLAT TIRES SPOIL RAGAN’S DAY AT POCONO

David Ragan and the No. 6 AAA Insurance Ford Fusion

 

Started 36th / Finished 33rd

 

LONG POND, PA (August 5, 2007) – David Ragan made his second trip to Pocono Raceway this weekend for the running of the Pennsylvania 500.  Ragan’s previous start at the 2.5 mile track ended with a 26th place finish and he returned with hopes of improving on that his second time around.

 

Ragan was the 36th car to roll off pit road for the 2:00pm EST start of the Pennsylvania 500.  On the 11th lap of the 200 lap event Ragan radioed to his team that his AAA Ford Fusion was getting really tight through the center and off of the corners. 

 

Ragan was forced to make his first pit stop of the day under the green flag on lap 30.  The AAA pit crew went to work giving Ragan four fresh tires and fuel, along with wedge and air pressure adjustments to help improve the handling of his race car.

 

The field was still green on lap 43 when Ragan was passed by the leader putting him one lap down and a part of a new race for the lucky dog position, which would give him to opportunity to return to the lead lap.

 

It was ten laps later that the caution flag finally flew for debris in turn 1.  Ragan headed for pit road where he got four tires, fuel as well as another wedge and air pressure adjustment.  Ragan reentered the field in 35th position and still one lap down.

 

The green flag dropped again on lap 58 six laps into the run Ragan radioed to crew chief, Jimmy Fennig that he needed to be able to get back in the throttle on exit from the corners.  Ragan came in on lap 66 for tires, fuel and a round out of the left-side wedge to help him do just that.

By the time Ragan was getting ready for the second green flag pit stop of the day it was lap 96 and Ragan had moved up to 30th place.

 

The team gave Ragan four tires, fuel, a wedge and air pressure adjustment and sent him back out in the 33rd spot.

 

The next caution flag flew on lap 122 when the No. 8 car spun out.  Ragan radioed to his team to let them know that 10-15 laps into a run he would start to lose grip in the nose and it would getting really tight center off.  Ragan was the second car one lap down at the time of the caution and was therefore forced to pit the second time by.

 

He came down pit road on lap 125 for his fifth stop of the day.  The AAA pit crew went to work giving Ragan fresh tires, fuel and a track bar and air pressure adjustment.  They completed the stop in 12.9 seconds and sent Ragan back out in 32nd place.

 

Ragan was still running 32nd on lap 159 when he announced over the radio that his had a left front tire going down.  Ragan was able to make it to pit road four stop under the green flag with a slight air pressure adjustment.  He reentered the field in 38th position.

 

Less than 15 laps later on lap 172 Ragan brought out the caution when he blew another left front tire sending him spinning out of the corner.  There was minimal damage done to the right rear of the car; however Ragan was forced to restart at the tail end of the longest line after pitting with the leaders to make repairs to his Ford.

 

Ragan restarted on lap 178, two laps down and in 39th position.  The track wasn’t green very long when the largest wreck of the day began to pile up on the straightaway.  Ragan was able to stay out of the mess and come through without any damage.

 

He was in 37th position when the green flag dropped for the final time.  Ragan fought back and was able to battle his way up to a 33rd place finish.

 

“It was a long day,” said Ragan.  “We started off not very good at all.  It was just really, really tight.  Then we cut that tire down under green and had to stop.  Got down a lap, and once you get down a lap you just got a race in a little different mindset.  It was fortunate to come out of here with a clean car without a lot of damage.  We were around a lot of wrecks today.  Our car wasn’t the best, but I put myself in that position when I wrecked my primary car on Friday.  We had to do the best we could.  It was certainly not the run we wanted.  We feel like we can run in the top 10 or top 15 every week.  There’s a little disappointment but we’ll put this one behind us, learn from it and try to move on.”

 

Ragan is currently 22nd in the NEXTEL Cup Series Championship point standings.  He is second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race.

 

Ragan will compete next in the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 12th.  The race will air live on ESPN and is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm EST.

 


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.