Raybestos Rookie Happy Hour practice speeds:
Ragan 16th
Reutimann 23rd
Menard 28th
Montoya 35th

David Ragan was the top Raybestos Rookie in today’s final practice session at Kansas Speedway. Ragan will start 18th in Sunday’s LifeLock 400.

DAVID RAGAN, No. 6 AAA INSURANCE FORD: HOW IS YOUR CAR? “It’s not bad. I think everybody is kind of fighting the same problem, just a lack of grip, really tight. But you know, it’s all in who has the speed on the get-go. I wish we could find another tenth or so but as far as handling-wise, after 10 laps, I think we’re about as equal as everybody. Our AAA Ford Fusion is pretty good. I feel like we’ve got a good car. It’s just a matter of being there at the end and making the right adjustments on it throughout the day.” WILL FRESH TIRES BE A BIG FACTOR HERE IN THE RACE? “Oh sure. When you’re fighting grip certainly new tires helps everything. You’ll see on every stop everybody putting four tires on. Now next weekend at Talladega, new asphalt, you’ll see a lot of two-tire stops. But here, four tires, it’s going to mean everything.” HOW KEEP FRESH TIRES BUT NOT SACRIFICE TRACK POSITION? “Well, you know, you’re going to have some guys taking gambles with two or short-pitting trying to pick up some track position. Maybe if you lose a little track position you’ll make it up over a long run. I suspect we’ll have some long runs here on Sunday. It’s a 400-mile race so it’ll probably be over pretty quick but for the most part I think four tires are going to be very important.” IS THIS THE POINT OF THE SEASON WHERE YOU’RE NOT REALLY A ROOKIE? “I’m certainly not the Raybestos Rookie that I was in Daytona and I’m not the rookie that I was two or three weeks ago. We’re learning every weekend being more comfortable. We know what we need to do. It’s just a matter of getting it done and figuring out how to get there. We all know where we want to be, we know what the car needs to feel like but they [the veterans] just can get it so much quicker where it takes us a little more trial and error. But for the most part I feel like we’re a lot better off and that’s the whole thing about this year. We’re just trying to progress and certainly don’t want to go the other way.” CAN YOU TELL THAT PEOPLE RACE YOU WITH MORE RESPECT? “I feel like over the past six months, when you qualify well or be able to race up front, you get to race with those top guys you can basically look at the qualifying results, finishing results and practice results and put everybody in the front 10 or 15, the middle 10 or 15 and the back 10 or 15. I feel like we’ve been in that middle part and every now and then we’ll get up there with the front guys. That really feels good and that’s what it’s all about. We’ve got to get up front, got to get up in the top-10.”