David Ragan

David Ragan, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Starting Position: 24

Finishing Position: 24

David Ragan and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team felt they were going to have a good weekend at Martinsville Speedway within their first few laps of practice on Friday.  Ragan's No. 34 Fusion was handling well and had good speed right off the hauler, which resulted in a 24th-place starting position for Sunday's Goody's Fast Relief 500.

In what proved to be a race without many incidents and mostly green-flag laps, the team just worked on tweaking the car as best they could over the course of the afternoon.  Unfortunately, they found that long green-flag runs were working against them, as Ragan reported his car's handling would start out strong and aggressive but then worsen the longer it ran between pit stops.

Ragan held his position around the top-25 mark for most of the race, and was in 25th when the biggest action of the day began with three scheduled laps to go.  A caution flag flew on Lap 497 when David Reutimann stalled on the frontstretch, setting the race up for a green-white-checkered flag finish.  Ragan restarted in 25th and the field did not even complete a lap before a multi-car accident at the front of the field brought out the caution once again.  

NASCAR took a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, with Ragan once again restarting in 25th.  He managed to gain one additional position in the final two laps to cross the finish line in 24th for his fourth top-25 finish in six races with Front Row Motorsports.  The finish moved the No. 34 team up to 28th in owner points as NASCAR heads into the holiday week off before heading to Texas.

Comments from Front Row Motorsports team driver David Ragan after the Martinsville race:    

David Gilliland

David Gilliland, No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford

Starting Position: 38

Finishing Position: 28

On his 36th birthday, David Gilliland was looking to celebrate with a solid run at Martinsville Speedway -- a track that, unfortunately, has not treated him well in the past.  He took the green flag in 38th, hoping to get rid of the tight-handling condition that he and crew chief Pat Tryson worked against for most of the weekend.

At the end of day, Gilliland probably would still tell you that Martinsville was not his favorite track.  But he did have two things working in his favor over the course of the day to help his result.  Tryson and the No. 38 Long John Silver's team succeeded in improving the car each time it came to pit road.  And the MHP Pit Crew turned in solid stop after solid stop all afternoon, gaining Gilliland extra spots on a day that they were tough to come by.  At the midpoint of the race, Gilliland was up to 27th.

As typical for a short-track like Martinsville, the number of cars on the lead lap shrunk more and more, and by the closing laps there were only 15 cars on the lead lap.  Gilliland spent the final portion of the race on a lap of his own in 28th position, unable to pass for position.  Despite the two cautions and the two green-white-checkered attempts at the end, he remained in that spot to finish 28th.   The No. 38 team is now 31st in owner points.

Comments from Long John Silver's team driver David Gilliland after the Martinsville race:

"It may not have looked like a fantastic run, but it was a really good effort by our Long John Silver's Ford team.  Pat and the guys worked hard on the car all day and our MHP Pit Crew was just 'on it' all day long.  They really helped us out in a few places where we couldn't gain any spots on track.

"Martinsville has never been a favorite of mine, so I'll take 28th, go rest up on the off week, and be excited to get to Texas in two weeks." 

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