AAA Motorsports
Camping World 400 - September 28, 2008
RAGAN FINISHES EIGHTH IN KANSAS
KANSAS CITY, Kan.. –David Ragan finished eighth in the Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman at Kansas Speedway, advancing him from 14th to 13th in the Sprint Cup Series standings. Ragan’s Ford was fast in practice and qualified 13th, but the pole sitter failed post race inspection bumping the whole field up a spot and putting Ragan in the 12th starting position. Ragan maintained his track position and made adjustments on his AAA Ford throughout the race. It was Ragan’s 10th top-10 finish of the season.
After racing in the top 10 during the opening laps, Ragan came in for his first pit stop on lap 49. The AAA Pit Crewe gave him four tires, fuel, and made adjustments to the car.
The first caution of the day came on lap 75 for debris on the track. Ragan pitted under caution for four tires, fuel and another adjustment. Ragan restarted the race from the 13th position on lap 80.
Ragan pitted three more times without making any adjustments to the AAA Ford and continued to race in the top 10. Ragan’s last pit stop of the day came on lap 219 under caution for four tires, fuel and another adjustment. Ragan restarted ninth on lap 223 and advanced up one spot to finish eighth in the closing laps of the 267-lap event. Jimmie Johnson won the Camping World RV 400 while Ragan’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Carl Edwards, finished second.
“That was kind of what we needed,” said Ragan. “We’ve had some pretty good cars the last few weeks and hadn’t had the finishes we deserved. Today we made our AAA Ford better throughout the day and the guys had great pit stops there at the end when it counted. We had a sixth- to a 10th-place car, I think, and track position meant a lot at the end. I am happy to get a top 10. I’ve learned that you only drive as hard as what you car’s capable of going, and I think we had a sixth- to a 10th-place car today and that’s where we finished. When you get in trouble is when try to get more than what your car’s got. I’ve learned that from a lot of guys – Jimmy Fennig, [crew chief] and Jack Roush, [owner] and a lot of different people. But, it’s solid. It’s not where we want to be, we want to be up there racing for the win, but we’ve just got to start somewhere.”
| David Ragan's 2008 season by the numbers: |
|---|
| Starts: | 29 |
| Top-five finishes: | 5 |
| Top-10 finishes: | 10 |
| Best Start: | 4th (Bristol Motor Speedway, August 25, 2007) |
| Best Finish: | 3rd (Richmond International Raceway, September 8, 2007) |
| Laps Led: | 2 |
| Winnings: | $4,726,899 |
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