While we’re still a week out from when voting begins, we wanted to get everyone up to speed on the voting process and how you can help deliver David into the All Star Race!

This year there is a more time to vote than in previous years, and with multiple ways to votes, we should be able to rally together and get David into the big race!

When to Vote: Voting begins Wednesday, March 24 and is open until one hour before the All Star race on Saturday, May 22.

How to Vote: You can vote on the web, from your phone or at the track!

On the web: You can vote once per hour from your computer by visiting NASCAR.com and vote for David. (We’ll have the official link for voting up next week.)

On your Sprint or Nextel phone: You can use NASCAR Sprint Cup mobile on either a Sprint or Nextel phone or by text the word “VOTE” to 7777.

** Voting from your Sprint or Nextel phone counts as a double vote!

At the track: Visit the Sprint Experience display at the track and place your vote for David!

About the Race: The 26th running of NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will run at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 22, but this year, there is a slight twist in the format of the race. For the fourth and final segment of the race, drivers will make a four-tire stop on pit road and the order in which they exit pit road will be how they line up for the 10-lap green flag shootout to see who will walk away with the $1 million check.

Race Format:

Segment 1: 50 laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop under green, followed by a caution flag for an optional pit stop

Segment 2: 20 laps followed by a caution flag for an optional pit stop

Segment 3: 20 laps followed by a 10-minute break where adjustments are permitted and a mandatory pit stop to set the field

Segment 4: 10 laps to the green flag –only green flag laps count

Tell your friends, tell your family and tell your co-workers to make sure they help vote David into the 26th NASCAR Sprint All Star Race!

David and the UPS team head to Bristol this weekend for short-track racing. What is your favorite short track on the NASCAR circuit?

David and the UPS team have the weekend off from racing. What are your plans for the weekend?

David at Atlanta Motor Speedway

David Ragan and the UPS team started Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 17th position, but David quickly made his way towards the front and up to 12th place. After the first caution flag came out on lap five, David gained five spots on the restart and moved up to seventh position after just one lap of green.

The UPS Ford was a bit tight after a few more laps on tires, and David was running in ninth place when he slightly brushed the wall in the corner. On lap 35, David’s right-front tire went down and forced him up and into the wall. The damage was enough to force David into the garage for repairs.

The UPS team worked hard to replace the front end of the car and got David back out on track on lap 163 and in 42nd position.  After making a quick stop in the pits to make sure everything looked good, David was able to gain five spots and finish the race in 37th.

“This was pretty tough because Atlanta is my home track and also home for UPS,” said David after the race. “We had a good car for the race today. This is probably one of the better cars we’ve had in the last couple of years here at Atlanta. I’m proud of what our UPS team has been able to accomplish in just a few short weeks. It’s a new team with a new crew chief, and we just have to learn from it. We’ve got some good tracks coming up on the schedule, so we’ll be ready for Bristol.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes a weekend off next week and will return to racing on Sunday, March 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is home to both David and UPS. We want to know, what is your home track?

David getting ready to race in Vegas

Lady Luck and the Lucky Dog just weren’t on the side of David Ragan and the UPS team on Sunday in Las Vegas.

After starting 18th in his fourth start at the 1.5-mile track, David’s UPS Ford Fusion was very free, both in and off of the corners. Donnie Wingo and the UPS team made multiple track bar and air pressure adjustments to help the handling of the car, and after a few stops of continued changes, the No. 6 began to tighten up a bit for David.

David was running right in the middle of the field when he came in for a green-flag pit stop on lap 162. During that stop, fuel began spilling out of the car. Because two full cans of fuel did not make it into the tank, David had to come in a little bit early for his next pit stop. That stop also happened under green, and during that time, David dropped a lap down behind the leaders.

After catching back up on fuel and stops, David battled to get in position to earn the Lucky Dog award. He made his final pit stop on lap 234 and came out of the pits just one spot behind Scott Speed, who was the first driver a lap down. David went back and forth with Speed for position, but the caution didn’t fly again in the race, and as a result, David finished one lap behind the leaders.

“We made improvements on our car, but our finishing result doesn’t show what kind of car that we had,” said David after the race. “Certainly pitting an extra time there under green definitely hurt us. We had a mishap there with the fuel and we couldn’t run as long as the other guys. We’re certainly not happy with where we finished, but we made some progress.

“We brought back our UPS Ford in one piece, but we’ll have to continue to work on the particulars,” continued David. “We just need to get a full race in and run like we should. We’ve got some top-10 cars so we’ve just got to keep working.”

David and the UPS team head to both David and UPS’s home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race will air on Fox at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Video from inside the F-16! Check out David looking up to see the ground…. that’s something you don’t see every day.

