​Ragan on Las Vegas"Las Vegas is really fast. It has a lot of grip. It has some bumps in Turns 1 and 2, and I think that’s the most important part. You have to get through Turns 1 and 2, get over those bumps and get to the bottom of the track. I think that’s where speed is made. That bottom groove is usually the preferred groove until maybe late in the race when the track does widen up some.

"But the track has aged well over the last eight to 10 years, and I think Las Vegas is one of our premier events. The sport puts on a pretty good show. They get a huge crowd that shows up, and it’s a good time.”

Ragan Las Vegas Stats
11 starts, 1 top-10
Best finish: 7th

​No. 38 Fr8Auctions Ford
Started: 29th | Finished: 23rd
"We just missed it a little bit on our setups. We made some adjustments on it in practice that I thought helped, but with the track changing conditions and a green race track, I felt like we got behind just a little bit. We made a couple of really good adjustments early in the race, but that was it. I was proud of our Fr8Auctions pit crew. They did a great job not having any mistakes on pit road. A shout-out to Marcus (Barela) and his family. We’re thinking about Marcus losing his father this weekend."

​STATESVILLE, N.C. (February 20, 2018) – David Ragan’s 400th start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series couldn’t come at a better place. The Unadilla, Ga., native will celebrate the career milestone on Feb. 25 at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

Some special friends are joining in the celebration, including the Georgia General Assembly. Ragan and track president Ed Clark will attend a ceremony on Thursday morning at the Capitol in Atlanta, where the legislature will issue a proclamation honoring Ragan’s achievement.

Some long-time fans will also be in Atlanta to mark the milestone. Ragan recently reread some fan mail he’d saved from 2006, his rookie year. He decided to contact some of those fans and invite them to the Atlanta race to help him celebrate his 12-year career. The result of his efforts: Two fans from the Atlanta area and two fans from Missouri will be Ragan’s VIP guests at Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, where Ragan will drive the No. 38 Fr8Auctions Ford. The 32-year-old driver is picking up the fans’ travel tabs.

“Atlanta Motor Speedway is special to me because I grew up at that track,” Ragan said. “I raced my Legends car there as a kid in the 90s and early 2000s. My dad still works there and has an office there. It’s just always has been a second home to me.

“So, we couldn’t have scripted it better to have my 400th start be in Atlanta,” Ragan continued. “Ed Clark is taking us down to the Capitol for a special ceremony on Thursday, and we’ll have all kinds of family, friends and fans at the track all weekend. Pulling out those old fan letters and contacting those people to invite them to come was cool. They were pretty surprised but jumped at the opportunity.”

Local partner Fr8Auctions will also get into the celebration, marking Ragan’s milestone with a commemorative logo on the decklid of the No. 38 Ford. The Atlanta-based auction house that sells excess freight inventory is partnering with Front Row Motorsports for a fourth straight year.

“Atlanta Motor Speedway is our home track, too, so naturally we wanted to help mark David’s 400th career start,” said Fr8Auctions founder Marcus Barela. “We’ve been lucky to work with David for a few years now and couldn’t ask for a better driver to represent us on track and off.”

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 airs Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.

​No. 38 Speedco Ford
Started: 15th | Finished: 30th (accident)
"I think that wreck was just a product of speedway racing. You’ve got young guys with fast race cars. They were probably being a little too aggressive, blocking, moving around, and sometimes you get what you ask for, and I think the two guys that wrecked got what they asked for, and it’s just a shame we were caught in it. Our Speedco Ford was really good. We hung around the top 5 and top 10 some, and I was happy with the speed in our Ford. Our Front Row team did a nice job bringing some good cars down here."

​Ragan on Daytona"I always tell people that I feel like we have as good a chance to win the Daytona 500 as anyone. We work extremely hard on our speedway cars, and I have been grateful to drive some fast Fords over the years. The FR9 engine that Doug Yates and his camp provide for us is a great engine for the speedway races. We have a little different rules package with some springs and shocks and set-up we can run at Daytona with a little different schedule and flow for the weekend. It will be a little different than normal so I am excited to hit the race track and run the Duels. 

"It will be a tough weekend and always challenging to win the 500. Going into the weekend I feel as good as anyone should. It is our most important race of the year to get a good start to the season. I think it is a tone setter. You don’t have to win the race to have a good Daytona 500. If you can get out of there with a top-10 or top-15, it puts you on the right path going to Atlanta and Vegas."

Ragan Daytona Stats
22 starts, 1 win, 3 top-5s, 4 top-10s
Best finish: 1st

Meet David
Thursday, Feb. 15, 3pm - Ford Performance display (Daytona International Speedway Fan Zone)
 

​Newest Member of Love’s Travel Stops Family of Companies Partners with Superspeedway Winner

STATESVILLE, N.C. (February 5, 2018) – Another member of the Love’s Travel Stops family of companies will be racing for a win in this year’s Daytona 500. Speedco, a national network of service locations for the trucking industry, will join David Ragan’s No. 38 team for the 60th running of the Great American Race on Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway. 

The partnership gives Speedco’s parent company, Love’s Travel Stops, two opportunities to get into Victory Lane at the famed superspeedway. Love’s is the principal partner of Ragan’s teammate, Michael McDowell, and is the primary sponsor on McDowell’s No. 34 Ford for the Daytona 500.

​Speedco joined the Love’s family of companies in November. Its 52 locations across the country provide oil changes, preventative maintenance, inspection services and tire offerings for commercial truck drivers. The acquisition combined two top brands to give the trucking community more service and product options at more locations.

Ragan is a two-time superspeedway winner in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and nearly took the No. 38 to Victory Lane in July, the last time the series raced at Daytona International Speedway. He was in the lead when the race went into a green-white-checkered overtime restart, and he crossed the line sixth as the field charged to the finish in a two-lap dash.

“Love’s Travel Stops has been a great partner of Front Row Motorsports for years now, and it’s cool to have a new member of the Love’s family as a primary partner on one of our cars, especially for the Daytona 500, where we know we’re going to have fast cars,” said Ragan. “Michael and I are looking forward to working together on track, and you know we’ll push hard to get a 1-2 finish for Speedco and Love’s.”

The No. 38 Speedco team will be on track for Daytona 500 pole qualifying on Sunday, Feb. 11, airing live on FOX. The team will then compete in the Can-Am Duels, the qualifying races that set the line-up for the Daytona 500, on Thursday, Feb. 15, airing live on FS1. The 60th running of the Daytona 500 is scheduled to run on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET and will air live on FOX.


About Love’s Travel Stops:
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Founded in 1964, Love’s has more than 440 locations in 41 states. Love’s provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, travel items, electronics, snacks and more, as well as a selection of restaurant offerings. On-site Love’s Truck Tire Care centers offer roadside assistance, tire care and light mechanical services for professional truck drivers. Showers, CAT scales and other services for professional truck drivers are also available. Love’s, which remains family-owned and operated, employs more than 20,000 people. To learn more, visit www.loves.com.