Hands on his hips, David Ragan stood on Daytona International Speedway’s pit road contemplating the events that unfolded in the closing laps of Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400.
NASCAR at Daytona recap: David Ragan sees Cinderella win, playoff berth slip away
David Ragan was leading with two laps remaining, but a wrong move cost himself both a win and a spot in the Cup Series playoffs.
Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
A race-record 14 cautions had whittled down the field considerably, sidelining many top contenders and opening the door for a potential surprise winner to emerge and grab an unlikely spot in the 16-driver playoff field. And following an overtime restart with two laps remaining, Ragan appeared poised to be cast as Cinderella and punch his ticket to NASCAR’s postseason that begins in the fall.
Then came a decision Ragan admitted later he would second-guess and replay over in his head countless times. As the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was positioned in the lead, Ragan saw rookie Ty Dillon charging on the outside with a head of steam. The journeyman, who’s renowned for his ability in restrictor-plate races, swung to the top side to block Dillon and cutoff his momentum.
Ragan accomplished his goal; Dillon quickly fell back and finished 16th. But while Ragan had seen Dillon, he did not see Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was directly behind Ragan and had momentum on his side as well thanks to a push from Michael McDowell.
And when Ragan opened the door, Stenhouse pounced. Without hesitation he quickly filled the hole, preventing Ragan from cutting back across the track and blocking him.
“I zigged when I should have zagged,” Ragan said. “It’s tough to block two or three lanes coming to the white flag. I missed it on that run.
“Over the years, if you’re in those situations more, you just make better decisions on the fly. That’s the first time I’ve been leading like that [late] at a plate race in several years. I was probably a little slow to be looking in my mirrors good enough. I just didn’t know (Stenhouse) and (McDowell) had that good of a run.”
It was a costly misstep by Ragan, who didn’t have time to recover. He would slide to sixth, a respectable finish under almost any other circumstances but a result that on this night was tough to stomach.
Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway are the two tracks where teams like FRM can compete against the heavyweights on almost equal footing. Three times during the regular season the restrictor-plate ovals offer a plum opportunity for midsize organizations to punch above its weight class and snatch away a victory.
Ragan had done just that when in 2013 he won at Talladega. That season a win didn’t essentially lock a driver into the playoffs. But NASCAR has since changed its postseason format and now a win in any of the 26 regular season races brings with it a chance to compete for the championship in the fall.
Those were the stakes Saturday night. Except instead of surprise victor like Ragan celebrating in the winner’s circle, it was Stenhouse scoring his second win of the season.
“I made a couple bad moves tonight, but everybody was watching when I made the bad move at the end,” Ragan said. “If it was Thursday and you said, ‘We’ll give a sixth-place finish,’ I probably would’ve taken that coming down to Daytona because my record hasn’t been that great the last several years here.”
Afterward, Ragan attempted to put on a brave face. He warmly accepted handshakes from crew members congratulating him on a job well done, and tried to find solace by comparing this to another Daytona defeat he experienced six years ago.
In 2011, Ragan was leading the Daytona 500 on an overtime restart when NASCAR ruled he had changed lanes before the start/finish line. The penalty cost him a likely win in the sport’s marquee race and later that season he lost his ride with RFF when his sponsor left. Ever since, he’s bounced around unable to land with a team like the one he used to drive for, the same one Stenhouse took to victory lane Saturday night.
“I lost the Daytona 500 down here, so losing the Coke Zero 400, that ain’t nothin’,” Ragan said.
Still, this stung. A fact Ragan couldn’t deny.
“To be that close is bittersweet,” Ragan said. “It hurts, but I got a lot of racing left and I’m a tough guy. I can handle it.”
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