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David Ragan made his return to the NASCAR Cup Series for the Daytona 500 on February 20, an eighth-place finish. Now he has added another start to his 2022 schedule, Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Rick Ware Racing announced the news on March 9 and confirmed that Ragan will return to the No. 15 Ford Mustang for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 20 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). He will have Select Blinds as his primary partner once again after working with the company in the Daytona 500. FIREBULL, an F3 Fluorine Free foam firefighting agent, will join the No. 15 team as an associate partner.
“Atlanta Motor Speedway is a special track to me and my family,” Ragan said in a press release from Rick Ware Racing. “I wanted to come back and see a lot of my fans and friends, and also be a part of the inaugural race on the 28-degree banking. The track looks great and I can’t want to hit the track with our Select Blinds Ford Mustang.”
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RWR Previously Teased Other Starts for Ragan
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GettyDavid Ragan will make multiple starts.
When RWR originally revealed that Ragan would make his return to the team for the Daytona 500, the team included other important details in the press release. The Cup Series team noted that he would make multiple starts in the No. 15 Ford Mustang.
RWR did not detail which races would feature Ragan as the driver, but the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway and both races at Talladega Superspeedway stood out as solid options. The reason is that eight of Ragan’s 16 career top-five finishes and both of his wins took place at Talladega and Daytona.
With Atlanta Motor Speedway now featuring 28-degree banked turns and the same horsepower package (510 horsepower, seven-inch spoilers) as the superspeedways, it is only fitting that Ragan takes on the races at the Georgia track. He will have an opportunity to showcase his superspeedway expertise at the reconfigured venue.
Another Driver Finished a 2-Race Stint
GettyGarrett Smithley arrives at Michigan International Speedway.
While Ragan kicked off the year in the No. 15 Ford Mustang, another driver took over for the west coast swing of the schedule. Garrett Smithley made his return to RWR, starting with the February 27 trip to Auto Club Speedway.
The Pennsylvania native took over the No. 15 Ford for the Wise Power 400, and he avoided multiple incidents before securing a 21st-place finish. He then headed over to Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finished 30th overall in a race filled with caution flags.
Smithley will now cap off his portion of the early schedule with a return to Phoenix Raceway on March 9. He has five starts at the one-mile track in his Cup Series career, four with RWR, and a career-best finish of 31st in 2019 and 2021. Now, however, Smithley will take over the No. 15 that features a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing and he will strive to secure a better finish with stronger equipment.
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