After overcoming a spin in the grass while running inside of the top 10 and making multiple trips down pit road to repair damage, David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS team came away from Daytona International Speedway with a 13^th-place finish on Saturday night.

David had a fast Ford Fusion all night and after taking the green flag in 27^th, he fought his way up inside of the top 20 rather quickly. For most of the race, David’s UPS Ford was right on the money and only required small air pressure and track bar adjustments throughout the night.

As the race neared the halfway point, David maintained a spot inside of the top 10 until lap 121 when contact with Kurt Busch sent him spinning in the grass on the back straightaway. David immediately came into the pits and the UPS pit crew pulled out his fenders, changed tires and sent him back out to beat the pace car and remain on the lead lap.

“Our UPS Ford was fast and we were able to overcome some adversity tonight,” said David after the race. “That’s just restrictor plate racing here at Daytona. Kurt Busch and I touched there and we spun on the back straightaway and knocked around our fenders a little bit and lost some spots, but our UPS pit crew was quick and we were able to get most of those spots back. “

David made two more trips down pit road to make sure there wasn’t any further damage, all while maintaining a spot on the lead lap. He returned to the track in 19^th, but was able to make his way back up in the field and avoid the wreck on the final lap to come away with a 13^th-place finish.

“Our finish doesn’t show just how well our car was tonight and how well we could have run,” said David. “If you make a small mistake or bad decision on which lane to take, it can cost you. That caused us to lose a few spots and it just took us a while to get back up through the field. It’s a 13th-place finish and we should get some points off of that but it’s not quite as good as we could have been.”

David and the UPS team head to Chicagoland Speedway next weekend for another Saturday night race under the lights.

It is the second weekend in a row NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Because of the interruption in the schedule, owner’s points will determine the starting lineup and David will roll off the grid in 31^st.

Rain entered into the Daytona area just about an before the first car was set to go out for qualifying, and with the Nationwide race scheduled for tonight, there just wasn’t enough time get Cup qualifying in.

“It’s too bad that we weren’t able to qualify our UPS Ford,” said David. “We had a great day of practice yesterday and were the quickest car in first practice. For last night’s session, we were trying out some things that we’re hoping will help us out for the race tomorrow night.”

David and the UPS team finished sixth the last time they visited the famed 2.5-mile track in Florida, and are hoping for a similar result tomorrow night.

“We’re really excited to race tomorrow night; this is where we earned our best finish of the season. We’ve been trying some different things and working really hard back at the shop and we know that we’ve got a top 10 car that should be able to run up front tomorrow. It’s just going to take one race for us to get some momentum on our side and Daytona couldn’t be a better place for our team to do just that.”

Tomorrow night will be David’s sixth start at Daytona International Speedway.

Nancy and the baby goat

New Hampshire is behind us and we’re in Daytona this weekend. It’s going to be hot! But at least Daytona is a fun race. We stay at the beach and with it being a night race and things starting later in the day, we actually have mornings to enjoy some beach time. Last year we saw dolphins swim by; hopefully they’ll be back this year.

Off the track things have still been busy around here. I made David swing by the office and sign some things this week. Remember how he was on QVC a few weeks ago? Well the cars he sold on-air were autographed UPS Freight die-cast cars. These cars are still being made and won’t be done until the fall. So they sent us the windshields and he signed those this week and then we sent them back so they can put them on the cars. It’s much easier signing the windshields than a couple hundred cars. It’s especially easier for me since I would be the one to open all the boxes and put them back together… needless to say, I’m a fan of the windshield idea.

Everyone with mom

The UPS team is going to be looking good this weekend. I delivered their brand new uniforms (same design, but new) and they received their second-half hats which have a little bit different design on them. Little stuff keeps the daily grind of what we do interesting. Everyone is excited to be in Daytona this weekend. The Daytona 500 was our best finish of the year so far and everyone is hoping our bad luck is over and we can run up front. We just need to avoid the inevitable big wreck and be around at the end.

Check out the pictures of the goats! I finally got a picture of the baby goat! Of course she’s not so little anymore since it’s taken me a while to get the photo taken.

