Feb 12, 2007

Ragan Wins Nextel Cup Seat

From TV show contestant to Nextel Cup driver -- it's a story worthy of a TV movie or at least a cable special, and it stars David Ragan. In 2005 Ragan won a chance to drive a Truck Series Ford F-150, thanks to his driving performance on the television show "Roush Racing: Driver X," a "Survivor"-type elimination program that aired on Discovery Channel in 2005. And in storybook fashion he made the most of the opportunity.

In the Craftsman Truck series, Ragan came on strong in the latter part of 2006, where he had several top-10 performances and won a pole position. That was enough to prompt his promotion to Nextel Cup racing. Ragan says he understands the potential difficulty of being a rookie and has reasonable expectations to ride the learning curve.

"I'm still a rookie," he said. "I just turned 21 a few weeks ago, so I feel like I'm getting a little older and also got a lot more pressure on me this year than the last few years to go out and get the job done, but week in and week out I want to get better."

Think what it'll be like when he hits middle age ... like 25 or something.

Team owner Jack Roush is just as excited about having Ragan take over the Number 6 Ford Fusion. He figures young blood will be good to grow with after a bit of housecleaning at the conclusion of last season. He can expect some youthful overzealousness, but at the same time the kind of audacious driving Ragan has shown wins races.

"David is very fast," Roush said. "He's very enthusiastic. He's mature beyond his years and I think he can do the job."

A changing of the guard is under way among another Ford team as well. In the Robert Yates racing stable, David Gilliland is preparing for his first full season in a Cup Series Ford Fusion. Gilliland took over the Number 38 car late in 2006 and went on to score a pole at Talladega Superspeedway in the UAW-Ford 400.

But there's hope for oldsters as well. Venerable racer Robbie Gordon has switched to Ford for the 2007 after years driving a Chevy on the Cup circuit.