OCTOBER 12, 2006

Roush signs Ragan - no room for Villeneuve?

Jack Roush has announced that 20-year-old David Ragan is to take over from Mark Martin in Roush Racing's AAA-sponsored Ford Fusion next year. This means that an opportunity that had been open to former F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve is now closed as Roush now has a full five-car team in the Nextel Cup with Ragan joining Greg Biffle (National Guard), Matt Kenseth (DeWalt), Jamie McMurray (Crown Royal) and Carl Edwards (Office Depot). There may still be a possibility for Villeneuve as Roush will continue to run a fleet of cars in the NASCAR Busch Series and a pair of entries in the Craftsman Truck Series as well. Roush has also run sixth cars on occasion, notably when he gave Ragan a try-out recently in the Nextel Cup race at Dover, Delware.

The decision to go for a youngster is an indication of the current trends in NASCAR as the old guard NASCAR drivers are replaced. Ragan is the son of Ken Ragan, who competed in 50 Winston Cup races between 1983-90. David began racing at the age of 11 and did his first NASCAR truck races at the age of 18.