-Nancy

David with the Portland SLIC at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

 

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 Portland Center was the featured Maximum Center for the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past weekend. They ranked number one in five of 12 elements used to measure the district’s progress. And because of that accomplishment,the center had its SLIC number 0412 featured on David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion.

“Portland has always been a group of very determined people, working together, that was able to get something good accomplished,” said Portland Business Manager Jeff Allen. “We benefitted from decent weather, excellent Air arrival times, and volume levels that were challenging at times, but quite beneficial to the operation.”

The Portland Center has a great group of employees who work together as a team each and every day. Jeff summarizes the key to his center’s success: “Everyone takes Service and Safety very seriously and understands that during some pretty tough economic times, pulling together to make things happen is the only road to take.”

Portland Center Maximum Center Photos

Mike Reid at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

This past weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mike Reid was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Mike took some time out of his busy schedule on race day to talk with UPS Racing about what he does both at and away from the track.  

I’ve been coming out and working the UPS Trackside program for a couple of years and I really like coming out to the track and representing UPS.

My favorite thing about working the races is the relationship that UPS has with the sport and the teams. People are happy to see us at the track and they seem to really appreciate what we do for them.

I grew up a racing fan, and when I was Florida, I remember always cheering for Dale Earnhardt growing up. Pretty much every kid that grew up in Florida cheered for him. And now, with UPS in the sport, it’s nice to have a driver to support and follow.  

When I’m not working at UPS, I like to go camping around New Hampshire.

 

 

The UPS team in action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

David Ragan started Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 31st after rain cancelled qualifying on Friday and owner’s points determined the starting lineup.

The UPS team spent most of the first part of the race trying to make the correct adjustments needed to get the car to turn a little better and to find some more speed. Once that happened, David began moving up through the field.

But, just as the team made some great adjustments to their Ford Fusion, David was caught up in a multi-car wreck during the restart on lap 175.

“From our point of view, they were wrecking in front of us, and our spotter did a good job and he told us to just go high, and I just tried not to run into the guy in front of me,” said David. “I just didn’t have anywhere to go. I thought that the top of the track was clear, and as soon as I could see light, all of a sudden it wasn’t clear.”

With the recent implementation of double-file restarts by NASCAR, it’s very tight quarters once drivers begin to accelerate.
 
“It’s very tough to pass here,” said David. “I felt like our UPS Ford was getting better. We got back to probably as low as 35th or 40th, but then when we were up in the top 20 we could hang with everybody. So, yeah, very, very hard to pass, but that’s just the double-file restarts and everyone running hard for all they could get.”

David and the UPS team head to Daytona International Speedway next weekend for Saturday night racing. The last time the team raced in Daytona, they posted a sixth-place finish.

It was a short day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as rain came into the area just as qualifying was to get underway for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

David Ragan and the UPS team had just one practice session in the early afternoon to get their car ready for qualifying, but struggled a little bit with being slower than they would have liked coming off of the hauler.

Because rain cancelled qualifying, owner’s points determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s race and David will start 31^st.

“We were really hoping to qualify our UPS Ford today,” said David. “There are two practices tomorrow, but we would have rather determined our own spot by running a couple of qualifying laps. We weren’t exactly where we wanted to be in practice, but we’ll get it all figured out before the race on Sunday.

“Our team has been working really hard back in the shop to get ready for this race and it will be good to get some more laps on the car tomorrow in practice.”

Sunday’s race will mark David’s fifth start at the New England track with his best finish coming in July of 2007 when he finished 15^th.  

Tom during a UPS pit stop

Tom Henniger works as Pit Support for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading up to New Hampshire for this weekend’s race, Justin took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? A friend of mine who worked in racing got me into it. I moved up from Florida and started at Rensi Motorsports. I was there for a few months before coming over to Roush, and now I’ve been here three years. 

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Traveling and seeing new places

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Going on the hunting trip last year with David and some of the guys.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? During the week I build rear-end housings at the shop for all of our Cup cars.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend?  Set up the pit box and clean tires.