If you didn’t see the other two videos, check out:

Part 1: Safety Equipment and Briefing http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/birdday10/

Part 2: Getting Ready for Takeoff http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/part2thunder/

After David was done getting briefed by the doctor and pilot, it was time to head out and get strapped in to the Thunderbirds’ F-16!

If you didn’t see the other two videos, check out:

Part 1: Safety Equipment and Briefing http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/birdday10/

Part 3: Up, Up and Away! http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/thunder310/

This is the first half of David’s day. He went through safety equipment training and also met with the Thunderbirds’ doctor and his pilot to go over what to expect from his flight.

Be sure to check out the other two videos from David’s day:

Part 2: Getting Ready for Takeoff http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/part2thunder/

Part 3: Up, Up and Away http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/thunder310/

We’d like to thank all of you fans that are in the military for what you do for our country.

Let us know: How many of our UPS Racing fans are part of the military?

David taking on the challenge of delivering on a three-wheeled scooter

The fans have spoken.

UPS commercials for the 2010 NASCAR season have taken first and third place in the fifth annual Daytona 500 advertising showcase, hosted by Yahoo.com. UPS “Global Challenge” took top honors in the vote, and “Delivery People” came in third place in the fan vote.

The UPS “Global Challenge” spot has David three wheeling on a scooter to replicate deliveries made on the tight streets of Asia. UPS makes early-morning deliveries in Asia, and the commercial is a fun way to show some of the unique settings UPS drivers must deliver in each day.

“Delivery People” highlights UPS’s partnership with NASCAR as the sport’s official delivery company. UPS has been the official express delivery company of NASCAR for 11 seasons, and with that partnership, comes exclusive delivery rights inside of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage. This spot shows Santa Clause, a paper-delivery boy and even a stork idolizing a UPS employee making deliveries inside of the NASCAR garage.

UPS is the only delivery company allowed to work inside the NASCAR garage

David and members of the UPS team prior to Sunday's race

David Ragan and the UPS team battled a loose race car all day at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The No. 6 team started 15th at the two-mile track in Southern California, but the UPS Ford wasn’t responding to changes the team was making, and as a result, David crossed the finish line in 23rd position.

For the early part of the race, David was able to maintain a spot around 12th position. That standing lasted until lap 28, when David reported that his UPS Ford Fusion was very loose around the track. He tried sticking to the low line of the track, but the car was a handful to drive.

During the next couple of caution periods, Donnie Wingo and the UPS team made air pressure and track bar adjustments to try and tighten up the car. The changes would improve the handling of the car for a few laps, but then the car went right back to being loose.

At one point during the race, David did drop a lap behind the leaders. But, by making some progress before the caution came out on lap 141, David was able to receive the Lucky Dog award and get back on the lead lap.

Weather came into the area with about 60 laps to go, and while most of the leaders were coming in to pit, Donnie kept David out on the track in hopes that the yellow would come out for rain. He was able to stay out three laps longer than the leaders and get up to fifth place, but the yellow didn’t come out and David was forced to come into the pits to avoid running out of fuel.

For the last 50 laps of the race, David was in and around 20th position, but, on the last restart, the No. 82 (Scott Speed) squeezed up on David and caused some damage to the front fender of his car. That damage caused David to drop a few spots just before the checkered flag flew, which put him down into 23rd position.

“It just felt like we were chasing the car all day,” said David after the race. “Our UPS Ford was pretty balanced, but we fought loose conditions all day. I don’t know if the track changed, but we had to make a lot of adjustments throughout the day. I thought we had a car good enough for a decent finish and could get inside of the top 15. On that last restart, the No. 82 squeezed us up high and we knocked our fender in, so that hurt our chances of getting a better finish there at the end.”

David and the UPS team head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week for the Shelby American GT 350. Be sure to check out Sunday’s race on Fox at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

David during Sunday's Auto Club 500

When we head out to California, there are always a few celebrities that show up for the race.

Who do you think would be the best celebrity at giving the command for the race? Post your answer below!

After starting 19th and leading for two laps in the Great American race, David Ragan and the UPS team battled throughout the day and night to top their last year’s finish of sixth place, but fell down to 16th position when the checkered flag flew.

The first 100 laps of the race were relatively quiet for David and the team. They ran between 16th and 20th and David only reported to the team that the car was a little tight and could be freed up a bit.

While running in the inside lane on lap 106, David got a big push from behind which vaulted him towards the front of the field and up into 11th position. Once David made it up to that spot, he continued to gain ground and multiple spots over the next 10 laps. He moved up to ninth, then fifth and then worked with his teammate, Greg Biffle, to get up into the lead on lap 113. David held the lead for two laps and earned five extra bonus points in the process.

