Warning: Objects in this post may be the only way to successfully live through the NASCAR off-season. For best results, read rearview mirror early and often.
Driver: David Ragan
Team: No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
'08 Final Standing: 13th (-2385)
Best Race: New Hampshire (4th-place)
Worst Race: Kansas & Phoenix (43rd-place)
Season in a box: Ragan's biggest impact on the Sprint Cup Series came after his first race at Martinsville when Tony Stewart deemed the then-rookie a "dart without feathers." After 2008, though, Ragan has gained quite a bit more respect from the entire series.
Ragan started the season in an ugly fashion with a wreck that took out teammate Matt Kenseth at the Daytona 500 to find the driver from Unadilla, Ga., (go ahead, say it. U-NA-DILL-UH) with a 42nd-place finish in the season's first race. Fortunately, such mistakes weren't typical of Ragan's season.
Ragan picked up an impressive 6 Top-5 finishes and 14 Top-10s over the 36-race schedule, with his best finish of 3rd at Michigan and Talladega. Over the course of the last 8 races after narrowly missing out on an improbable run to the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Ragan reeled off 7 Top-15 finishes and had a lowest finish of 24th in the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Through the crystal windshield: Looking ahead to 2009, the future really couldn't be brighter for Ragan.
He truly finished 2008 in a fashion that at least met the expectations of car owner Jack Roush, and for everyone else in the garage area, far exceeded them. His No. 6 car has been close to victory lane, and more importantly, Ragan has shown he's about as cool as them under pressure and that he has the consistency to make a worthwhile run in NASCAR.
Ragan has shown a lot talent quite quickly in NASCAR, and after his 2008 campaign, I see Ragan being a Chase contender in 2009.
Next up: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
