UPS RACING

David with the Waldorf Center SLIC 2060 in Dover

 

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.

For the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway this past weekend, the Waldorf Center (SLIC 2060) in the Metro D.C. District was selected as the UPS Maximum Center.

The Waldorf Center was chosen for the honor because it has ranked No. 1 on the center-level Balanced Scorecard, which is used to measure success, for the entire year.

Congratulations to all UPS employees at the Waldorf Center for a job well done!

Waldorf Center Maximum Center Photos

Gordon in Dover

This past weekend at Dover International Speedway, Gordon Myers was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Gordon took some time on Sunday to talk with UPS Racing about what he does both at and away from the track.

Gordon working in the Dover

I have been with UPS for 26 years and I have been working with UPS Trackside Services at the track ever since the beginning of the program. I really like coming out and working to help service all of our customers during the race week. I like the logistics of making sure everything gets done and is on time for everyone at the track.

When I first started with UPS, I unloaded trailers during college and then was a delivery driver. I worked in finance and accounting and have been in sales for the past 12 years.

I really like my job at UPS because it’s a great organization and place to work. I like the teammate atmosphere there and having a sense of loyalty from them as an employer.

When UPS first became involved in racing, I became a fan of the sport and have been following it ever since.

Away from work, I have two daughters in sports that keep me busy and I also am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

- Gordon

The No. 6 UPS Freight Ford Fusion

For the second and final time this season, UPS Freight will be featured on David Ragan’s No. 6 Ford Fusion .

As David makes his third Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway this weekend, his car’s design will incorporate the gray of UPS Freight, along with traditional UPS brown and gold crushed glass coloring. These colors reflect UPS Freight vehicles that are out on the roads each and every day.

“The last time our team ran the UPS Freight car, we heard a lot of compliments from fans about how much they liked how the car looked,” said David. “It’s always neat to have a different design on the car, and this one definitely stands out on track. UPS employees are second to none, so it’s great to have a special design that brings some extra attention to a specific part of UPS. We’ll do our best to put the UPS Freight Ford Fusion in Victory Lane this weekend in Kansas.”

While based in Richmond, Va., UPS Freight has a large presence in Kansas, and is the perfect place to highlight this business unit of UPS. UPS Freight offers a wide range of ground freight shipping options for customers who need to ship anything from a single oversized package to a heavy pallet or full truckload of freight across North America, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The UPS Freight Ford Fusion competing earlier this season in Richmond

David getting ready for Sunday's race at Dover International Speedway

The Monster Mile got the best of David Ragan and the UPS team on Sunday as an unhappy racecar put the team in 24^th position and four laps behind the leaders when the checkered flag flew.

David started the AAA 400 from the 21^st position, but began dropping on the leader board as his car changed from one extreme to another. As the race progressed, David was free through the center of the turns, but very tight coming out of the turns. The UPS team made multiple air pressure adjustments, along with trying different track bar and wedge changes to help the car turn better in the corners.

“The first two runs of the race, we were just super tight and really slow,” said David. “We got a lap down pretty early and lost our track position. We were on every side of the adjustments today on every single stop. We did air pressure to track bar and wedge adjustments and just could never get it close. We were just really tight or really loose and we were just slow.”

Even though the UPS Ford Fusion was not responding to changes, the UPS crew was extremely quick in the pits, picking up spots almost every stop.

“We were really fortunate that our UPS team had good pit stops and we weren’t involved in any wrecks,” said David. “We’ve just got to keep working on our cars and get better at adjusting during the race.”

David was behind the big crash that happened early in the race involving Joey Logano, Reed Sorenson, Martin Truex Jr. and Robby Gordon. The incident sent Logano rolling seven times down the track. All drivers involved with the crash walked away uninjured.

“That was pretty close when Joey was coming back up the track and I had to check up,” said David. “I don’t think that we had any damage, but I did have to hit the brakes pretty hard, so we came in and changed the tires.”

David and the UPS team head to Kansas Speedway next weekend for the 29^th race of the season. Coverage of next Sunday’s Price Chopper 400 begins at 1 p.m. ET on ABC.

The UPS pit crew picked up multiple spots throughout the entire race

Practice Friday at Dover International Speedway

David Ragan and the UPS team had one practice session on Friday to get ready for qualifying, and after working on multiple different setups in practice, they earned a 21^st-place starting spot for Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

The No. 6 UPS team was 26th at the conclusion of practice, so the changes they made to the car before qualifying definitely got them going in the right direction.

