Ragan getting comfortable behind wheel of No. 6 car

HAMPTON, Ga. -- David Ragan is just trying to make people believers.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver is in his second year racing at the Cup level driving the No. 6 Ford -- a seat vacated by longtime Roush driver Mark Martin. It wasn't easy shoes to fill. It wasn't easy to take over driving a number that Martin made famous, a number that had gone to 82 victories, a number that Ragan himself cheered for as a NASCAR fan growing up with Ford ties.

David Ragan

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And it still isn't easy.

Ragan was 23rd in points last season as a rookie, had a pair of top-five finishes and one more top-10. Officially Ragan had five DNFs last season.

This season didn't get started much better as he crashed on Lap 161 of the Daytona 500 and settled on a 42nd-place finish. But when the series went to California in Week 2, that's when things became a little more comfortable for Ragan.

"We expect a whole lot more out of David because he's been to these racetracks," crew chief Jimmy Fennig said. "So far he's been doing a good job and producing. We don't need to be wrecking; we need to finish races. He's been racing a little harder, which is a good thing."

At California, Ragan finished 14th. At Las Vegas, he was seventh.

And now, despite the DNF to start the season, Ragan is back up to 19th in the point standings heading into Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Another positive is his status as a full-time Nationwide Series driver for the second consecutive season. While the Nationwide Series does use a different chassis, it's allowed Ragan to get more track time and study the characteristics of different places.

"It helps a lot," Ragan said of going back to facilities during his second tour. "I still see some things that are different every time. Going to the track a second time last year was good, but to start fresh -- I can't believe it's been one full year since we we've been here last March. It feels like just a few months ago."

Greg Biffle

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Ragan may want to distance himself from last year's Atlanta races a bit more than that. He was 33rd in both races -- three laps down in the spring, and nine laps down in the fall.

But it's patience that Ragan's trying to use more this season.

"Patience is something that comes with time," said the Unadilla, Ga., native, who will start 14th in Sunday's race at his home track. "Last year at times I thought I was patient, but I found out I really wasn't. The more you do it, the more comfortable you get. You know you've got more time or more juice when you need it."

That has shown this weekend.

After pulling off the truck and notching the 30th-best speed in first practice (176.673 mph), Ragan was 18th in the charts in Saturday's final practice with a fast lap of 179.755 mph.

Teammate Greg Biffle led the final session with a speed of 184.229 mph (speeds). Two practices were scheduled for Saturday, but early morning snow left the track wet and pushed back the scheduled events. Officials were forced to cancel Nationwide Series qualifying, and then combined the two Cup practices into one that ran from 11:45 a.m. until 1:20 p.m.

Carl Edwards, another Roush Fenway Racing driver, was second on the speed chart (184.064 mph) and Matt Kenseth was 10th (181.705 mph) as Roush Fords took three of the top-10 spots.

"I've just been very fortunate to have good people on our team to build a good notebook that we can learn from," Ragan said. "I can sit back and look at what happened and already have a game plan on Wednesday or Thursday for whatever happens Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I know what to expect and know what's going on. It makes things a lot easier."

Dave Blaney

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Having that game plan early has been the biggest difference between last year and this year, Ragan said; it's helped him prepare better for the unexpected.

"I want to have a good run for our team and get some good points," Ragan said, "but at the same time I want everybody to believe -- 'Man, David, you did a great job; we're glad to be David Ragan fans.'"

There was one driver substitution in practice, on the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota. Dave Blaney set the car's best lap, 28th on the time sheet, but was later replaced by Mike Bliss. According to his crew chief, Tommy Baldwin Jr., Blaney received IV fluids Saturday afternoon following practice.

Blaney and Baldwin both anticipated that Blaney would start Sunday's race.

"He's been sick for over a week, and finally you just can't take it any more," Baldwin said of his driver's condition. "He told me [Friday] if it was 500 miles, he probably wouldn't make it, so we put Bliss in the car for a backup driver for [Sunday] to get him accustomed to what we're working on, so he can be ready.

"Dave will start the race, and we'll have Bliss standing by. Mike didn't even drive it hard [in practice] -- he just wanted to give some good feedback so we can work on the car a little bit. We'll have to wait and see how Dave feels."