David Ragan

buckaroo

buckaroo

Here kitty, kitty, kitty
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Seems we have a bunch of people who have made up their minds that David Ragan doesn't belong in this sport. I guess you are a bit smarter that Jack Roush. How many people remember Ernie Irvan? He developed the name "Swervin' Irvan" while driving the #2 car and then the #4 car. I'm not going to say that David is on a par with Ernie, but at this point, no one knows how he will do. Everyone needs experience and while they are getting said experience, they will ruffle a few feathers. I'm sure that if you ask the other drivers, they will tell you at first what their emotions are, but when they think about it, they will tell you that it's way too early to make a dicision about his ability. I don't know David, nor do I know of his record, but I do know the reputation of Jack Roush and he has proven that he knows how to pick winners. (Yeah, I know that he picked Johnny Benson and DoWreck Cope to drive for him). All I can say is that if David isn't ready for Cup racing, his owner will demote or fire him.
 
I don't know Buck. I am beginning to think that this is the problem with Nascar today. Used to be that a young driver came up through the ranks over a period of years.

Now they are sticking them in a cup car at 19 and there is no experince level like there used to be. They are impatient to make a name for themselves before they end up getting cut from the program.

So you end up with races riddled with cautions. Too many wrecks by drivers that just want to win at all costs. There used to be just a few races during the season that finished under a yellow flag. Now with the GRC finishes, there are many of them during the season and quite often a wreck on the last lap duing a GWC.

Not a whole lot of racing going on with the cars being so equal but there sure is a lot of wrecks and damaged equipment.

Not what my idea of what Nascar used to be or should be. But what the heck, I am just one person.
 
Guido, you are of course right in your thinking, but such is the state of things in NASCAR today. While it used to be that drivers had to make their way and pay their dues in sub standard cars, today it isn't just the owners who are looking for winners. Sponsorship is a whole nother thing and if an owner wants the money, they not only have to try and find a good enough driver, but they have to find one that the potential sponsor will approve.

If we look at where today's talent is coming from, we find that no longer are the drivers coming from the old standard, late model stock series. Today, they come from open wheel racing such as USAC, CART or even Formula 1. Shoot, they have even recruited a driver from down under who has raced and won in a car that looks very much like the COT. Now, with Juan Pablo Montoya, it seems that there isn't anywhere they will look for a driver. But one thing for sure is that if the driver doesn't show progress, he's gone and may not get a second chance. The Busch and Truck series is loaded with former Cup drivers who never impressed the sponsors or owners. I think that because the guys are young, they have no fear and are willing to do things that old pros wouldn't think of doing and thus, they either succeed or could cause a mess on the track. I think that is what you were trying to say anyway. But I ask, why is David Ragan getting a top notch ride with Jack Roush while a seasoned pro like Ward Burton, who has won in that sereis, can't find a good enough ride that can win and has to settle for a second or third tier car? And, Ward is loved by everyone, so it seems. The only thing I can see about this is that Ward can't get a sponsor to back him.
 
How many races did Jeff Gordon DNF in during his first 2 seasons? How many Seasons has he been racing?

What about other drivers as of late who have been released (like MacFarland and whoever was in the 9 between kahne and elliott)?



BIG difference in 15 or so years.
 
Magnethead said:
How many races did Jeff Gordon DNF in during his first 2 seasons? How many Seasons has he been racing?

What about other drivers as of late who have been released (like MacFarland and whoever was in the 9 between kahne and elliott)?



BIG difference in 15 or so years.
Click to expand...

what's your point exactly?

you're iether talented or you aren't..david regan obviously is lacking in this department
 
Magnethead said:
How many races did Jeff Gordon DNF in during his first 2 seasons? How many Seasons has he been racing?

What about other drivers as of late who have been released (like MacFarland and whoever was in the 9 between kahne and elliott)?



BIG difference in 15 or so years.
Click to expand...

But McMurray won at Charlotte and everyone said he was the real-deal and he turns out to be a subpar driver and the biggest disappointment.
 
Guido said:
I don't know Buck. I am beginning to think that this is the problem with Nascar today. Used to be that a young driver came up through the ranks over a period of years.

Now they are sticking them in a cup car at 19 and there is no experince level like there used to be. They are impatient to make a name for themselves before they end up getting cut from the program.

Not a whole lot of racing going on with the cars being so equal but there sure is a lot of wrecks and damaged equipment.

Not what my idea of what Nascar used to be or should be. But what the heck, I am just one person.
Click to expand...

Guido, I have to agree with you.

The equal cars have created a monster, the greenie who doesn't really know what to do with it. He can run with the big dogs, but doesn't have the instincts to know what to do when the going gets tough.
 
The reasons for this are twofold.

One, when teams are recruiting sponsors, they pitch a young driver as the next greatest thing. A sponsor is more willing to take their lumps and go with that than signing off on a veteran driver that's never won a race. Their attitude is "we've heard of this guy for years and he hasn't won a thing, we don't want to go that direction".

Two, with the Busch series having 10-15 Cup drivers in every race, what's the difference between finishing 20th in a Busch race or 30th in a Cup race? That's the way team owners are looking at it.
 
Magnethead said:
How many races did Jeff Gordon DNF in during his first 2 seasons? How many Seasons has he been racing?

What about other drivers as of late who have been released (like MacFarland and whoever was in the 9 between kahne and elliott)?



BIG difference in 15 or so years.
Click to expand...

first 62 races, top5's-14, top 10's-25, DNF's-21 and 2 victory's
 
Wow i was surprised at that many DNFs for Gordon. I really don't remember him crashing out that much at the begining of his career, but back then i was following Bill Elliot. I didn't pay much attention Gordon then. As for Ragan...i think it was a big smack in the face for the guy, reality will sink in today for him. It is only one race though, like Buck said we shouldn't judge his talent by his performance yesterday, but damn it was kind of funny....every other caution it seemed was for him. Must of been just a little embarassing.
 
Mopardh9 said:
It is only one race though, like Buck said we shouldn't judge his talent by his performance yesterday, but damn it was kind of funny....every other caution it seemed was for him. Must of been just a little embarassing.
Click to expand...

...it was funny when one of the commentators ....maybe Wally said at Ragan's last spin......."Gee you would have thought Ragan would be dizzy by now"
 
To quote Tony Stewart......"Ragan was like an arrow without the feathers".
 
Ragan's performance reminded me of Junior's fall trip to M'ville in 2000. He hit everything in sight --- including a wrecker in the garage area after one of his goofs.

Big E came over the scanner and told his spotter to "tell that boy to park that car" --- the spotter came back with "well, he's killed it this time." Junior had hit the fence right in front of me -- and the car burst into flame.

I hope Ragan learned some things yesterday. Only time will tell if he has the talent to run with the big dogs.
 
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