UPS RACING

David with the Portland SLIC at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

 

Each week, the UPS ‘Maximum Center’ program recognizes a UPS operating facility or Freight Service Center for success in safety and service. Chosen facilities are recognized with its Standard Location Identification Code (SLIC) or Freight Service Center three-letter code on the wing of David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion. 

The Portland Center was the featured Maximum Center for the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past weekend. They ranked number one in five of 12 elements used to measure the district’s progress. And because of that accomplishment,the center had its SLIC number 0412 featured on David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion.

“Portland has always been a group of very determined people, working together, that was able to get something good accomplished,” said Portland Business Manager Jeff Allen. “We benefitted from decent weather, excellent Air arrival times, and volume levels that were challenging at times, but quite beneficial to the operation.”

The Portland Center has a great group of employees who work together as a team each and every day. Jeff summarizes the key to his center’s success: “Everyone takes Service and Safety very seriously and understands that during some pretty tough economic times, pulling together to make things happen is the only road to take.”

Portland Center Maximum Center Photos

Mike Reid at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

This past weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mike Reid was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Mike took some time out of his busy schedule on race day to talk with UPS Racing about what he does both at and away from the track.  

I’ve been coming out and working the UPS Trackside program for a couple of years and I really like coming out to the track and representing UPS.

My favorite thing about working the races is the relationship that UPS has with the sport and the teams. People are happy to see us at the track and they seem to really appreciate what we do for them.

I grew up a racing fan, and when I was Florida, I remember always cheering for Dale Earnhardt growing up. Pretty much every kid that grew up in Florida cheered for him. And now, with UPS in the sport, it’s nice to have a driver to support and follow.  

When I’m not working at UPS, I like to go camping around New Hampshire.

 

 

The UPS team in action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

David Ragan started Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 31st after rain cancelled qualifying on Friday and owner’s points determined the starting lineup.

The UPS team spent most of the first part of the race trying to make the correct adjustments needed to get the car to turn a little better and to find some more speed. Once that happened, David began moving up through the field.

But, just as the team made some great adjustments to their Ford Fusion, David was caught up in a multi-car wreck during the restart on lap 175.

“From our point of view, they were wrecking in front of us, and our spotter did a good job and he told us to just go high, and I just tried not to run into the guy in front of me,” said David. “I just didn’t have anywhere to go. I thought that the top of the track was clear, and as soon as I could see light, all of a sudden it wasn’t clear.”

With the recent implementation of double-file restarts by NASCAR, it’s very tight quarters once drivers begin to accelerate.
 
“It’s very tough to pass here,” said David. “I felt like our UPS Ford was getting better. We got back to probably as low as 35th or 40th, but then when we were up in the top 20 we could hang with everybody. So, yeah, very, very hard to pass, but that’s just the double-file restarts and everyone running hard for all they could get.”

David and the UPS team head to Daytona International Speedway next weekend for Saturday night racing. The last time the team raced in Daytona, they posted a sixth-place finish.

It was a short day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as rain came into the area just as qualifying was to get underway for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

David Ragan and the UPS team had just one practice session in the early afternoon to get their car ready for qualifying, but struggled a little bit with being slower than they would have liked coming off of the hauler.

Because rain cancelled qualifying, owner’s points determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s race and David will start 31^st.

“We were really hoping to qualify our UPS Ford today,” said David. “There are two practices tomorrow, but we would have rather determined our own spot by running a couple of qualifying laps. We weren’t exactly where we wanted to be in practice, but we’ll get it all figured out before the race on Sunday.

“Our team has been working really hard back in the shop to get ready for this race and it will be good to get some more laps on the car tomorrow in practice.”

Sunday’s race will mark David’s fifth start at the New England track with his best finish coming in July of 2007 when he finished 15^th.  

David Ragan with Stockton employee, Greg Morse

 

Each week, the UPS ‘Maximum Center’ program recognizes a UPS operating facility or Freight Service Center for success in safety and service. Chosen facilities are recognized with its Standard Location Identification Code (SLIC) or Freight Service Center three-letter code on the wing of David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion. 

The Stockton Center from the East Bay District was honored for its overall performance at the race this past weekend at Infineon Raceway. The center’s Standard Location Identification Code (SLIC) number 9520 was included inside the silhouette of a UPS package car on the UPS No. 6 Ford Fusion’s wing.

The center was selected as the Maximum Center as a result of ranking number one on the East Bay District Center Balanced Scorecard achieving 93 percent effective overall in April.

Greg Morse, a package driver out of the Stockton Center was at the race on Sunday with his father, Geary.

“Having our number on David’s car is unbelievable,” said Morse. “It’s such a great honor for all of our employees. It’s really cool to see. All of the guys at the building told me to represent them well out here this weekend.”

Stockton Center Maximum Center Photos

Joe making a special delivery to David Ragan

This past weekend at Infineon Raceway, Joe Wilborn, who works as a revenue supervisor in San Francisco was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Joe took some time out of his busy schedule on race day to talk with UPS Racing about what he does both at and away from the track. 

During a normal workweek, I work with the UPS sales force to help set up programs that best suit our customers needs. But when race time rolls around, I get to be a part of the Trackside Services team.

