David Ragan ready to compete in ARCA CRA 7-Up 125 at Flat Rock Speedway August 16
David Ragan ready to compete in ARCA CRA 7-Up 125 at Flat Rock Speedway August 16
(TOLEDO, Ohio – July 15, 2014) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran David Ragan is planning some good old-fashioned short-track fun around his scheduled visit to Michigan Int’l Speedway (MIS) in mid-August.
The Unadilla, Georgia driver has filed an entry for the ARCA CRA Super Series 7-Up 125 at Flat Rock Speedway Saturday night, August 16. Although Ragan has visited Flat Rock on several occasions, the event marks the first time he will compete on the renowned quarter-mile oval in Flat Rock, Michigan. Ragan will have his work cut out for him, racing against the likes of ARCA CRA Super Series point leader Ross Kenseth (son of NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth), Michigan short track champion Brian Campbell and Indiana’s Scott Hantz, who will attempt to win his third consecutive ARCA CRA Super Series race at Flat Rock.
“I’ve been to Flat Rock several times as a spectator and it’s a very, very cool little racetrack,” Ragan said.
“They’ve got an ARCA CRA super late model race there the week that we’re in Michigan for the NASCAR races, so we’re going to make a little trip over to Flat Rock and hopefully have some fun in my late model car. My dad’s raced there; I’ve watched some racing there, but I’ve never made any laps.”
Ragan will be commuting from the high-speed, two-mile Michigan oval Saturday afternoon where he’ll have to adjust his mindset to accommodate the tight, little Flat Rock circle.
“At MIS you’re going to be in the throttle a lot…close to 200 mph getting into the corners. So you go to Flat Rock…you’ve got take care of your rear tires. Forward drive I’m sure is an important issue…a little different mindset. So I’m sure I’ll be reminded several times from the guys working on my crew, ‘hey you’re at Flat Rock, not MIS.’ That’s the cool thing about going short track racing. It’s different. It’s kind of what I grew up doing, so it’s always second nature.”
Above all, for Ragan, it’s about a fun night out at the short track races with next to no pressure.
“You go and have fun. We certainly want to run well. We take our short track racing very serious. I have a lot of fun going to some of these short tracks around the country…you know seeing new places and experiencing new things, and this was an opportunity to do that, and certainly the ARCA family has always been real, real close to our racing family over the years.”
Ragan’s introduction to ARCA was by way of his father, Ken Ragan, who also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 1983-1993. Ken Ragan recorded six top-five finishes in ARCA Racing Series events from 1982-1991 at Atlanta, Talladega and Daytona and won the pole for the 1985 Daytona ARCA 200. David Ragan made 31 career ARCA Racing Series starts from 2003 through 2008, earning 11 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s, including one victory at Lanier Nat’l Speedway in 2005 before he moved onto a fulltime career in NASCAR.
“It’s fun to get back to the local short tracks and communities. That’s sometimes the best racing throughout the whole weekend…so we’re going to have some fun, enjoy ourselves, and then get back to business at MIS on Sunday.”
The ARCA-sanctioned Street Stock and Figure-8 divisions will join the 7-Up 125 headliner at Flat Rock. The front gates open at 4:00 p.m. with qualifying scheduled to begin at 5:15. Racing begins at 7.
@DonRadebaugh
dradebaugh@arcaracing.com