UPS RACING

David hanging in the garage during Speedweeks in Daytona

David Ragan and the UPS Racing team started 11th in the first Duel on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, and after dropping just a bit in the running order after getting out of the draft, the team rallied and finished their first event of the season in ninth position.

David was running around the 14th position when the first caution of the race came out, and that proved to be a game changing moment as the UPS team made an impressive pit stop during that time and got David back out on the track inside of the top 10.

When the race went back to green, David took full advantage of his position and teamed up with fellow Roush Fenway Racing driver, Greg Biffle, and moved to the high line of the track and began to make a charge towards the front. With a little extra help from Ryan Newman, Biffle and David made their way up into first and second position.

The Roush duo had pressure coming from behind, but David maintained his position inside of the top five until a caution flag came out during lap 54. There were just six laps remaining in the race, and Crew Chief, Donnie Wingo, brought David into the pits for two tires and fuel. When David and the rest of the field lined up to take the green flag, a couple of drivers held up the group of drivers that pitted once the race went back to green.

David did a great job getting back up through the field and was running in 11th position when the white flag came out to signal the final lap of the race. David made a move to the outside lane and was able to gain two positions as the field entered turn four. David held his spot and crossed the finish line in ninth position, which translates into the 19th-place starting position in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

“This has obviously been a good car since we unloaded it and our UPS team has done a nice job so far in Speed weeks,” said David after the race. “I think we certainly had a car that could have won, but so many factors go into winning a plate race. That last restart, a few guys got jumbled around and we did the best we could, and still have our car in one piece. It should be a fun race on Sunday.”

“Our pit crew did an excellent job on pit road, so that got us an OK starting spot for the big race on Sunday,” continued David. “We’ll tweak on it a little bit, and I think we’ll have a real nice car on Sunday.”

Be sure to tune-in to Fox at 1 p.m. for coverage of Sunday’s Daytona 500.

The No. 6 UPS pit crew during one of two pit stops during the Duels

Now that we have officially reached the end of the 2009 NASCAR season, I can honestly say that even in my new role as a TV analyst, I am really looking forward to the short break we have before the 2010 season begins.  As a driver, this was always a time that I used to get refocused, rejuvenated and reacquainted with my family.  I tried to take care of sponsor obligations, photo shoots and team meetings by the first week of December so I would have at least four or five weeks to rest my body and mind and spend some quality time with my family.

This plan worked most years. I was ready to go with fresh ideas that I hoped would help carry us to a championship season, which really started in early to mid-January.  The one exception I remember was 1999 when we won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.  Things were so crazy with all the obligations, that December and January seemed like a blur.  I even remember my wife Kelley allowing one of our friends to decorate our house at Christmas simply because we were being pulled in so many directions.  I am certainly not complaining though and assure you we would have gladly gone through that more times!  It just stands out to me because it was the only time in our 25 years of marriage that Kelley has not done all the decorating at Christmas since it is something she thoroughly enjoys.

Based on my experience over the years, I do have a few words of advice for the younger drivers.  Enjoy the time off, stay in touch with your crew chief, get excited about the new season and show up at Daytona in the best physical shape you have ever been in, ready to win the Great American Race.

See you in two short months—February 2010!

Dale

DeMarco at work in the Roush Fenway shop

Mark DeMarco is the shop foreman for the No. 6 UPS team. Mark took some time after Phoenix to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport?

In St. Louis, we did drag racing growing up. I took a break for a while and then in 1993, I attended a NASCAR Cup race in Darlington and became a fan for the first time. A few years later, I applied for a job and got back into racing.

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

I actually can say I like my job; I enjoy working on cars everyday.

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

I got to go to New York in 2003 and 2004 when Roush Fenway Racing won championships for the first and second time.

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

Mondays and Tuesdays are always super crazy because the cars and everyone else is back from the previous race weekend. Wednesdays are dedicated to preparing the cars to be loaded for the next race and the rest of the week, I am still in the shop preparing for the following week. Then I watch the races on TV every weekend.

What is your favorite track?

My favorite track is Talladega. It always has been and probably always will be.

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

I would probably be a mechanic at an auto dealership like I used to be, or I would own my own shop by now.

Where did you grow up? St. Louis

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Panning for gold locally in NC

Favorite Movie: Star Trek Movies

Favorite TV Show: Flashback

Favorite cartoon as a kid: Road Runner

Favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni

Favorite place to eat? Outback

Favorite  music: Old School Rock and Roll

DeMarco helping on the BGCA car that ran in Texas

Claude (L) and Jim (R) during pre-race

UPS employees Jim Marzolf and Claude Rigsby were selected to deliver the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway. As part of UPS’s official partnership with the Texas track, UPS has exclusive rights to deliver the green flag on race day.

Jim is a 23-year UPS employee  and delivery driver out of the Grapevine, Texas UPS center.

“I am a big racing fan so being out to deliver the green flag in Texas was great. Everything was just really exciting and the whole day was great. To get out on track before the race and get the VIP treatment all day was really special. We had like five guys at the track from my center, and they were just really psyched that we were able to deliver the green flag. The day was great and everyone treated us like royalty.”

Claude is a 29-year UPS employee that is heavily involved in the UPS Road Code program, and getting ready to retire at the beginning of next year. With the Road Code program and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America featured on the No. 6 for the weekend, it was only fitting Claude be a part of Sunday’s green flag delivery.

“I’m very thankful for being asked to do the green flag delivery in Texas. And with it being the Boys and Girls Clubs Road Code car design, it was extra special. I’ve really enjoyed my time working with the kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs in Dallas and teaching them about safe driving. It was really an really honor to have been out at the track to help deliver the flag. Being out there with the sounds and smells was great and we were trying to make it as enthusiastic as possible. I had a really good time and really enjoyed it.”

Sunday's green flag delivery

Hello from Texas!

We got out here early on Thursday since the Nationwide Series had tech at the track. We all fly together, so all of the Cup guys had the day off on in Texas to have some fun. Some of us did have to work as David had two sponsor appearances on Thursday, but it looks like some of the No. 6 team hit the golf course. I’m not sure what the rest were up to, but the weather was beautiful for the first day of the race weekend.

Last week we were in Talladega, Alabama. That was such a stressful weekend because things happen so fast there and you never know who is going to get caught up in a wreck.  We survived right up until the end when David got bumped and took a trip through the grass. We still finished okay and actually moved up a spot in the point standings. 

We also got to have a little fun in Talladega. I’m not sure if you’ve heard stories about the infield there, but it’s crazy. The wildest fans go to Talladega and camp out for the whole week! A lot of the crew guys make an annual trip to ‘cruise the infield’ to see what’s going on inside of the largest tracks on the schedule. The Zac Brown Band played a free concert to anyone with an infield pass on Saturday night before the race. Of course it had rained all day Saturday, but it stopped by late afternoon. Event though the weather cleared, it was definitely a muddy mess. The concert was really good and David even stopped by for the start of it. He left early since he had to get up and race the next day. 

Now back to Texas. We’ve got a really cool car this weekend and everyone is excited to see it on track. We’ve gotten to visit some Boys and Girls Clubs of America locations this year on behalf of UPS, and those visits are always a lot of fun. Our paint scheme this weekend is cool with a lot of the BGCA kids’ handprints on the car. I even tried to match up my hands with theirs on the car, and I actually fit a few. I’m not sure if they’ve got some growing into their hands to do or if my hands are just small!

Well, that’s about it from here for now. Hopefully we get a good run this weekend to make up for last time. David had such a good run going in the spring, but debris got caught on the grill and overheated our car…bad luck. Here’s hoping it’s all behind us!

- Nancy