The story behind one of the year's biggest surprises, David Ragan

David Ragan has emerged as one of the year's biggest surprises. Getty Images Tim Tuttle's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Tim. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

David Ragan was a 100-1 long shot to make the Chase at the start of the season, a second-year Sprint Cup driver who seemed destined for a another 20-something finish in the points. Nothing in his past performance had indicated otherwise.

Jack Roush had plucked Ragan out of his driver development program to replace Mark Martin in the No. 6 Ford in 2007 and it was a move that stunned virtually everyone with an interest in Cup racing. Roush had tried to give Ragan a head start in the fall of 2006, but after he drove so erratically at Martinsville (Tony Stewart called him a "dart without feathers"), NASCAR refused to approve him for the 1.5-mile tracks that made up three of the final four races. He didn't make another start.

But Ragan proved he belonged in his rookie year, finishing 23rd in the points and runner-up in Rookie of the Year behind Juan Pablo Montoya. Ragan also drove a full-time Nationwide Series schedule, finished fifth and was its Rookie of the Year.

Still, the Chase seemed well beyond Ragan's grasp. He'd never (and still hasn't) finished better than third in a race in NASCAR's three national series and had only two top-fives and one other top-10 in Cup in 2007.

And yet, Ragan has emerged as one of the season's biggest surprises. With six races remaining to qualify for the 12-driver Chase, Ragan is well within striking distance, 56 points behind No. 12 Clint Bowyer and 98 behind No. 11 Matt Kenseth.

Ragan has been much like Bowyer was last year, a sleeper who quietly piled up top-fives and top-10s and made the Chase without a victory. Bowyer won the opening race of the Chase and ended up third in the championship.

In 20 races, Ragan has already put up better numbers than he did last year with three top-fives and six top-10s. He's also had 12 top-15s.

Roush hired Ragan for his potential, seeing a driver who doesn't know what it is to level off in the mid-pack. Ragan's record shows an ability to relentlessly develop into a consistently faster driver. When he makes mistakes, he learns from them.

Ragan's dad, Ken, drove in 50 Cup races in the '80s, never more than 10 in a season. Raised in Georgia, David began driving at 11, eventually winning a national Bandolero championship at 16 in 2002.

The Ragan family moved to Charlotte, N.C., the heart of NASCAR nation, in 2004 to provide David with more opportunity.

"We made a dedicated decision to move to Charlotte," David Ragan said. "It was the right move. We didn't have that much money or much opportunity in Georgia. We'd decided to do all we could for a couple of years to make it happen. To be successful in NASCAR, you have to be in Charlotte.

"My dad had a relationship with Speedway Motorsports and Humpy Wheeler and he got a job working with the Legends Series (where he's the General Manager of SMI's Legends Cars manufacturing division, 600 Racing). My mom was working and I was trying to finish high school, and racing."

Ragan drove in 10 races with Fiddleback Racing in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series and late models in 2004. In 2005, he drove in 28 ARCA races, winning once.

Roush annual held what was popularly known as the "Gong Show" to sign development drivers each fall. In 2005, he did a deal with the Discovery Channel to make it into a documentary and expanded the number of competitors to 26. The winner, designated Driver X, would receive a full season in the Truck series.

Ragan was one of 26 drivers picked.

"I was an unknown," he said. "I didn't have a big-time resume."

He didn't become Driver X. That honor went to Erik Darnell, who is in his third full season with Roush Fenway Racing in the Trucks. But Roush liked enough of what he saw in Ragan to sign him to a partial season deal to share another truck with Mark Martin.

"Ultimately, I wouldn't be here if not for Driver X," Ragan said.

He finished 22nd at Atlanta and 25th at Lowe's, but he also crashed out at Martinsville and Gateway in his opening four races for Roush Fenway. Next on the schedule was the half-mile track at Mansfield, Ohio.

"I was second quickest in the first practice, but I stuck it in the fence in the second," Ragan said.

Roush had seen enough. He sent Ragan home.

"He said, 'You don't have to do spectacular things,' " Ragan said. " 'We hired you and we believe in you. You've got to be smart, you've got to make good decisions.' "

It wasn't the final conversation of that type Ragan had with Roush.

"I must be a slow learner because it took a while to sink in," Ragan said. "We had a few other sit-down conversations to make me realize what is going on. I'd been winning 15 to 20 races a year in whatever I was driving my whole life and the Truck series was an eye opener. Once I got it, I calmed down a little bit and understood that once you get into Roush Fenway cars, good things will take care of themselves. "You can't do anything sitting in the garage. Being out there is what it's all about."

Ragan drove in 19 Truck races, with a top finish of fifth at Kentucky, and eight top-10s in 2006. Darnell had four top-fives and 12 top-10s in the full 25-race season.

When it came time to pick Martin's replacement, Roush also had Nationwide drivers Danny O'Quinn and Todd Kluever to choose from. He liked what he saw in Ragan.

One season and 20 races later, Ragan is in contention for the Chase.

"We definitely think the Chase is a possibility," Ragan said. "It's something we've looked at from day one. It's one-hundred percent all about the experience. Every track you go to the second time is easier. We're not sitting around here with our hands over our eyes. You learn from your mistakes and try to find solutions. I haven't shone way from my mistakes, I've tried to learn from them."