 | | David Ragan was in the Roush Racing No. 6 Ford at Nextel Cup testing. It was once believed Todd Kluever would inherit the car from Mark Martin. Credit: Autostock |
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
January 20, 2007
05:21 PM EST (22:21 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Young Roush Racing drivers David Ragan and Todd Kluever are at Daytona International Speedway for the opening session of Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder working to achieve similar goals while facing uncertain futures. Kluever, 28, began the 2006 season as the heir apparent in veteran Mark Martin's No. 6 Ford in the Nextel Cup Series. But his first season in Busch was well under expectations and he's looking at only a partial 2007 Busch season. Kluever will share the No. 16 Ford, tended by crew chief Eddie Pardue, with Cup veteran Greg Biffle, who'll drive the majority of the races. Kluever will run 16 events, including the Speedweeks 2007 Orbitz 300 at Daytona. Ragan, 21, hit the midpoint of 2006 having been removed from his Roush Racing Truck at one event after crashing in practice -- but he ended the year with the prospect of racing full time in both Busch and Nextel Cup this season. Ragan still has to blink when he realizes where he is and what he's about to attempt. "Stuff happens pretty quick," Ragan said. "This time a year ago, I was testing the 16 car for Biffle and that was just a dream come true to run a Busch car down here -- I was just hoping that Jack [Roush] and the guys would let me test a few Busch cars, and maybe even race one. "I ended up getting to race a few times and to really get some good seat time. It worked out pretty good, but I still have to continue working and keep climbing up the ladder." Kluever, who began his Roush career in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2005, knows it's put up or shut up time for him. That Roush still has faith in him is obvious, considering 2006 Busch Series rookie-of-the-year Danny O'Quinn Jr. is basically rideless this season since Roush couldn't find sponsorship to continue his program. Kluever, obviously, is determined to erase the disappointment of a year ago, when he accrued only four top-10 finishes in 35 starts on his way to 17th in the championship. "My own expectations are really high," Kluever said. "We need to win a race this year. We need to win at least a race, if not two or three. "I'm not going to lie, obviously I'm not happy about not running a full season, but I have to look at it from the standpoint that these are really good cars and this is a really good team. "I'd rather be with a really good team with really good cars than in something for 35 races just to be there. We just really need to make the most out of the races that we end up with, whether it's 16 or 19 or 22 or whatever it ends up being. "I just need to make the most out of every opportunity." That didn't happen last season. "Last year started off horrible, and we actually finally figured it out a little bit there toward the end," Kluever said. "Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to keep that team together to see what we can really do this year." Kluever actually opened the season with a seventh at Daytona and 12th at California, and was fifth in the standings after two races. But the bottom fell out from there. He finished the season with five consecutive top-20 finishes, including two of his top 10s. "This is definitely the year that I need to get kinda turned around," Kluever said. "Eddie [Pardue] and all of these guys are great, and I'm really looking forward to having some experience with Greg [Biffle] here and driving some of the stuff that he's driving and just getting the chance with these guys. "They're a really good team and they won a race last year, so I'm excited to be with them." In the first two sessions of single-car runs, Ragan and Kluever both were in the top 10 in each. Kluever was in the top five by mid-afternoon Saturday in drafting runs. Ragan had a hiccup when a left-rear tire deflated during a Saturday afternoon run. He drove the car back to the garage after stopping the session when he spun and grazed the wall. Otherwise, Ragan said he's approaching the season with eyes wide open. "I really don't know what to expect," Ragan said. "The Cup deal is a total new deal to me. A full-time program of any kind is going to be a new deal to me [so] I don't really know what to expect, but I feel like I trained good over the offseason. "I really don't know what to expect or what to prepare for, but I feel that I've worked hard -- definitely over the last couple of months -- and I'm prepared for what I can expect." And his expectations are higher in Busch, than Cup, obviously. "My expectations for the Busch Series are pretty high," Ragan said. "I really don't know what to expect in either series, but we've got great cars and great Roush-Yates engines. "Mike Kelley [Busch crew chief] and Jimmy Fennig [Cup crew chief] are both winners and they're proven team leaders, and I think the only missing link is the driver. "This [Busch] team is capable of winning races and running in the top five and top 10 every week, and I don't think there's any reason why we can't contend for wins and a top-10 finish in points as well as battle for rookie of the year honors." | 
