UPS RACING

David on Friday during practice at Talladega

Rain came into the Talladega early on Saturday morning, and did not clear up in time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to get through qualifying. So, because the session was cancelled, David Ragan and the UPS team will start 28^th on Sunday as the lineup for the Amp Energy 500 is based on owner’s points.

“We were really hoping to get out to qualify today and see how the new Ford engine would perform,” said David. “Yesterday we had two practice sessions and we were able to get some drafting practice in and also make our first laps on this track with the new engine. Our UPS Ford is really good on the superspeedways, so we’re looking forward to an exciting race here tomorrow.”

On Friday, David and the team had a little issue with the rear-end of the car, but the UPS crew was able to fix the issue and get David back out on the track for the final practice of the weekend. David was able to get some great laps in during last practice, ending the session in seventh position.

Coverage for Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will start at noon Eastern Time on ABC.

Sam at work during a UPS pit stop

Sam Gibson is the front tire carrier for the No. 6 UPS team. Before leaving for Talladega, Sam took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport?

I knew a friend working for a different team that got me a job in 2000. Five years later, I started at Roush with the No. 6 Truck. From there, I moved over to the No. 17 Nationwide team before moving up to the No. 6 Cup team.

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

My favorite part would probably be the traveling and getting to see different parts of the country.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week?

During the week I work in the shop tearing down cars, building suspensions, puttin in motors, and have pit crew practice.  When I’m not working I enjoy just relaxing and hanging out and going to the movies.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend?

Once I get to the track, I prep the tires for the race, get them to the pit box, lay them all out, and clean them. After all my work is done, I help anyone else out that may need it.

What are you responsible for during the actual race?

I’m the front tire carrier

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend?

It’s a restrictor plate track where I a lot can happen fast, but David runs really well there.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing?

I would probably be a chef at a restaurant or working at an auto dealership.

Where did you grow up?

Boone, NC

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend?

On off weekends, I go to the lake to go surfing.

Something interesting about yourself?

I enjoy yoga even though the guys make fun of me about it.

Favorite Movie: Any Vince Vaughn movie

Favorite TV Show: Californication

Favorite Cartoon as a Kid: Curious George

Favorite Pizza Toppings? Greek pizza

Favorite Place to Eat? Fusion Bowl

Favorite Music: Dave Matthews, Metallica, Korn, Chevelle

Sam during pre-race with the rest of the UPS team

The Danville SLIC on the wing of the No. 6

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 Danville Center (SLIC – 2451) in the Virginia District was selected as the UPS Maximum Center for the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Justin with the mini UPS package car at Martinsville Speedway

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

My name is Justin and I am an on-road supervisor out of the Danville, Virginia Center. I’ve been with UPS for five years and first started working with the company unloading trucks.

I was glad to be able to go out to the track this past weekend and work for the UPS Trackside program. I really like going out to the track because I like seeing the people involved in the sport and making sure they have what they need for the weekend. It’s fun to see everything that goes on at the track that regular race fans don’t get to see.

During my spare time, I enjoy riding mountain bikes, going camping and riding four-wheelers.

- Justin

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is coming to a close, and what better way to celebrate the year than with an auction to help raise money and awareness for United Way.

For each of the next four Sundays, a new autographed helmet or hood will be placed up for auction on eBay. Race fans will have one week to bid on the item before the listing expires and the next item is made available for bidding.

Current items up for bid:

The hood of the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion from the May 9, 2009 race at Darlington Raceway. This item is autographed by David Ragan and will be up for bid through November 25.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2009-NASCAR-Hood-6-UPS-Ford-Autographed_W0QQitemZ320449555770QQihZ011QQcategoryZ2837QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m444QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DCRX%26its%3DC%252BS%26itu%3DSI%252BUA%252BLM%252BLA%26otn%3D3%26ps%3D63#ht_500wt_1182

A UPS helmet signed by all five drivers at Roush Fenway Racing and team owner, Jack Roush.

http://cgi.ebay.com/David-Ragan-2009-Replica-Helmet-Autographed-By_W0QQitemZ320448668652QQihZ011QQcategoryZ2837QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m444QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DCRX%26its%3DC%252BS%26itu%3DSI%252BUA%252BLM%252BLA%26otn%3D3%26ps%3D63#ht_500wt_11824

Past auction items:

Autographed Matt Kenseth DeWalt helmet – $680

Autographed Greg Biffle 3M helmet – $900

Autographed Carl Edwards Aflac helmet – $1,075

About United Way:

United Way is a worldwide network in 45 countries and territories, including nearly 1,300 local organizations in the U.S. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all, by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health. The United Way movement creates long lasting community change by addressing the underlying causes of problems that prevent progress in these areas. LIVE UNITED is a call to action for everyone to become a part of the change.

