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Beyond the Cockpit: David Ragan on Kansas, Small Teams and Big Sponsors

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_When you think of David Ragan, your mind may immediately turn to the infamous “dart without feathers” moniker Tony Stewart bestowed upon Ragan in his rookie year. However, there is much more to the Georgia driver than an incident that took place back in 2007. His tenure with Roush Fenway Racing lasted from 2007 through 2011, but was rarely successful, resulting in only one win, and Ragan never finished any higher than 13th in points. After losing a full-time sponsor in UPS, Ragan left RFR and found a new home at Front Row Motorsports. Last year was his first full season with the team, and they earned a total of one top 5, two top 10s, and finished 28th in the standings, a baseline they have hoped to build on in 2013. After eight races, it’s been a tough road thus far – the No. 34 car is still searching for its first top-10 result – but Ragan still feels that his team can and will improve._

_Ragan sat down with Summer Bedgood over the weekend in Kansas to discuss the ups and downs of racing in the Sprint Cup Series._

Open Wheel Wednesday: Whither Worldwide Indy

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IndyCar just held one of its premier events, the kind that is supposed to pull in fans and keep its name close to the top of the headlines. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was an interesting, entertaining, and compelling race, one that included the second first-time winner this year in the series, Takuma Sato. What’s not to like?

The NBC Sports Network has, thus far, done a fantastic job of producing and airing the three races this season. The effort put into production is high, the commentary solid, and the overall product sound. Add in the fact that the network is even airing ads for the series during its F1 telecasts, and it’s clear to see that NBCSN is finally giving the series some love. Again, what’s not to like?

NASCAR Writer Power Rankings: Top 15 After Kansas-I

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It looks like the move to Joe Gibbs Racing has rejuvenated Matt Kenseth’s career. He is the league leader in laps led (482) and just won his second race of the season…and we’re only eight races into the year. To put it in perspective, Kenseth only had three wins in the entire 2012 season. There are no guarantees, but it looks like he is on his way to many more wins this season.

Five Points To Ponder: Stenhouse Amongst Sprint Cup Trio Hitting The Ground Running

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Much of the talk in the early part of this week has been of the seamless transition of Matt Kenseth to Joe Gibbs Racing following his ruthlessly dominant second win of the fledgling season – and rightly so. Kenseth has looked mighty impressive showing the form you would expect from a champion driver of his caliber, leading multiple laps at six of the eight circuits we’ve visited to date.

However, lost just a little in all the hype for the driver of the No. 20 car is another great third-place finish for old “Five Time” Jimmie Johnson, who now leads the standings by 37 – nearly a full race’s worth of points. In addition, Double J has finishes of first (Martinsville), second (Phoenix) and sixth (Texas) at the three other Chase tracks we’ve run at thus far. Johnson’s two solitary finishes outside the top six came at Fontana (12th) and at Bristol (22nd), where he blew a tire. Those are tracks that won’t matter in the long run, though.

It’s April, But Everyone’s Asking: Is Jimmie Johnson Running Away With It?

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Exiting Kansas, one thing is for sure: Jimmie Johnson is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2013.

Not that he isn’t usually a factor. His five straight Sprint Cup titles, from 2006-’10 aside, Johnson has finished in the top five in points during a full season in the series every year but one, when he managed _only_ sixth in 2011.

He was in the fight to the end with Brad Keselowski last season, but the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was edged out after finishes of 32nd and 36th to end the year. For 2013, Johnson appears to be taking no prisoners in his quest for a sixth championship. Of course, once one makes the Chase, the field is equaled a bit, so even if he accumulates a, say, 100-point lead over second, much of that vanishes after race 26.

Seems like there’s always a lot of discontent around NASCAR when Jimmie Johnson is merely winning, let alone leading the points.

Who’s Hot / Who’s Not In Sprint Cup: Kansas-Richmond Edition

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The map continues to be drawn for the performance capabilities of the Generation-6 models, and the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway helped to silence critics after spread out racing showed its prevalence in Fort Worth. Drivers battled an extremely slick, fast track that left teams constantly reeling to find the perfect setup. Matt Kenseth wasn’t fazed by a plethora of cautions brought about by those who struggled to get a handle on their cars; restarts alone left the racing more competitive than what we saw down in Texas last Saturday night.

So who should we be championing this Tuesday, after a second straight intermediate? This edition of Who’s Hot and Who’s Not shows that while Kenseth was among those who overcame cautions by using good strategy, some others, who needed a decent finish after getting off on the wrong foot, left Kansas City disgruntled.