UPS RACING

David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS team head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for the track’s first night race. With UPS based in Atlanta and David having grown up in Unadilla, Georgia, races at AMS always serve as very special race weekends.

Be sure to listen to David talk about racing at his home track on Atlanta radio stations Thursday and Friday.

- Thursday’s radio schedule:

8:45 a.m. – WDEN 99.1 FM
9:00 a.m. – WCNN 680 AM
9:15 a.m. – Project 96.1 FM
9:30 a.m. – WUBL 94.9 FM
9:40 a.m. – WQXI 790 AM

- Friday’s radio schedule:

9:00 a.m. – David will be in-studio at the ‘Moby in the Morning Show’

To find your local Moby station, visit: http://www.mobyinthemorning.com/affiliates.cfm

Another off-weekend for the Cup Series! It’s nice, but seems like our off weekends are too close together. I think that they need to be spread out a little more. But, we’re on the home stretch now and there’s only 12 races left this season. Each year the season goes by faster and faster!

Things have been pretty normal back at the shop. David had a great run at Bristol in the Nationwide car and got his second victory of the season and followed it up with a 14^th-place finish in the Cup car. Overall it was a good weekend that hopefully kick-started some good luck for the rest of the year. Things haven’t exactly gone our way, but we’re all hoping that changes, especially heading to Atlanta next weekend.

Atlanta is home to David Ragan and UPS so we really want to get a good finish there. It’s also a big weekend for one of our other sponsors, Coca-Cola. Coke does a cool promotion each year where they have all their Coke Family drivers at the track with the Richard Petty Driving Experience. The Coke-sponsored drivers take contest winners around Atlanta Motor Speedway in two-seater cars. It’s pretty cool and last year I hopped in and rode with David around the track; it definitely gives you a different perspective of what he does every week. We’ll see what happens this year, I might do it again!

Well, I’m off to enjoy my last off-weekend of the season. Enjoy your weekend as well!

And one more important thing. Happy Founder’s Day UPS’ers! 102 years as a company is awesome and everyone at Roush Fenway loves working with all of you!

It’s so amazing that UPS will be celebrating its 102nd Founders Day on August 28!  This is such an accomplishment for a great company and group of employees who have meant so much to me and my family over the years.  As I was thinking about how special this day is to everyone at UPS, I began to remember the many memorable days and dates that have had an impact on my life.

The first ones that come to mind are the birth dates of my children, and of course June 22, the date Kelley and I were married.  As a matter of fact, we just celebrated our 25th anniversary!  These dates all bring very fond memories of wonderful family celebrations.  I have also always looked forward to Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas because I know these times will be enjoyed with my children and extended family.  Even when I was racing and on the road some 250 days a year, I knew these special holidays were times I wouldn’t have to be at the track and could enjoy some much needed family time.

Another very special date in my life is August 18.  I know it’s not a holiday and isn’t significant to most people, but to me it’s full of wonderful memories.  I not only won my first Cup race at Michigan on this date in 1991, but also won two more Cup races there on the exact same date in 1996 and 2002!  In addition, it was in August of 2000 that Robert Yates was putting the finishing touch on our UPS sponsorship deal that would begin in 2001.  I have a brother, sister, niece and nephew who were all born in the month of August too, so it’s a very special month for me just as it is for everyone at UPS.

I have so many memorable dates that involve UPS.  One big one was driving the 100th Anniversary car at Bristol on August 25, 2007.  The car had a special paint scheme honoring the Centennial celebration and was designed by a UPS employee.  I would also have to include finally “racing” the UPS Truck in my final UPS TV commercial.  Even though that was a very emotional and memorable day for me, it didn’t even come close to all the emotions I felt while driving the Big Brown Truck around the track in Charlotte prior to the final race of my career on May 17, 2008!!

It has been an honor and privilege to represent UPS since 2001.  I know that all of you are also very proud to be a part of an American icon.  Congratulations UPS and to all of your employees worldwide for continuing to be a leader in the delivery business for 102 years!

Dale Jarrett

Share a story of a special date in your memory in the comments below.

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.

This past weekend, the Whites Creek East Center (SLIC 3715) was selected as the UPS Maximum Center. The Tennessee District facility was selected because of its high scores on Rank and Rate results for the months of May, June and July.

Julie Hoff, who works out of the Whites Creek East Center, attended the race on behalf of the center as part of UPS employee hospitality. Hoff was selected to attend the race as a reward for her success in the area of service.

