FanHouse David Ragan

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- David Ragan held off teammate Carl Edwards on a two-lap sprint to the finish Friday night to win the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Edwards settled for second, but shaved 91 points off the commanding lead Kyle Busch brought into the race. Busch, who started the night with a 339-point lead over Edwards, was wrecked by Chase Austin while leading early in the race and finished 28th.

Edwards now trails him by 248 points, and wasn't disappointed to lose to his Roush Fenway Racing teammate.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- After competing in nearly 200 races in NASCAR's three marquee series, David Ragan picked up his first victory in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway besting, among others, restrictor plate expert Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ragan positioned his No. 6 Discount Tire Ford just behind the lead pack cars of Ryan Newman, Earnhardt and veteran Tony Raines in the final laps. And when the typical Talladega last lap scramble broke out, Ragan slipped by for the checkered flag about six feet in front of Newman. Joey Logano, Raines and Earnhardt rounded out the top 5.

As Ragan made his maiden trip to Victory Lane, most drivers -- including Earnhardt and Newman -- stepped out onto pit to congratulate the 23-year-old.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s performance -- or lack thereof -- in 2009 has become a contentious debate, last weekend's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway lacked the pizazz we're used to at Bristol and a few drivers have struggled to put forth results that'll leave you scratching your head.

What, you ask yourself, does FanHouse's Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller have to say on these issues?

Find out as FH's Wheel2Wheel takes a look at NASCAR's current stories and issues. Read on to see what we've got to say, and when you're done, tell us exactly how we're wrong. It'll be more fun than sneaking your family sedan on to Daytona's high banks for a late night joyride.

Well, almost.

Well, I napped through most of today's Busch Series race in Nashville, but don't seem to have missed much.

I remember the pre-show--I was awake long enough to be annoyed by Nashville recording artist Julie Roberts' oversing of the National Anthem.

I vaguely remember Rusty Wallace talking about his son Steven being on the pole ... then things start to get fuzzy.

I woke up to Carl Edwards getting out of his car in victory lane.

Without a single practice lap on the track this weekend, the series points leader won the race--his third consecutive at the track, fourth on the season.

The always gracious driver dedicated his win to the France family, thanked his team, sponsors, etc.

Then he gave his Gibson guitar trophy away to Roush Fenway teammate David Ragan's brother. That was nice. It just might be awhile before Ragan brings one home.

Federated Auto Parts 300 Results | Standings

Phoenix: Top Ten NASCAR Nextel Cup Tums Moments #9:

"David Ragan had a tough day in the No. 6 Ford, causing several wrecks during the day."

When asked what he thought about being a guest on "Inside Nextel Cup," rookie David Ragan said he thought it was not only an honor, but a welcomed opportunity to explain himself if he messed up racing.

He's needed that opportunity before, but finally got it after Phoenix.

Early in Subway 500, Ragan slid up the track and rubbed fenders Tony Stewart, spinning himself out and ruining David Stremme and Scott Riggs' days in the process.

The bumpstop3 highlight video, which has a new classic Darrell Waltrip prediction in the opening, shows the wreck at about 5:42 to go:

J.J. Yeley has a lot of nerve calling 2007 ROTY contender David Ragan out for last week's incident:

"I was on the outside, and to get taken out on the first lap is ridiculous. There's a little stupidity on his part."

There's no denying that the early race crash was Ragan's fault:

But let's rewind a year to Yeley's rookie efforts, shall we? Because after witnessing Yeley's performance in both the Nextel Cup and Busch series I wondered how this dumbass has a ride questioned his ability to even compete on the NASCAR circuit.

Witness how the #18 did the #6 in Charlotte just five months three racing months ago:

As I began writing this post, they had just completed opening race ceremonies for the O'Reilly 300, but viewers didn't get to see it on ESPN2. Instead, they got to see the end of a women's tennis match.

This is the second time that ESPN has screwed NASCAR and Busch viewers by grossly misjudging their schedules.

Nothing against women's tennis ... I'm hardly suggesting that they should cease coverage and switch to Busch. But I am suggesting that since ESPN has like a billion channels, they should bump something else off the air and give a live event priority.

Am I wrong?

ESPNA--whatever that is-- was SIGNED OFF. Is it really that difficult to transfer the signal and add a crawl at the bottom of the ESPN2 broadcast telling race fans where to tune in?

NASCAR did compensate somewhat for ESPN's faults with Live Busch Series Coverage, even though it took the dramatic cheesy soundtrack idea to a whole new level.

