Like every race-car driver, David Ragan is working hard to place himself with a competitive team for next season. The problem is that the 29-year-old thought he had already done that when he decided to leave Ford and Front Row Motorsports after the Daytona 500 to substitute for the injured Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing “ and later replacing the ailing Brian Vickers at Michael Waltrip Racing. But yet again, Ragan isn’t sure what he will be doing next season with the announcement that Waltrip will be closing his doors by the end of the season. “I think it makes my day a little busier,” Ragan said of his job search. “But I don’t think it adds stress and that’s just how I am. I joke all the time that I wouldn’t feel any stress at all if the world was coming to an end and I didn’t have any balance left in my bank account. So yeah man, I’m focused on this year and I want to end it on a good note for Aaron’s and (crew chief) Brian Pattie as well as Michael Waltrip and Rob Kaufmann. I’d love to win a race or sit on the pole and lead some laps “ end the season on a good note. But I’m also going to have to keep my ears open on what’s available for next year.” Ragan explained that he is in a bit of a holding pattern when it comes to making a decision just because he needs some other teams to announce their plans before seeing how it ultimately affects his options. “We’ve got to play out a few scenarios first because obviously the big teams are full and it takes a lot of resources in this garage to have a competitive car,” Ragan said. “But that’s my goal “ to be with a good program moving forward in any of the top three series so we can have fun and go for wins.(Autoweek)(9-6-2015)
