RAGAN LETS ANGUISH GO
Our series of NASCAR driver interviews continues with David Ragan, who drives the No. 23 car for BK Racing. Ragan is 30th in the Sprint Cup Series standings entering this weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway.
Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?
A: Being that I have kids (two daughters), my errands and chores are pretty busy. I wash dishes; I help prepare the meals; I definitely change diapers; I help clean the house some. I do a little bit of everything. There’s really nothing I consider off-limits.
Q: What do you cook?
A: I’m not a big grill master by any means, but we freeze a lot of chicken and fish we can thaw out really quick and just throw on the grill. I can grill OK. The stuff is edible, but it’s by no means gourmet.
Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?
A: The 2011 Daytona 500 (when he was penalized for changing lanes before the start/ finish line on a green-whitecheckered restart). That was a race that could have changed the course of my career; winning the Daytona 500 might have kept UPS around a little bit longer. At the time, I felt like I didn’t do anything wrong. I clearly understand the rule now, but at that point NASCAR wasn’t enforcing the rule — and I was the one they decided to make an example out of. I hate it all came down to that. I wish it had been Pocono instead of the Daytona 500.
Q: Does it stick with you? Do you think about the what-ifs a lot?
A: Life happens, and you adjust for what’s next. I’m grateful a lot of things have gone right in my career. I’ve gotten breaks at the right time, and I’ve been able to win a few races. I don’t dwell on it or feel any type of remorse from making a mistake. I can think about it with a smile; I don’t get depressed when I think about it.
Q: The longest race of the year was the recent CocaCola 600. But how long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?
A: I thought about this question during the race. On one of the last cautions, I looked up and it was like 40 to go, and I thought, “I wonder how many more miles I could physically run?” I think we could all go longer; I just don’t know how long we could go at 100%. We could probably run 1,500 miles or a 12-hour race, but you would be very inconsistent with lap times, and the pace would slow down. The racing wouldn’t be as good. So we could probably run 200 more miles and still have all the drivers running 100%, but that’s probably all we could go while competing at a high level.
Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers, and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?
A: Make NASCAR Great Again. (Grins.) No, that was a joke. NASCAR is pretty great right now.
I’d be like other politicians and just promise everything and then once you get elected, just do what you want. In order to be a politician, you can’t say the truth. You can’t say what you really mean. You just have to say what it takes to get elected. Then once you get elected, you hire all your buddies and take care of all the people who donated to your campaign. I hope I’m never a politician.
Q: What do you think your reputation is — and is that reputation accurate?
A: I think my reputation is, “David is a good guy, a good family man and a good racer.” I think that’s pretty accurate. I hope it is, anyway. I like to think of myself first as a good person, because after this racing is all done and the money is all gone and the trophies are rotting away, you still have your family and your reputation as being a person. This is just a sport; it’s not your entire life. I try to keep that in perspective. I don’t want to regret missing out on things in my life, because this is just a small portion of what I hope my life will be.
Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in a restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?
A: I’d have traditional, real American, country-style kitchen and hire a bunch of grandmas as cooks. You can’t beat good meat and fresh vegetables. It doesn’t have to be super fancy with little leaves and flowers laying on your plate with a demi-glace swirl and artistic designs. Just some fried chicken and fresh beans and corn on the cob and a nice homemade biscuit is a pretty good meal.
Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?
A: Got married. (Smiles.) That was a joke. ... I don’t know that I’ve really done anything daring where I risked my life or risked injury. I do go hiking and skiing, but that’s pretty common. I’ve picked up some hitchhikers before.
Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race it’s going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?
A: Brian France. I know that’s been a popular answer this year, but Brian is obviously the head of our sport and someone who isn’t around the garage a lot. He’s not at the test sessions a lot. He’s not walking on pit road before the race. So I’d like to see Brian in the race car, because I’d not only want him to see when we take the green flag on a restart and go four-wide at Michigan — and how awesome that is — but also how much of a struggle it is when you catch a car and you get in that dirty air. I’d just want him to be able to see things firsthand.
Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?
A: I’m only 30 years old, so maybe I’ll be there. If I win the Sprint Cup in 2021, I’m retiring. I’ll be done. I’ll retire in Las Vegas at the awards ceremony.