The race is underway now on both ESPN2 and NASCAR.com. ESPN2 joined in progress--after the engine command. Do they not know that sometimes that's the best part of the race broadcast? So annoying.

Damn, polesitter David Ragan gave up the lead to Kyle Busch after two laps and the caution is out under 10. I see it's shaping up to be a typical series race.

Update: In case you've missed the bulletins. NASCAR.com still sucks. It is trying to do way too much and not doing any of it well. So much for the live stream -- it crashed my computer while I was trying to post while simultaneously watching.

Despite several attempts by others to take him out of the race today, my Raybestos Rookie of the Year pick, David Ragan, managed to scrape together a 26th place finish, the best of his class today in Bristol.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who is slowly but surely becoming my least favorite rookie, was one of the drivers who successfully moved Ragan out of his way once on the track, but he later fell behind and finished 32nd.

A.J. Allmendinger finshed 91 laps down in 40th position.

Rookies Paul Menard and David Reutimann failed to qualify.

Montoya maintains a lead in the points standings but fell four positions to 19th. Ragan gained one and is now 22nd. Both are in the Top 35 heading to Martinsville. Outside the Top 35: Menard (41st), Reutimann (45th) and Allmendinger (52nd).

Overheard on the In-Car Audio
With three laps to go Ragan got spun by Kasey Kahne and brought out the 15th caution of the day.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "F**ing rookie."

Do NASCAR drivers have an advantage at their hometown tracks? I'm sure there's some fancy algorithm that has a definitive answer to that, but I don't. Let's just say that the upside is, it never hurts when you have a few laps under the belt. The downside is that being home can prove to be a distraction and you have to factor in additional psychological issues like performance anxiety.

David Ragan, Unadilla, Ga.
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year contender David Ragan is no stranger to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Unadilla, Ga. native estimates that between the Summer Shootouts and winter and heat races, he's run anywhere from 75 to 100 races at his home track.

His mission for the weekend is to enjoying the friendly faces in familiar surroundings without allowing himself to become distracted and to keep getting those points.

His experience at AMS assisted him today with a better than average for the season Top 20 finish in the Busch Series Nicorette 300, Ragan's first NASCAR race at AMS. He starts 38th tomorrow in his first Cup race here.

Reed Sorenson, Peachtree City, Ga.
In addition to getting his first Cup start at AMS, Reed Sorenson recorded his first career Series Top 10 in just his sixth career start in the Golden Corral 500 at AMS on March 20, 2006. He started the event in 15th and rallied from as far back as 30th to bring home a 10th-place finish at his hometown track.

Sorenson grew up racing Legends Cars at AMS, capturing three track championships ('98, '99, '01) 22 wins, 40 top-five finishes and 42 top-10 finishes in 43 starts. His friend and teammate Shane Bourgeois also hails from Peach Tree City. Bourgeois helped Sorenson on his ASA team before moving with him to North Carolina and to Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). Bourgeois works in the suspension department and provides pit support on race day.

An early collision in today's Busch race relegated him to a 39th place finish. He starts tomorrow in 11th.

I don't think either Georgia native has an advantage over Atlanta's own Home Depot.

Matt Kenseth found his way to the Auto Club 500 victory lane for the second year in a row--and the second day in a row following his Stater Bros. 300 win to sweep the weekend at California Speedway.

The Busch and Cup wins are the first for the newly created Roush Fenway Racing team.

Jack Roush recently sold half of Roush Racing to the Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, for support in marketing and sales activities. The intention is to "use FSG's experience, network of relationships, and powerful demographic base to add value to Roush Fenway Racing sponsors and help Roush Fenway Racing maintain an unsurpassed position among NASCAR teams on and off the track."

Yada yada yada ... marketing speak. But it's good marketing speak.

Hiring good drivers helps them on the track ... they definitely have that one down (see also: Kenseth, Greg Biffle).

Hiring the ones with personality and who articulate themselves well in the media is a plus (see also: Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards).

And it won't hurt if they're young and total cuteness, either (see also: David Ragan).

The growing female fan base will not be denied. Many of them certainly pick their favorites based on other factors, too, but admit it, girls, more than likely your fav is easy on the eyes.

Speaking of the easy-on-the-eyes--and articulate--Ragan, also an RFR driver, my rookie pick placed highest again ... this week in the 17th spot.

I feel a sudden desire to become a AAA member.

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