Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 27 - David Ragan
Roush Fenway Racing's David Ragan encountered unexpected struggles this season, falling to 27th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. // Jim Fluharty, NASCAR Scene
Expectations were high for David Ragan entering the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season because of a promising 2008 in which he showed considerable improvement over his rookie season of 2007.
Unfortunately for the Roush Fenway Racing driver, Ragan fell far short of the mark that some observers believed he was capable of reaching.
A year after scoring six top-fives and 14 top-10s and just missing out on the Chase For The Sprint Cup, Ragan was never a legitimate Chase contender in 2009.
He netted no top-fives and just two top-10s on the way to finishing 27th in the standings. Ragan and crew chief Jimmy Fennig struggled and were separated after the season by team co-owner Jack Roush.
Donnie Wingo, who previously served as crew chief on No. 26 team at Roush Fenway, has replaced Fennig and will call the shots for the soon-to-be 24-year-old driver in 2010.
Fennig, who will now oversee the organization's research and development testing efforts, had guided Ragan’s No. 6 team the past three seasons.
In addition to missing the Chase and finishing last in points among Roush Fenway’s five drivers in 2009, Ragan went winless to bring his total career starts to 110 without a victory.
His race earnings from the season totaled $3,682,213, thanks in large part to a $412,163 payday that accompanied a season-best sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 35 in 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Ragan’s season unfolded:
By the numbers: Ragan recorded no top-fives and two top-10s in 36 starts. The Unadilla, Ga., native led four laps and posted four DNFs. He boasted an average starting position of 26.9 and finishing position of 24.4. Ragan completed 94.5 percent of all laps.
Season highlights: Ragan started the season on the right foot, finishing sixth in the rain-shortened Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. He struggled from there, however, as he netted just three more top-15s in the first half of the season. Ragan posted just two top-15s in the second half, with one of those being a seventh-place outing at Auto Club Speedway in California. Following California, Ragan closed the season out by finishing no better than 17th in the last six races. If there was a silver lining to 2009, it came in the form of two Nationwide Series wins in his part-time Nationwide program for the organization.
Key setbacks: Fifteen finishes of 25th or worse crippled any hopes of Ragan making a legitimate Chase bid. His four DNFs – two of them crash-related, two of them because of engine failures – came in the first 17 races and proved too much to overcome for a solid points finish. Ragan’s most pressing struggle appeared to be simply not having enough speed in his car on most weekends.
Newsworthy moments: The biggest news surrounding Ragan was the postseason crew-chief change in which Donnie Wingo replaced Jimmy Fennig in preparation for 2010. Ragan was also one of two drivers who tested the new FR9 Ford engine to prepare for next season.
In his words: “In racing, a lot of times you create your own luck. By not qualifying well or running in the back, you get caught up in a wreck. It’s bad luck, but [a] ‘we-shouldn’t-have-been-back-there’ kind of thing. A lot of times I feel like we can’t catch a break. If we could just be on the lucky side of a couple things and get a few good runs, we can build some momentum and be that Chase team like I think we are. We’re just trying to stay positive.”