What are you responsible for during the actual race? Catching the right-rear tire.

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? There are a lot of Red Sox fans that support us when we go to New Hampshire.

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

Where did you grow up? Tampa, FL

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Ride motorcycles and golf

Tom in the UPS pit

Something interesting about yourself? I was adopted

Favorite Movie: Taken

Favorite TV Show: Big Bang Theory

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: GI Joe

Favorite Pizza toppings? Pepperoni

Favorite Place to eat? Vinnies, in Mooresville NC

Favorite Music: (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Incubus

David Ragan with Stockton employee, Greg Morse

 

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 Stockton Center from the East Bay District was honored for its overall performance at the race this past weekend at Infineon Raceway. The center’s Standard Location Identification Code (SLIC) number 9520 was included inside the silhouette of a UPS package car on the UPS No. 6 Ford Fusion’s wing.

The center was selected as the Maximum Center as a result of ranking number one on the East Bay District Center Balanced Scorecard achieving 93 percent effective overall in April.

Greg Morse, a package driver out of the Stockton Center was at the race on Sunday with his father, Geary.

“Having our number on David’s car is unbelievable,” said Morse. “It’s such a great honor for all of our employees. It’s really cool to see. All of the guys at the building told me to represent them well out here this weekend.”

Stockton Center Maximum Center Photos

Joe making a special delivery to David Ragan

This past weekend at Infineon Raceway, Joe Wilborn, who works as a revenue supervisor in San Francisco was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Joe took some time out of his busy schedule on race day to talk with UPS Racing about what he does both at and away from the track. 

During a normal workweek, I work with the UPS sales force to help set up programs that best suit our customers needs. But when race time rolls around, I get to be a part of the Trackside Services team.

I’ve been coming out to the track working with Trackside for six years and I really like the group of people that I work with every year. We are busy all weekend making sure that all of our customers get the packages they need to have a successful weekend. I also like being around the cars and seeing the mechanics and all the behind-the-scenes of the race.

I’ve been a race fan since I was a little boy, and I remember cheering for Richard Petty when I was young. And then when racing got more televised, I remember cheering for Earnhardt, too. But now, ever since UPS got involved in the sport, I’ve always supported our driver.

When I’m not working, I spend time with my family. I have daughter who is six and a son who is two-and-a-half, so they keep me pretty busy. We’re encouraging them to get involved in sports and we try to get out to some of the ball games when we can.

On Wednesday last week, I was lucky enough to help deliver the trophy for the race in Sonoma with David Ragan. It was out of the ordinary and really cool to do. It was a good opportunity for UPS to help out the track and get our brand out in front of fans and customers. 

Joe (r) with Dave and David Ragan after successfully delivering the trophy for the race

David Ragan at Infineon Raceway

David Ragan will be the first to admit that he’s still learning about racing at road courses. But, if you watched the race on Sunday at Infineon Raceway, you wouldn’t have believed that as David and the No. 6 UPS team spent almost the entire event racing inside of the top 12.

David started in the back of the field on Sunday after getting a little loose during his qualifying lap, but he started clicking positions off fairly quickly. His consistent lap times combined with great pit strategy and fuel tracking by Jimmy Fennig and the No. 6 engineers launched David up in the field.

Steady and smooth was the way David made his way around the 1.99-mile track in Northern California. As the laps began winding down and David was running seventh, a bump from behind by Carl Edwards sent David spinning in turn eight, allowing a majority of the pack to get by him. David recovered quickly, but there just weren’t enough laps left in the race to make up the lost ground.

“It was a bad end to the day of what could have been a great run,” said David after the race. “Still, I have a lot of confidence going to New Hampshire, but that just seems to be the way our season has been. We haven’t had a lot of good luck.” 

The UPS team has been spending a lot of time working on their road-racing program, having multiple test sessions over the past couple of months.

“We legitimately had a top-10 car and we just got it taken away from us with a racing incident at the end,” continued David. “We came in and got four tires and then during the green-white-checkered, people were running through the course, over the grass, over the curbs, it was just crazy. We just brought it back home in one piece and I’m proud we finished.”