Julie and David before the race on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway

Whites Creek East Center Maximum Center Photos

Chris at Bristol Motor Speedway

This past weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chris Lyall, who works as a driver supervisor in Johnson City, Tenn., was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Chris took some time on race day to talk with UPS Racing about what he does both at and away from the track.

I really like coming out to work UPS Trackside Services during the races in Bristol because of the fan experience and getting to represent our company. It’s nice to be able to do something for UPS to help the company and to get our name out in front of a lot of people. We do our best during the race weekend to make sure every customer is taken care of and gets what they need.

I have been a race fan for a while and grew up cheering for Harry Gant. Now, of course, I cheer for David Ragan and become a big fan of him and the No. 6 team.

During the week, I work as a driver supervisor in Johnson City and have been with UPS for 18 years. I like the company and really enjoy providing great service to customers.

In my spare time, I like to watch NASCAR and work on cars.

David Ragan took the green flag from the 23^rd position on Saturday night and was able to avoid all seven accidents during the race to finish 14^th in his sixth Cup start at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The biggest issue David had to battle throughout the night was having his No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion be loose coming off of the corners. The team didn’t have any issues with forward bite, which has definitely been something they’ve had to deal with over the past couple of races.

To help with the issue of the No. 6 being loose, Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig made small air pressure adjustments during almost every UPS pit stop. The crew also helped David with track position, as they were able to pick up spots in the pits on almost every stop.

Rain interrupted the race a little bit as the laps began to wind down late in the race. Light sprinkles started to fall during a caution for debris and at one point, the weather brought out the red flag and stopped the race. Once the green flag came back out, four more caution flags flew for accidents. During the final 78 laps of the race, 38 of them were run under caution.

“I think at the end of the race we might have had a top-10 car, but we didn’t need all of those cautions,” said David after the race. “I’m real proud of our UPS team; we improved from our starting position and we made the car better throughout the race. It still isn’t the run that we’re looking for because we want to be up there in the top four or five. This is a start to build a little momentum and we can take what we learned tonight and hopefully apply it to some of the other short tracks that are coming up.”

David and the UPS team have next weekend off before heading down to Atlanta Motor Speedway over Labor Day weekend for the first of the final 12 races of the season.

The UPS team hard at work in the pits at Bristol Motor Speedway

David right before his qualifying run on Friday

David Ragan and the UPS team split the difference between their practice session speeds for their 23^rd-place qualifying effort at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night.

Two practice sessions kicked off the weekend with David posting a 42-place effort during the first session and a 12^th-place effort during the second. The team then had a late draw for qualifying, making David the 35^th driver out on the track. There didn’t seem to be any handling issues during David’s run, there just wasn’t enough speed in the car for him to challenge the drivers at the top of the leader board.

“I would have liked to have picked up a little bit more speed on that run,” said David of his qualifying lap. “It was a pick up from our practice speed, but you always want a little more. If we could have gotten another tenth out of our UPS Ford, or even a couple hundredths, we would have been there in the top 15 or so. I feel like we’ve got a good car and we’ll make a few adjustments on it during Saturday night’s race.”

David will make his sixth start at the Tennessee .533-mile short track on Saturday night.

“A year ago we started dead last and finished 10^th, so we’re right there in the middle of the pack and hopefully we can dodge all of the wrecks and hang around the top 10 all night.”

Bill in his mobile office

Bill Peters is the transporter driver for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading to Bristol for this weekend’s race, Bill took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? A friend called and needed a truck driver for the No. 43 Nationwide team. I stepped in to help and have been in the sport ever since. I’ve had a bunch of jobs at various teams, but I’ve been at Roush now for four years

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Meeting the fans

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Going to a Red Sox game

What’s your normal ‘run of show’ during the week? Restocking the hauler and making sure that everything is ready for the race weekend

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? Maintain a clean trailer, cook for the team throughout the weekend and help during practice with anything that is needed

What are you responsible for during the actual race? Getting the truck and trailer ready to go home

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Every year at the second Bristol race there is a hauler parade. All the haulers drive through downtown Bristol and fans line the street to see all of us on our way to the track. I’ll have a Make-A-Wish kid riding along with me again this year

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Parts manager for an auto parts store

Where did you grow up? Ocala, FL

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Riding my four-wheeler

What is something interesting about yourself? I love being outdoors

Favorite Movie: Stripes

Favorite TV Show: Two and a Half Men

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: Scooby Doo

Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni

Favorite Place to Eat? Olive Garden

Favorite Music: Bob Seger

Bill keeps the UPS team moving throughout the season