NASCAR Cup Driver David Ragan Coming to Thunder Road
50th Anniversary Season at Thunder Road
Unidilla, Georgia’s Sprint Cup Series aspiring stock car driver, David Ragan, will race at Thunder Road Thursday August 27th in the final evening program of its 50th season.
“We wanted superstars from our past, present, and future to highlight our 50th anniversary activities,” said track co-owner Tom Curley. With 82-time Cup winner and Daytona 500 Champion Bobby Allison appearing on Thursday, June 18th and one of the very best NASCAR stars of today, Tony Stewart, coming to race the CARQUEST Vt Governor’s Cup on June 25th, we wanted a racer who we believe is ready for future stardom on NASCAR’s top level of racing. David Ragan is the real deal,” concluded Curley.
The twenty-three year-old Ragan was named by car owner Jack Roush as the replacement for retiring two-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Dale Jarrett. Ragan is the newcomer to a powerful Roush-Fenway racing team that also includes Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Jamie McMurray. Roush believes Ragan is ready to break into the winner’s circle before the 2009 campaign is completed.
David Ragan, son of driver Ken Ragan, began winning at age 11, and by the time he was 13 had twice won National Championships. Since then he has moved through the ranks, including his stint last season racing in both the Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series where he finished 2nd in the standings.
This year his contract calls for him to focus on the most competitive series in the sport, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “But that doesn’t preclude me from a few short track races and Thunder Road is one place I have really wanted to run. This will be a hoot”, said Ragan.
The legendary Richard Petty will make his second appearance at Thunder Road on Thursday night, July 30. Petty, the winningest driver of all time in Cup history, with a record setting 7 Daytona 500 wins and 7 National Cup championships, was last at Thunder Road nearly 20 years ago.
Recently ACT stars Phil Scott, Dave Pembroke, and former ACT Canadian Castrol Series Champion, Donald Theetge were at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway mile track testing Goodyear tires with Sprint Cup stars Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Ragan. “We were some impressed with their driving and I can’t wait to get after them at Thunder Road in August”, said Ragan. Ragan is going to get the full T-Road experience when he swaps paint with the likes of Cris Michaud, defending Thunder Road Champion Eric Williams, and Jean Cyr, who are just a few that are anxious to take on the NASCAR star at the ‘Nation’s Site of Excitement’. “It will be a great way to bring the Thursday night curtain down on what will be an unbelieveable season of racing coming up at T-Road,” said 3 time Thunder Road champion Cris Michaud of Northfield, VT.
Thunder Road opens its historic season May 3rd with the 11th annual Merchants Bank 150. Post time is 1:00.
For additional information contact the Thunder Road office at 802.244.6963 or media@acttour.com.
Sources: ACT PR