David and the UPS team will head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next week for the 17^th race of the season.

The race this weekend at Infineon Raceway is the first road course event of the season. And while these types of tracks haven’t always been David’s favorite, he’s been doing a lot of testing to get ready for the race.

David started off the day with a solid practice session, spending more than half of practice in second place. After all drivers made qualifying runs during practice, David dropped a little bit on the leader board to 10^th.

“We were strong today in practice,” said David. “We’ve been putting a lot of extra work into our road-racing program, so it was good to come out of practice in the top 10.”

David and the UPS team were ready for a similar result in Friday’s qualifying, but David got a little too loose in one of the 11 turns on the track, resulting in a loss of speed and momentum.

“We got loose, and I guess the good side of things is that I didn’t spin it out,” said David after his qualifying run. “I thought we had a top 15 or so run going on through the first seven or eight corners, and then we just got loose being aggressive. I just got on the throttle a little early and got loose in turn eight. If you lose even a little bit of speed here, it takes a lot to get that back. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s practice; I think we’ve got a fast car. We’ll just have to do our job and pass a lot of cars on Sunday.”

While David technically qualified 43^rd for Sunday’s race, he will start 40^th based on owner’s points.

  

Sea Lions at Pier 39

Hello everyone! 

Things have still been busy (as usual) around here, but we’ve managed to squeeze in some fun. Michigan last week was a good run for us. We finished 15^th and the pit crew was on their game. They gained spots on pit road every time we pitted. One stop we even went from 10^th to fifth!  Hopefully everything carries over into this weekend at Sonoma. Road courses haven’t been David’s strongest tracks in the past, but he’s put in a lot of hard work testing and feels ready for this weekend. He’s been to Road Atlanta and was out in Sonoma here testing last week. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Sonoma is far away from home, but also is a fun place to come visit. We all flew out Wednesday morning to come to the track for a media event.  avid delivered the trophy for Sunday’s race to victory lane. The Coast Guard helicopter dropped the trophy off, where two men in suits and white gloves helped David pick it up and load it into the back of the UPS package car.

Studio in Los Angeles

David and the UPS driver took the trophy for a lap around the track and then delivered it to victory lane. There was a bunch of media here so David did some interviews and then we headed into San Francisco to the Comcast Studios. He did an on-air interview there and then had some radio call-ins to do. 

After all the media we had time for some fun. We went to Fisherman’s Warf and hung out down there. We saw the sea lions (really cool, but they kind of stink), went to the aquarium, and then had dinner downtown at an Italian restaurant. We called it an earlier night since our bodies were still on East coast time and we had to get up early the next morning.

Thursday morning we left the hotel at 5 a.m. and flew from San Francisco to Los Angeles. David was on a game show, which will air in the fall. I can’t tell you much else right now since the release didn’t go out yet, but it was cool and everyone will have to check it out when it airs. We’ll keep you updated!

Boats by the water in San Francisco

Now we’re off for practice, qualifying and maybe a little fun in Northern California wine country!

UPS Racing wants to know: Where is your favorite place to visit in California?

Infineon Raceway Press Release

U.S. Coast Guard, UPS, David Ragan Provide Ceremonial Delivery of Trophy

David and Dave transporting the Infineon Raceway trophy 

  (C) Mike Finnegan

Infineon Raceway received a special delivery on Wednesday, thanks to UPS and the United States Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, the “Guardians of the Golden Gate.”

The Coast Guard arranged for safe delivery of the winner’s trophy for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. A Coast Guard MH65C Dolphin helicopter, departing from an unknown location in the Bay Area, landed on the road course on Turn 11 with the trophy safely stored.

From there, two raceway handlers, dressed in black suits and wearing white gloves, and David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford, carried the trophy to an awaiting UPS Truck. The truck then drove to the Wine Country Winner’s Circle, where the two handlers and Ragan safely placed the trophy on a wine barrel after walking a red carpet.

Mission accomplished.

