DAVID RAGAN, No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What has the transition been like to working with Joe Gibbs Racing?
“Thank you guys, good to see everybody. Today was great and really uneventful. Just learning the Joe Gibbs Racing bunch and their process, how they conduct business on a practice day and a race day. We were fortunate to have a few hours today where we could hot lap our M&M’s Crispy Camry and just really enjoy getting to the race track. It’s been a busy week and working through a lot of details. Thoughts are with Kyle (Busch) this evening and his wife Sam as they’re back home and certainly I’ll probably give Kyle a call this evening and touch base with him. Certainly, his team and his program and I’m fortunate to have the great opportunity to fill in for a little while. It was good. Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of my favorite tracks to come to for a lot of reasons, but the race track is in great shape. We have a lot of speed and the tires fall off throughout the run, so a lot of characteristics that make it fun to drive. A lot of fun to hit the track today. The weather worked out just perfect and was glad to make a few laps for sure.”
What was the time frame on everything coming together for you to be in the No. 18 Camry?
“Our situation at Front Row this year was a little iffy on whether we were going to be able to run the entire schedule. We had some good sponsorship with some of our partners – CSX and KFC for the Daytona 500. I got a call from one of the management at Joe Gibbs Racing on Monday afternoon and they just asked if I had any interest in talking to them. They had heard that I wasn’t committed or didn’t have a firm commitment for the full, entire Sprint Cup season. I told them that I would have some interest if we could get all the parties to mutually agree on a package that would benefit us all. A big shout out to CSX and certainly Front Row Motorsports, Ford Motor Company and the Joe Gibbs folks and M&M’s and Toyota for all kind of making it happen. Certainly, this is an unfortunate situation where their guy is injured and I’m grateful for the opportunity to get in one of the premiere rides in our sport for a little while to kind of see where I stand in my career as a driver and it’s been a few years since I’ve been with one of the larger teams. I’m grateful that all the parties involved really worked hard and it all can benefit us in a lot of different ways – thankful to them for that. It all really happened quick – Monday night and Tuesday obviously to be down here a day early for practice. A lot of the people involved had to have some give and take and it worked out great.”
How many races do you expect to fill in and what will happen if you make the Chase through a victory?
“I think as a driver you just have to take it week by week and race by race. As far as the length of time that Kyle will be out, I don’t think anyone really knows that yet. That’s probably a good question for the Gibbs folks. I know for the next several weeks, I’ll be in the 18 car. I don’t know that we really have a hard time frame on it just yet. There’s a lot of moving parts and pieces and certainly it all goes back to how quickly Kyle can heal up and get back in driving form. As far as my situation with the outlook for the entire season, it is different when you are driving for a different team and you realize that the second half of the season you’re going to be running with another group of cars and it may be a situation where you get a win and could get into the Chase, but let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. That’s a great scenario that if it played out would be a lot of fun and something cool to talk about, but Atlanta Motor Speedway is obviously the next race and looking forward to 500 miles here on Sunday and really just taking it race by race. I’m sure over the next few weeks we’ll get a better feel for kind of the time frame on Kyle’s return and what the expectations are going for the second half of the year.”
What was Front Row Motorsports’ reaction when you first brought this idea to them?
“They were a little surprised when I first brought it up, but you look at it from my situation and not knowing exactly what our schedule was going to look like this year. As a race car driver, I had to look at my career and my opportunities and this was something that I couldn’t let pass. Again, I’m very fortunate that our team owner Bob Jenkins and Jerry Freeze (general manager) were open to the idea. I think they’re happy for me to be in a situation with quality people, quality team, but also to remember where I came from. Certainly, the Front Row Motorsports team has been a great spot for me the last few years and if it were a situation where I was committed to a full time program and we had a full time sponsor, it would have been something that I couldn’t have made happen. The stars just aligned right, everyone with CSX was really open to moving a few of their races to some different dates to accommodate and I think it can be a good thing for everyone. I’m certainly going to learn a lot and really work hard to be a better driver and a good teammate these next several weeks. I think I’ll only be better when I get back in that 34 car later on this year. My job is to do the best job I can for Joe Gibbs Racing and M&M’s and Toyota and that’s what I intend to do. When Kyle’s (Busch) back, he’s certainly the man and our sport is better with him. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing needs Kyle Busch out here on the race track. When he’s back, I’ll return to the 34 car with CSX and hopefully be a better driver for my experience here.”
Do you feel more pressure filling in for Kyle Busch?
“It is a different feeling. I don’t know that I would call it more nervousness or you can’t really describe the amount of pressure because there’s a lot of pressure regardless of what car you’re driving, but absolutely working with a different team, working with a different group of guys, manufacturer – there are just a lot of newness that surround it. It’s different, but it’s also a challenge that I’m up for and will only make me smarter and better for it with different people. Any time you can get an opportunity to work with some really smart people that go about the weekend maybe in a different way, it only gives me a better experience on what’s going on. I’m not really putting any more pressure on me, but it is something that I pay attention to and I do want to do a good job. I want to take care of their race car and want to give good feedback. M&M’s and Toyota, when Kyle Busch is back, they want a top-tier ride where he can get back in and win. We’ve got to keep learning with the new rules package and being a good teammate to the three other guys at Joe Gibbs Racing. No more pressure really, but definitely things that I’ll pay attention to make sure that I don’t make any dumb mistakes.”
