David Ragan will be competing for a spot in Sunday's 66th running of the Daytona 500. Ragan will be driving the No. 60 for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.
Everyone at @RFKracing and the @BuildSubmarines team have been putting in the work. We?re ready to head south next week! https://t.co/Yrg6PcihRL
— David Ragan (@DavidRagan) February 9, 2024
Toward the end of 2023, RFK Racing approached Ragan about an opportunity to drive for the organization in the Daytona 500. Even though Ragan didn't drive in 2023, he made it clear when speaking with Motorsports.com that he was ready to drive a competitive car on a part-time basis.
"I miss the racing scene a little bit, but really I'm extremely happy with my schedule and still being involved in the sport from a competition side but also having a little bit more of my personal life that I can be home and with my wife and kids," Ragan said. "It's been a perfect balance. But you know when an opportunity comes up to drive a real fast race car with a team that has really proven that they can win races at a lot of different types of tracks, it was a no-brainer to me."
Ragan began his NASCAR Cup Series career with RFK Racing back in 2007, when he replaced Mark Martin in the No. 6 car. His time at RFK Racing was not the best, as he was only able to win one race (the 2011 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona), and his highest finish in the points standings was 13th in 2008.
Following 2011, Ragan moved to Front Row Motorsports. He spent the rest of his full-time career with FRM before calling it a full-time career after 2019. Ragan was able to win in 2013 at Talladega Superspeedway. That was FRM's first win in the Cup Series and was its only win before Michael McDowell won the 2021 Daytona 500.
There is no reason to believe Ragan can't be a factor in this year's running of "The Great American Race." The last time Ragan competed in a Cup Series race, back in 2022, he finished both races at Daytona International Speedway in the top 10. This was while driving for Rick Ware Racing.
Ragan is a very good superspeedway racer, and the equipment he will have should be better than what he had in 2022. RFK has shown plenty of speed at Daytona. In Brad Keselowski's two starts for RFK Racing in the Daytona 500, he led 109 laps. His teammate Chris Buescher won the last Cup Series race at Daytona back in August. This correlates to Ragan having a fast car to compete with at Daytona.
Ragan will have to qualify his way into the Daytona 500 because he is an open car, meaning he does not have a charter to guarantee himself into the field. Ragan will have a chance to qualify for the race on speed Wednesday by being one of the two fastest open cars in qualifying. If not, he will have to race his way in via the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night.
David Ragan is ready to get back behind of the wheel of a Cup Series car and hopes to compete in the 66th running of the Daytona 500, on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. EST.
