2013 Audi A3

David Ragan Pursues Penske Racing Seat for 2012

 
1,294 views Dec 12, 2011

David Ragan's No. 6 UPS car

Following a less-than-thrilling season (the latest of several), Cup Series driver David Ragan was dropped from the Roush-Fenway stable last month, sent off with bitterly honest words from Jack Roush himself.  With the dismissal, Ragan lost his seat as the driver of the UPS My Choice Ford Fusion and found himself in the off-season driver limbo searching for another opportunity. 

Luckily for him however, Penske Racing has a Cup-level opening after the 'mutual' dismissal of Kurt Busch following his emotional outburst at Homestead-Miami Speedway that left both the Penske team and Busch sponsors Shell/Penzzoil seeing red themselves.

"I've reached out to them and explained my situation to those guys.  I'm a free agent. I don't have any obligations, [so] let's sit down and talk," said Ragan.

The opportunity comes at a good time for Ragan as he needs to find a seat to be in by next year, but the question remains: will Penske think Ragan is a good investment for them?

Ragan has yet to make the Chase for the Cup once in his career.  Scoring his first victory in the series at Daytona back in July, his closest finish to the championship was as the first runner up to the Chase (13th place) in 2008.  He finished 27th the next year and came in 23rd overall in 2011.

His time at the House of Ford since 2007 left Roush disappointed, his final race of this year yielding a 38th place finish.

"David was a frustration and a disappointment for all of us because he was not able to realize the potential that he had, given what his skill is and what the expectations of his sponsor were," said Roush of the 25-year-old driver.

According to Autosport, Ragan said he feels more likely to have a better season once he gets into a good car.

"I feel like I'm a capable driver to win races at a lot of different racetracks," he said. "Given the right situation, I can come into a program and we can contend for a Chase spot."

Ragan added that the team is very busy at the moment and he is just waiting for Penske to share a timetable with him.

"They know where I stand, and time will tell what happens next," said Ragan.



Tags:
Posted in:
 
Contribute
Send us a tip Comment Contact the editor
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Notify me when there are more comments
 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Connect with Facebook

Motor Authority. Now with your friends.

Discover stories your friends read.
Share stories more easily.
You control what you share.
Learn more

Research New Cars

Go!


More from High Gear Media

 
 
MotorAuthority
  • Follow Us
  • Twiiter
  • Facebook
 
 
© 2011 MotorAuthority. All Rights Reserved. MotorAuthority is published by High Gear Media. Stock photography by Homestar, LLC. Send us feedback.