Ragan will be 'devastated' if he doesn't win this year (cont'd)

Roush is as much responsible for pegging Ragan as a rising star in the sport as anyone. And anytime he is asked for his opinion on Ragan's potential, he hardly holds back in his generous praise for the young man from tiny Unadilla, Ga.

"David Ragan will be as good as anybody has been in this business. He's the real deal," Roush insisted. "He's got great enthusiasm and comes from a proud family that has instilled pride and a code of honor in him that will let him survive and be very successful here. He's got great hand-eye coordination. He's a real racer and he'll be successful."

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Ragan is the son of Ken Ragan, a retired NASCAR driver who made 50 starts over eight seasons before hanging up his driver's suit in 1990. David turned 5 years old that following Christmas Eve.

But while his father never was able to register a top-10 finish in the Cup Series, much less get to Victory Lane, the son knows that he has been blessed with far better equipment than his father ever ran. And as the old saying goes, to whom much is given, much is required.

"I appreciate the high expectations. And yes, that does put extra pressure on you to perform," Ragan said. "It's always fun going back home to see friends and family in Unadilla, but they're always telling you, 'We're watching you. We're pulling for you. We want to see you in Victory Lane.' ... The first thing I think about when I hear that stuff is, 'Wow, I don't want to let anybody down.'"

Then there are those associated with his sponsor, UPS, which left Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of last season with a specific eye on hooking up with Ragan -- plus all those within the Roush Fenway Racing family and, of course, the Ford Motor Company.

"I carry that weight that I can't let those guys down," Ragan said. "Certainly, you're looking for personal satisfaction, too. But it makes me happy that when we run well, all those people get excited about it."

Ragan didn't win last year and he didn't make the Chase, but he came close on both counts -- registering six of his eight career top-five finishes along the way. That's why he believes he is on the cusp of taking the next steps required to reach excellence.

"We think about the Chase. We're not going to crunch the numbers every single week like I'm in calculus class or something, and have all these formulas where we have to be when we get to Richmond in September. But we do think about it," Ragan said. "The bottom line is if we can average a 10th- to 12th-place finish, not have any DNFs and be fast, we're going to be in the Chase. That's it.

"We can compare our numbers to last year and to other people that have been in the Chase. But we know what we've got to do, and we think about it a lot. We just need to do what we know is right and everything else, including the points, will take care of itself."

That includes winning races to avoid feeling "devastated" at season's end.

"Making the Chase and winning are what it's all about," Ragan said. "I think that some of the guys certainly are thinking championship. We're not thinking that. We've got to take small steps. ... We know we can make the Chase; we know we can win races.

"It's just a matter of having that good feel week in and week out with the race car and the race team -- just feeling comfortable. And I think [crew chief] Jimmy Fennig and Jack Roush and everyone else associated with the Fenway Sports Group would say the same. You want to win races and get into the Chase -- and then once you're in the Chase, you never know what will happen after that."

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.