NASCAR top-tier ride: Making the case for David Ragan

There are several NASCAR Cup Series drivers who deserve better rides. David Ragan is one of them. Will he ever get a ride with a top-tier team?

David Ragan, 31, has spent a few seasons driving for some decent teams in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has performed well for the solid teams he has driven for, and that’s despite the fact that none of the teams he has ever driven for have been as good as some of the sport’s top-tier teams.

Ragan began driving full-time in the Cup Series in 2007 for Roush Fenway Racing, and he kicked off his time there with a 5th place finish at the Daytona 500. He drove for the team for five seasons before driving for Front Row Motorsports full-time from 2012 to 2014. He then drove for Front Row Motorsports in the 2015 Daytona 500 before making the transition to Joe Gibbs Racing to replace the injured Kyle Busch for a few races.

After nine races as Busch’s replacement, Ragan drove for Michael Waltrip Racing for the rest of 2015. In 2016, he ended up with BK Racing before making a return to Front Row Motorsports this season. In 387 career Cup Series starts, he has 15 top 5 finishes and 38 top 10 finishes.

More from NASCAR

• NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
• NASCAR: Will Kevin Harvick’s major record ever be broken?
• NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
• NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
• NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago

So far this season, Ragan sits in 29th place in the championship standings. His top finish of the season is 6th place, and he has four more finishes in the top 20, including another one in the top 10.

While Ragan hasn’t finished in the top 5 in over two seasons since when he was the replacement driver for Kyle Busch at the top-tier Joe Gibbs Racing team, he does have two top 10 finishes in the last 16 races with a 10th place finish at Talladega and a 6th place finish at Daytona, the two tracks where his two career victories have come at. As evidenced during his time replacing Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing especially, Ragan could shine if given the chance to drive for a top-tier team.

Next: Top 10 active NASCAR drivers of all-time

Do you believe David Ragan deserves a Cup Series ride with a top-tier organization? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter.