UPS signs multi-year deal to sponsor 6 car, Ragan

LOUDON, N.H. -- United Parcel Service has signed a three-year deal to sponsor David Ragan in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, starting in 2009, UPS director of sponsorship Ron Rogowski announced Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

"It's a bit more pressure, but I'm pretty sure we can handle it," Ragan, 22, said of the agreement, which will cover all 36 Sprint Cup points races.

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Ragan, who was 14th in the Cup championship standings after 26 races and narrowly missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup in his second full season at NASCAR's highest level, hasn't won a Cup race yet, but he feels as if the announcement of the deal already has given his team a boost.

"This has been a big week for us," Ragan said. "Barely missing the Chase at Richmond certainly was a disappointment, but I think that [the UPS announcement] gives us a little more drive starting here this weekend at New Hampshire to put our best foot forward. ...

"It's going to be a great offseason. We're going to have a lot of good things happen, and we're going to unload in Daytona, and we're going to be fast. ... I feel like we're in a good stage in my career to hit a home run, combining the Roush Fenway team, UPS and David Ragan and the No. 6. I think it's a winning combination, and I think we're going to deliver big next year and for many years to come."

UPS had achieved one of racing's most prominent brand identities with driver Dale Jarrett, and when Jarrett moved from Yates Racing to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, UPS went with him. When Jarrett retired as planned five races into the 2008 season, the UPS sponsorship went to MWR's David Reutimann.

"When Dale announced his retirement, it gave us an opportunity as an organization to really sit down and take a look at our whole program, and over the last several months, we've done that very detailed overall review," Rogowski said.

"We are absolutely ecstatic to be part of the team with [owner] Jack [Roush] and David, and we look forward to next year and being in Victory Lane."

When it became clear that UPS was talking to a number of different teams about its sponsorship for 2009 and beyond, Roush entered the sweepstakes.

"As we realized that UPS was out there and was going to make an arrangement with another team, and we engaged in conversation, it was a great coup for us to be able to put the program together," Roush said. "We're really excited for the No. 6 car. We're excited for all of Roush Fenway and couldn't be more pleased or proud to be able to carry the UPS colors going forward."