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The Sprint Cup Series heads to the 3/4-mile Richmond International Raceway for its final race of the regular season, with eight drivers competing for six available spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. While Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton are already locked into the Chase, and Greg Biffle will be simply by starting this weekend, some of the sport’s top names and up-and-coming stars are still searching for a Chase berth.
Among those drivers is 13th-place David Ragan, the heir to Mark Martin in the No. 6 Ford at Roush Fenway Racing. Although Ragan could barely keep the car running straight two years ago in an abysmal start in Martinsville, he’s improved a full ten positions in the standings from his overall position last year. Although he hasn’t won yet, Ragan, fourth on the Roush food chain behind Edwards, Biffle and Matt Kenseth, has five top-5s this season, more than Burton, 12th-place Clint Bowyer, 14th-place Kasey Kahne, or 16th-place Ryan Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner.
At the same time, however, many wonder whether the sophomore driver’s season has been a product of a newfound maturity behind the wheel, or a combination of luck and Roush power. Securing a spot in the Chase this weekend would prove that Ragan’s no fluke.
Obviously, longtime NASCAR sponsor UPS is banking on Ragan being an annual force in the series, as rumors are abound that place the Atlanta-based company on the Georgia driver’s car for the 2009 season and beyond. Having failed to visit Victory Lane since 2005, the company wants an up-and-coming driver to throw its support behind after leaving Michael Waltrip Racing this season, and Ragan appears to be the perfect fit for the company.
However, we’ve seen drivers with plenty of promise falter before. Remember Casey Atwood? He had full backing from Dodge and Sirius, and couldn’t find Victory Lane. Scott Riggs hasn’t exactly done much with his career, save one 20th-place in points a few years back, even with the undying support of Valvoline. And Todd Kluever - the man who was really supposed to replace Martin at NASCAR’s largest team - flipped his car in an ARCA
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