Will Front Row Motorsports benefit from your moving to Joe Gibbs Racing?
“Well, I certainly can benefit by a lot of ways, but I think our team can benefit by allowing one of their drivers to go out and, again, work with a new group of guys, race for one of the top-tier teams, have some great teammates and it’s only going to – they’re going to push me to be a better driver. I’m going to learn a lot, I’m going to work hard and I’m going to be a better driver behind the wheel of whatever car that I’m racing this fall, next season, the following season. From CSX’s standing, regardless of what car I drive – whether it’s a rental car or a race car – I’m an advocate for playing it safe around railroad tracks and their safety campaign that they put a lot of effort into. There’s probably a new fan base that I’ll touch, maybe some new people just by being in here this evening talking to you guys, so a lot of people can benefit from it in a lot of different ways and, at the end of the day, you’re doing a favor for a friend in the garage, another team and it’s something that if we all strategically work together that it can benefit us all in a lot of ways.”
How have your friends and family reacted to the news?
“My friends and family have been very supportive and certainly they’ve asked a lot of questions, some of the same questions you guys ask – how did it all come about and what happened? I think everyone is genuinely excited. Obviously, it is a great opportunity and it’s no secret that the Gibbs organization is one of the top organizations in NASCAR racing in all the divisions and Toyota – the effort that they put into this sport – and there’s a lot of fans that are fans of that M&M’s Crispy Camry and to help a friend out – Kyle (Busch) is a good friend of mine – and I want to do a good job for him and I  feel like that if I can do a good job for that team, give them maybe something different to think about and upon Kyle’s return he can get into the 18 car and pick up where he left off last season, I think that would be a job well done. And I think that’s the way I look at it. Certainly, I want to go out and run as fast as I can, as smart as I can and try to win every race, but if I can leave that team in a good situation so Kyle can get back in and not miss a beat, I think that will be a job well done. My family will have some fun seeing me in a different firesuit and a different number and I’m sure some folks will be confused for a few weeks as to what is going on, but things do change in our sport sometimes and it’s a great opportunity to work with a great owner like Coach Gibbs and his family and get to spend some time with them. It’s something that I couldn’t have passed up.”
What did you notice that’s different or better with the No. 18 Camry team?
“They’ve got a good stash of M&M’s in the hauler. You know that’s always a plus. A few of my cousins and nieces have reached out to me about bringing them a few M&M’s. Obviously, the larger the team – they’re a four-car team with great sponsors and great support – they’ve just got a lot more resources, a lot more tools. You describe the test session today with data acquisition on the race car, a couple of extra engineers per team, the information that you can acquire in just a few short hours is a lot. It’s something that as a smaller organization you can’t get that information as quick today, so I think the learning curve will be a little quicker. Obviously, it’s tough to judge the race car this year compared to last year, because the engine changed, the aero platform changed, Goodyear is adjusting the tires. It won’t be a fair comparison car-to-car, year-to-year, but just the amount of very, very smart people, resources that Toyota gives to Joe Gibbs Racing and they’ve got some very, very smart people, it’s things that you can – it opens a lot more doors throughout the course of a weekend. You can learn a lot more. Today’s test was very important and it will help some over the next few weeks and just the amount of information you can collect in a few short hours with four teams is really outstanding. It’s a lot.”
Was it rewarding to know Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards supported your move to the No. 18 Camry?
“Yeah, I think it certainly played a key role in Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth) putting in a good word for me and Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) – you know, obviously I was teammates for a few years with Carl and Matt and really had a good relationship with them and I think that they’ve seen that transition from one team to another and so I don’t think I would be in the 18 M&M’s Camry without their help. And then certainly Kyle giving a recommendation and Denny, we’ve all got to work together, so grateful for that. As far as the 34 car, I think that it’s a perfect fit to have Joe Nemechek in this weekend. He’s a veteran of our sport, a fan favorite, the CSX folks are really going to enjoy getting to know him and having some fun. As far as going for the next few races or however long I’ll be out, I don’t know really know what their strategy is. I know a few guys have reached out to them and they’ve got a couple different scenarios to play out. I will certainly throw a recommendation out and just like Kyle wants me to take care of his car while he’s out, I want whoever is in that car to take care of that program while I’m out for a few weeks. That’s something we’ll probably talk about next week. This week was kind of a blur. It all happened really fast and I’m sure we’ll talk about that a little bit this weekend.”
Were you surprised to find the No. 34 entry in the garage stall next to the No. 18 Camry?
“Yeah, it’s always funny how that works out. If you get into an argument or a dispute one week, you typically ride in the truck with one another for driver intros and, yeah, the 34 car and the 18 car are parked next to each other in the garage. I don’t know if NASCAR has anything to do with that, but somehow it always works out that way.”
