David Ragan and FRM Teammates Have Tough Daytona 500

DAYTONA, FL – David Ragan and his Front Row Motorsports teammates were hoping for strong runs in the 55th Daytona 500. Unfortunately, they never got the chance.  On Lap 138, Brad Keselowski and Trevor Bayne got together and started a domino chain of wrecking behind them, with Ragan and his teammates among the victims.

The No. 34 team took the Detail Doctor Ford to the garage to repair both front- and back-end damage and returned 38 laps later to try to gain a few positions. Ragan returned to the garage with 10 laps remaining to end his day and finish in the 35th position.

“We were going through a green-flag cycle of pit stops and just kind of riding and all I saw was the 2 coming across the race track, so I don’t know if the 2 cut down a tire or if he spun or if someone hooked him. I just saw the 2 coming up the race track and I hit the guy in front of me and the guy behind me hits me,” Ragan. “It was just an unfortunate event. We had some speed in our Detail Doctor Ford. I enjoyed racing hard and was hoping to set ourselves up for the finish, but it just didn’t work out.”

The same multi-car wreck that claimed Ragan also collected David Gilliland and sent him to the garage with heavy front-end damage.  The team was able to patch up their Ford Fusion enough to return to the track for several laps before finally retiring the car with 12 laps remaining in the race.  Gilliland was credited with a 38th-place finish.

“I am not really sure what happened. Someone got loose and slid up the track. I had nowhere to go. We had a great, super fast car. We had a plug wire come off in the beginning and get us behind and we were inching our way back up but I just hate to end the day this way,” said Gilliland. “We were hoping to have a better day than this for Love’s Travel Stops, but we will have to come back next week and get ’em at Phoenix.”

FRM driver Josh Wise started his first Daytona 500 in the 32nd spot, eager to make the most of this milestone opportunity. With support from Blockbuster and Cajun Industries, Wise planned to race smart and work with his teammates to bring home a solid finish for Front Row Motorsports.

Wise then fell in line for 100 laps of mostly single-file racing, staying in line while looking for an opportunity to gain some ground. But the Lap 138 multi-car wreck spared none of the Front Row Motorsports Fords. Wise was collected in the nine-car, accordion-style crash along with his teammates, forcing him to take his heavily damaged car to the garage. The Blockbuster Ford could not be repaired in time to return to the track, and Wise finished in 40th place.