Remember, auctions end the Sunday following the item’s original posting date, so be sure to get your bids in before it’s too late.

Thanks for the support!

-UPS Racing

David during pre-race activities at Martinsville Speedway

David Ragan started Sunday’s TUMS Fast Relief 500 from the 14^th position and was able to stay competitive around that spot for nearly the entire first 300 laps of the race. But after a receiving a late-race penalty in the pits forced David to the back of the field, the team had to battle their way back up through the field. David managed to miss multiple spins towards the end of the race to finish in 22^nd position.

“After we had that penalty, we lost all of our track position,” said David after the race. “I felt like our UPS Ford was a top-10 or top-15 car today. It was really good on the long run, but we just didn’t have enough of those long runs the first part of the race. It was unfortunate to get that penalty and have to go to the back of the field. From there, it was just real hard to pass and get any good track position. All in all, we finished and it was pretty exciting at the end with all of the beatin’ and bangin’ going on between everyone.”

The only real issue David had during the first part of the race was trying to get the car to cut better through the corners. The UPS Ford was also a little bit loose coming off of the corners. To fix those problems, Jimmy Fennig and the crew made some air pressure and track bar adjustments, which seemed to help with the handling of the car.

When a couple of back-to-back cautions during the middle of the race, Jimmy kept David out on the track to gain some track position. That strategy worked as David was able to move up inside of the top 10. But, because most of the leaders had pit for new tires while David stayed out on the track, those drivers eventually made their way back up to the front of the field.

David came into the pits on lap 304 for a routine stop, but the team suffered a penalty after the front tire carrier rolled the right tire back to the pit wall. Tire carriers must be in control of their tires at all times, and the tire was rolled too long of a distance back to the pit wall. Because of the penalty, David was forced to go to the tail end of the lead lap. This put him back in 31^st position after coming into the pits in 20^th position.

David battled hard to move back up through the field. He was able to avoid multiple spins, but did go a lap down on lap 357. For the remainder of the race, he tried to get in position to be the ‘Lucky Dog’ and get his lap back, but the cautions just didn’t end up working in the team’s favor. As a result, David finished one lap behind the leaders after the race came down to a green-white-checkered finish.

The UPS team heads south to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend for the 33^rd race of the season. Coverage for Sunday’s race starts at noon Eastern Time on ABC.

David making a move through the field at Martinsville Speedway

David during practice at Martinsville Speedway

David Ragan and the UPS team had a solid day of practice and qualifying at Martinsville Speedway on Friday afternoon.

After ending the only practice session of the day in 10th position, the UPS team put together a 14th-place qualifying effort for Sunday’s TUMS Fast Relief 500.

“It felt really close to the same lap that we ran for qualifying in practice,” said David after his run. “You’re always splitting hairs here at Martinsville. When it’s all said and done, a tenth probably would have put us 10-12 spots higher, but it was an okay lap. I thought we could have picked up a little bit more, but I think we’ve got a great UPS Ford for Sunday. We’re just gonna need a hair more speed in practice on Saturday to get this thing perfect for the race.”

Rain came into the area right before practice was scheduled to begin, so the day got off to a little bit later start than originally planned. But, once David got out on the track and made some initial baseline laps during practice, the team only had to make slight adjustments to the car to get it to move up on the speed charts.

David and the UPS team will have two more practice sessions on Saturday to fine tune their UPS Ford Fusion for Sunday’s race.

David during his qualifying run

NEW FORD RACING “FR9” ENGINE SET TO DEBUT AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

DEARBORN, Mich., October 23, 2009 – The wait for Ford Racing’s new engine is over.

After months of anticipation, Ford Racing announced today that the “FR9” engine will make its debut under the hood of Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion and David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion in next week’s Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

“I’m very excited about the debut of the FR9,” said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports.  “All of us are anxious to see it in competition for the first time.