“What better hands to place the trophy in than the U.S. Coast Guard?” said Ragan, who took a ceremonial ride in the UPS Truck around the road course with the trophy. “It was pretty cool watching the helicopter land on the road course at Turn 11 and then taking the trophy to the winner’s circle. This is the closest I’ve ever been to a winner’s trophy before the race.”

“The crewman who hand-carried the trophy from the MH65C Dolphin was Petty Officer Second Class Bryan Patrick - a hardcore race fan,” said Sam Creech, Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Station, San Francisco. “When he is not flying on rescue missions or serving as a counter-terrorism precision aerial marksman/sharpshooter, he is a helicopter mechanic, responsible for tuning the Dolphin’s dual 1300 shaft horsepower engines - delivering the trophy was a truly a special treat for him today.”

The Coast Guard will return on Sunday as part of the ceremonial fly-by moments before the green flag is dropped on the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

“The Coast Guard is honored to serve our country and we are grateful when we are invited to showcase our service at national sporting events and venues like Infineon Raceway,” Creech said. “It was unique today - our helicopters usually deliver injured mariners from the perils of the sea, but today, we delivered the trophy for the all-American sport of NASCAR.”

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 Jackson Center (SLIC - 4920) in the Michigan District was selected for the June 14 race at Michigan International Speedway. 

Of the tracked elements on the Balanced Scorecard, the Jackson Center ranked highest overall in the Safety, Service, and Performance elements. They currently hold the top district center ranking. 

“This is a great achievement for our center.  It’s all about building a winning team and we have a great one.  Our focus is on customer service and world-class health and safety.  Everyone in the center has a winning attitude.  Whenever I have asked them to step up and take care of any issue, they have risen to the challenge,” says Jackson Center Business Manager Paul Pepera. “It’s an honor for the Jackson Center to help David Ragan and the number 6 car represent UPS at the LifeLock 400 on June 14.”

Jackson Center Maximum Center Photos

Julie at MIS

This past weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Julie Morris, who works as an account manager in Madison Heights, Mich. was part of the UPS Trackside Services team. Julie took some time out of her busy schedule on race day to talk with UPS Racing about what she does both at and away from the track.   

Working at Michigan International Speedway this past weekend was my eighth time working Trackside Services. Before coming out to the track, I wasn’t really a race fan. But now, after seeing all of the behind-the-scenes in what goes into putting on the event and meeting people in the sport, I’ve become a fan.

I like coming out to the track because it’s a different atmosphere that what I normally work in during the week. It’s just nice to get out and represent UPS at the track. We really work for a great company and I like the stability of the company and also the tradition of our brand.

When I’m not working at UPS, I spend all of my time with my kids. I have three kids, two girls and a boy, and they are involved in soccer, baseball, gymnastics and more, so they keep me really busy.

I also know family is something that is very important to everyone at UPS.  During my years with them, I have found it quite interesting to see the different generations of families that have worked together to help make UPS the successful company it is.  And I have no doubt that the families who are watching and cheering for the UPS race car are the very ones who have made UPS an excellent shipping company for many years.

NASCAR has always been about family too.  Many famous families have enjoyed success on the track for many years in our sport.  Names like Petty, Allison, Earnhardt and Waltrip have been around for decades.  And fortunately, NASCAR racing has been very good to the Jarrett family.  I am very proud of the fact that my dad, Ned, and I are one of only two father-son combinations who have won Cup championships, with Richard and Lee Petty being the other.

Speaking of my dad, the UPS commercials we made together are some of my favorite memories from shooting the spots over the years.  I think it shows how much family really does mean to UPS that they allowed us to use their time to have some fun and help promote the UPS brand.

Now UPS has another family of racers representing them on the track.  I had the privilege of racing with David’s dad, Ken, back in the late 80s and early 90s.  He was a great and very fair competitor, just as David is today.  I don’t think it will be very long before we see David and his UPS Ford in Victory Lane!

Happy Father’s Day!!

Dale Jarrett

P.S. What’s your favorite racing memory with your Dad? Post a comment below!