I’ve been coming out to the track working with Trackside for six years and I really like the group of people that I work with every year. We are busy all weekend making sure that all of our customers get the packages they need to have a successful weekend. I also like being around the cars and seeing the mechanics and all the behind-the-scenes of the race.

I’ve been a race fan since I was a little boy, and I remember cheering for Richard Petty when I was young. And then when racing got more televised, I remember cheering for Earnhardt, too. But now, ever since UPS got involved in the sport, I’ve always supported our driver.

When I’m not working, I spend time with my family. I have daughter who is six and a son who is two-and-a-half, so they keep me pretty busy. We’re encouraging them to get involved in sports and we try to get out to some of the ball games when we can.

On Wednesday last week, I was lucky enough to help deliver the trophy for the race in Sonoma with David Ragan. It was out of the ordinary and really cool to do. It was a good opportunity for UPS to help out the track and get our brand out in front of fans and customers. 

Joe (r) with Dave and David Ragan after successfully delivering the trophy for the race

David Ragan at Infineon Raceway

David Ragan will be the first to admit that he’s still learning about racing at road courses. But, if you watched the race on Sunday at Infineon Raceway, you wouldn’t have believed that as David and the No. 6 UPS team spent almost the entire event racing inside of the top 12.

David started in the back of the field on Sunday after getting a little loose during his qualifying lap, but he started clicking positions off fairly quickly. His consistent lap times combined with great pit strategy and fuel tracking by Jimmy Fennig and the No. 6 engineers launched David up in the field.

Steady and smooth was the way David made his way around the 1.99-mile track in Northern California. As the laps began winding down and David was running seventh, a bump from behind by Carl Edwards sent David spinning in turn eight, allowing a majority of the pack to get by him. David recovered quickly, but there just weren’t enough laps left in the race to make up the lost ground.

“It was a bad end to the day of what could have been a great run,” said David after the race. “Still, I have a lot of confidence going to New Hampshire, but that just seems to be the way our season has been. We haven’t had a lot of good luck.” 

The UPS team has been spending a lot of time working on their road-racing program, having multiple test sessions over the past couple of months.

“We legitimately had a top-10 car and we just got it taken away from us with a racing incident at the end,” continued David. “We came in and got four tires and then during the green-white-checkered, people were running through the course, over the grass, over the curbs, it was just crazy. We just brought it back home in one piece and I’m proud we finished.”

David and the UPS team will head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next week for the 17^th race of the season.

The race this weekend at Infineon Raceway is the first road course event of the season. And while these types of tracks haven’t always been David’s favorite, he’s been doing a lot of testing to get ready for the race.

David started off the day with a solid practice session, spending more than half of practice in second place. After all drivers made qualifying runs during practice, David dropped a little bit on the leader board to 10^th.

“We were strong today in practice,” said David. “We’ve been putting a lot of extra work into our road-racing program, so it was good to come out of practice in the top 10.”

David and the UPS team were ready for a similar result in Friday’s qualifying, but David got a little too loose in one of the 11 turns on the track, resulting in a loss of speed and momentum.

“We got loose, and I guess the good side of things is that I didn’t spin it out,” said David after his qualifying run. “I thought we had a top 15 or so run going on through the first seven or eight corners, and then we just got loose being aggressive. I just got on the throttle a little early and got loose in turn eight. If you lose even a little bit of speed here, it takes a lot to get that back. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s practice; I think we’ve got a fast car. We’ll just have to do our job and pass a lot of cars on Sunday.”

While David technically qualified 43^rd for Sunday’s race, he will start 40^th based on owner’s points.

  

Sea Lions at Pier 39

Hello everyone! 

Things have still been busy (as usual) around here, but we’ve managed to squeeze in some fun. Michigan last week was a good run for us. We finished 15^th and the pit crew was on their game. They gained spots on pit road every time we pitted. One stop we even went from 10^th to fifth!  Hopefully everything carries over into this weekend at Sonoma. Road courses haven’t been David’s strongest tracks in the past, but he’s put in a lot of hard work testing and feels ready for this weekend. He’s been to Road Atlanta and was out in Sonoma here testing last week. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Sonoma is far away from home, but also is a fun place to come visit. We all flew out Wednesday morning to come to the track for a media event.  avid delivered the trophy for Sunday’s race to victory lane. The Coast Guard helicopter dropped the trophy off, where two men in suits and white gloves helped David pick it up and load it into the back of the UPS package car.

Studio in Los Angeles

David and the UPS driver took the trophy for a lap around the track and then delivered it to victory lane. There was a bunch of media here so David did some interviews and then we headed into San Francisco to the Comcast Studios. He did an on-air interview there and then had some radio call-ins to do. 

After all the media we had time for some fun. We went to Fisherman’s Warf and hung out down there. We saw the sea lions (really cool, but they kind of stink), went to the aquarium, and then had dinner downtown at an Italian restaurant. We called it an earlier night since our bodies were still on East coast time and we had to get up early the next morning.

Thursday morning we left the hotel at 5 a.m. and flew from San Francisco to Los Angeles. David was on a game show, which will air in the fall. I can’t tell you much else right now since the release didn’t go out yet, but it was cool and everyone will have to check it out when it airs. We’ll keep you updated!

Boats by the water in San Francisco

Now we’re off for practice, qualifying and maybe a little fun in Northern California wine country!

UPS Racing wants to know: Where is your favorite place to visit in California?