“Those of us who have been involved in this project agree that one of the biggest hurdles we’ve faced in making this transition to the FR9 this year has been the fact the current Ford engine is still so competitive, along with the economics of obsoleting the inventory of the current engine and parts.  This has been a tough year for us and our teams on the track, especially since we had such a strong 2008, and the priority for everyone this year has been solving the on-track performance, which has slowed down the rollout of the FR9.”

Code-named “FR9,” this new piece is the first purpose-built NASCAR racing engine to ever come out of Ford Motor Company.  Its design has been spearheaded and developed by famed engine builder Doug Yates and Ford Racing engineer David Simon.

“This puts us on a level playing field with the rest of the competition and it’s something we’re excited about working on,” said Yates, who has been involved with the project since it began three years ago.  “Right out of the box the engine is really impressive power-wise.

“We feel like it’s going to give us some advantages aerodynamically where, perhaps, we can tape the cars up more and run the engines hotter.  The oiling system is designed for a racing engine and, to this day, the current engine has done a great job for many years, but we’ve got to remember when I started 20 years ago the block was already in existence.  So a lot of things have changed,” continued Yates.  “The demands have changed.  The RPM and the power levels have changed tremendously, and to have an opportunity to have something new and move forward makes this an exciting time to be part of Ford.”

While having a blank sheet of paper to build a new engine from scratch was something the team embraced, it also meant those initial decisions had to be right.

“The biggest challenge was probably deciding on the framework of the engine – making the big decisions on port arrangement and valvetrain layout,” said Simon.  “In some cases we went and got data that we needed to make decisions, but that’s the most nerve-racking part. Once you set the course for the project and what the engine is going to look like, then you have to go with it. If you get that wrong, you’re going to be behind the 8-ball for the rest of the program.”

Some of those crucial decisions included an all-new platform for “FR9” with no carry over components or dimensions from the current production-based 351 engine.  Elements such as the induction exhaust, valvetrain, cooling, lubrication and sealing systems have all been improved for greater efficiency and performance.

“The potential of this engine going forward is far above the current engine, which is towards the end of its development curve,” said Simon.  “Another improvement with FR9 is it has been designed to improve manufacturability and serviceability, offering the engine builders savings in labor and cost.”

While the restricted version of the engine will debut next week, it has yet to be determined when “FR9” will hit the track at an unrestricted venue.  One thing, however, is for certain – the “FR9” is here to stay.

“It’s a reflection of the great effort by the Ford engineers, by Doug Yates and his people, by my guys, and a vendor or two that we consulted with.  Together they have brought cutting-edge technologies and cutting-edge thinking for casting layouts and torque loading, and for the way the stress and the fatigue will be carried throughout the structure,” said Jack Roush.  “We expect the castings to be more durable.  We expect the valve seat life and the piston life to be improved and we expect a better result from the drivetrain.  We look for decades of usefulness with the FR9.  I feel sure it will contribute greatly to our teams and to Ford’s future success in the sport.”

*Courtesy of Ford Racing

Another cold and rainy weekend in Charlotte is behind us and we’re off to Martinsville this week. It always seems to rain wherever the race is, and this past weekend was no exception. We had rain on Thursday (qualifying day), which made for a long day, but we were able to get everything in. For the race on Saturday night, it was cold standing out on pit road, but we all had on lots of layers and even got some hot chocolate halfway through the race from our hauler driver Bill!

David had a good car until a tire going down hurt our track position, but ultimately, he ended on the lead lap in 20^th. This weekend is Martinsville, which is another race close to home. That is something that we always enjoy. Plus, it’s a short track, and David likes short tracks. Hopefully the weather will be warmer and we’ll get a good finish!

On Tuesday, David filmed an episode for CMT ‘Cribs.’ It’s funny how 5-7 minutes of what you see on the air takes about 10 hours to shoot. David wasn’t on camera that whole time, but he did take them on a tour of his house and his race shop. Once he was done, I stuck around with Alexis while the production crew took a lot of b-roll shots. It made for a pretty long day. I think it will all turn out really good and everyone will have to check it out in January when it airs. We don’t know what day it’s going to air yet, but we’ll keep you up to date when we find out.

Having 10 hours of filming creates some down time, so we had a little fun while waiting at David’s shop……check out some of our photos!