“Anytime here at Dover, if you can just back up what you did in practice, it’s a good thing,” said David after his run. “A couple of times here we’ve tried to be a hero and then we usually slow down two-tenths and qualify 35th, so I just tried to be as smooth as I could. Certainly, it would’ve been better if we went a little bit faster in practice and then qualifying, but I think our UPS Ford is pretty good.

David will make his seventh start at the one-mile track in Delaware on Sunday. The last time he competed at the Monster Mile, David started 26^th and finished 24^th.

Coverage for Sunday’s AAA 400 starts at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC.

Jessica and Nancy at Fenway Park!

Nancy Padula is the Account Manager for the No. 6 team at Roush Fenway Racing

I can’t believe September is coming to an end and it’s almost already October. Things have been pretty good around here. Last week we were in New Hampshire for the race and got to do some fun things. David and I went to LL Bean in Freeport, Maine for a company picnic on behalf of UPS. I didn’t get to see much of LL Bean, but I’ve heard great things about it and the people we met there were so nice. Maybe next year we’ll get to go on a tour and try out some of the activities there.

Roush Fenway Drivers - check out the legs under the sign

Thursday evening we all went to the Red Sox game. It was Roush Fenway night and all the members of the Cup and Truck teams went. David, Jamie and Colin Braun were the only Roush drivers that were able to make it to the game. Colin is our Truck series driver and he threw out the first pitch….with a little taunting from the sidelines! Check out the picture of the big Roush Fenway banner, sadly it’s the last year it can be used since we’ve got to go down to four Cup teams next year. Did you notice the legs at the bottom of the banner? That’s the truck team waiting to roll it back up and carry it away! They looked pretty funny standing behind it! If you checked out David’s blog last week we filmed it from down on the field before the game.

At the track in Loudon we kind of struggled through practice and qualifying, but when it came time to race it seemed as if things turned around. David gained 10 spots on the first lap and the team made some adjustments that really seemed to improve the handling on his UPS Ford. Unfortunately Kurt Busch tapped David in the left-rear on a pit stop, causing David to spin around backwards into his pit stall. I had flashbacks to Watkins Glen when Dwayne got hit, so I was glad to see everyone avoided the spinning car and finished the stop safely. Too bad we had to take it to the garage for repairs, but that’s how racing goes sometimes.

This week David has been down in Daytona for a Goodyear tire test. I heard they’ve had some rain, so I’m glad I’m not there. Rain at the race track is never a good thing. We’re all off to Dover this weekend. Hopefully we can get things turned around and get a good finish. It’s been a long season for all of us when you know you are much better than where you are finishing. We’ve got a few races left to turn it all around and a 2010 season to look forward to.

Talk to you all soon!

-Nancy

A view from the Green Monster at Fenway Park

David in New Hampshire last week

This has been a busy week and it’s only Wednesday. Monday we had our weekly meeting here at Roush and went over everything from New Hampshire. Tuesday morning we left for Daytona for a Goodyear tire test. Our UPS Ford is always fast at Daytona and we’ve been trying some new tire combinations that Goodyear has for the 2010 Daytona 500.

Thursday, I’m heading up to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on my way to Dover.  I’m flying there on the NASCAR plane and am pretty excited about it. I’ve heard great things about it, but this is my first opportunity to participate in NASCAR annual stop there. Every soldier in there has risked their life so we can all enjoy the everyday things that we do. I am honored to be there and give them my support. I’m sure I will hear some great stories and will be able to tell you all about it next week.

I’m really looking forward to Dover this weekend. We’ve struggled at a lot of tracks this year, but it’s always good to get back to the track and try some different things. We’ve got some things to get straightened out to get back on track for next year.

-David

Randy Tullar with the 0560 SLIC on David's UPS Ford Fusion

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.

For this past weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Barre Center (SLIC 0560) in the New England District was the featured UPS Maximum Center.

The center received all possible points on the district’s second quarter scorecard and ranked number one is seven of 12 elements used to measure success.

Randy Tullar, a 15-year UPS employee out of the Barre Center, was in attendance at Sunday’s race.

“That’s a pretty cool deal,” said Tullar of the 0560 SLIC appearing on the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion. “It’s an honor to me and to everyone in our center. We all do our best to work hard and do a good job.”

Barre Center Maximum Center Photos