The UPS team was gaining momentum at the front of the field, but when the caution period came out on lap 116, David noticed a chunk of the track missing between turns one and two after exiting pit road. NASCAR brought drivers back down pit road and threw the red flag on lap 122 so they could take a closer look at the issue. Track officials spent the next hour and 40 minutes trying to repair the hole in the track while drivers exited their vehicles and took a break.

Drivers were called back to their cars and the race was back to green on lap 125. David made his way up into fourth position and remained right around that spot until another red flag stopped the race on lap 161. The patch job done on the hole in the track wasn’t working and NASCAR officials had to make additional repairs to the track.

The track was back to green on lap 165 and Crew Chief, Donnie Wingo, made the call to only take two tires and fuel in order to gain track position. During that stop, the UPS pit crew gained David 11 spots and put him back up into fifth position for the restart.

David continued to hold on to his spot inside of the top five and made his way up to third position before getting shuffled into the middle lane of the pack. David had to wait for some help in the middle lane from Kyle Busch in order to get back up towards the front.

Another yellow came out on the track, but David and the leaders did not come into the pits. Because of that decision, David restarted in ninth position when the track went back to green. There were two laps remaining in the race, but a caution came out for a multi-car wreck, which set up NASCAR’s first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.

The race was only back to green for one lap when another multi-car accident brought out the caution flag. This yellow set up the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. David was down to 13th when the race restarted. He was doing his best to maintain that spot, but three drivers were able to get around him on the final lap.

“I feel like we had a much better car than a 16th-place car, but with speedway racing, sometimes things are out of your control,” said David after the race. “Donnie Wingo made the right call to take two tires there at the end, and I think that we had a car that could have won had things gone our way there at the end. It was a good effort by our UPS team. Our guys were really quick in the pits and were able to gain us spots on most of our stops. We just didn’t get the finish that we wanted.”

David and the UPS team enter next weekend’s Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway 15th in points. Sunday’s race begins at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Fox.

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

UPS RACING UNVEILS COMMERCIALS AND ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES TO LAUNCH 2010 NASCAR SEASON

DAYTONA BEACH, Feb. 11, 2010 – UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced it will introduce three new television commercials in 2010 to promote its NASCAR sponsorship along with an exciting online game that will include a $100,000 cash prize and a VIP experience at Richmond International Raceway.

The commercials, which will begin airing during the Daytona 500 on Sunday, highlight UPS’s exclusive position as the official express delivery company of NASCAR while also promoting UPS’s extensive freight and international shipping capabilities.  In a continuation of the “Maximum Driver” ad series from 2009, David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion, appears in two of the spots in which he applies his racing skills to some of the challenges UPS drivers face every day.

The “UPS $100,000 Trackside Challenge Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes” was created to expand awareness of UPS’s long history with NASCAR as both an official partner and race team sponsor. The online game includes more than 100 instant win prizes, including a $100,000 cash prize, a UPS Racing scooter (driven by David Ragan in one of the new racing commercials), UPS Racing merchandise and 50 $100 VISA gift cards.  The grand prize for the sweepstakes drawing is a VIP racing experience for two at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 on Sept. 11, 2010, at Richmond International Raceway.

“UPS’s long association with NASCAR has been a rewarding experience,” said Ron Rogowski, director of sponsorships for UPS. “Over the years, our racing program has allowed UPS to reach new customers and grow our business, but we’re always looking for new and unique ways to take our sponsorship to the next level. The UPS $100,000 Trackside Challenge is going to help us achieve that goal in 2010, and beyond.”

The online promotion begins today and continues until May 19, 2010.  No purchase or shipment is necessary to win, but winners must meet the rules and eligibility requirements to collect their prizes.  Complete details, including eligibility restrictions, prize details, odds of winning and information on how to obtain no-purchase game codes, can be found at www.ups.com/racing.

UPS (NYSE:UPS) is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. With more than a century of experience in transportation and logistics, UPS is a leading global trade expert equipped with a broad portfolio of solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS can be found on the Web at UPS.com and its corporate blog can be found at blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS. For more information about UPS Racing, go to ups.com/racing.

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Be sure to submit your question for David here: http://www.racing.ups.com/2010/02/ask/

Do you have a question you want to ask David Ragan?

Maybe you want to know what his favorite track is, or where his favorite restaurant is in Daytona.

Well, here’s your chance to ask the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford your questions for the 2010 season. Each week, David will answer a couple of your questions at the end of his blog.

Post your questions below in the comments, and check out David’s blog each Wednesday.

Thanks!
UPS Racing

What is your favorite memory of the Daytona 500? Have you even been to the race? Let us know!

David is getting ready at the shop to head down to Daytona next week for media day, practice and qualifying for the Daytona 500.

Let us know what you did over the off season. Leave a comment below!