The Concord, N.C. native is set to take off in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night.
Ragan, who drives for Roush Fenway Racing in the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion, has six prior Sprint Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best finish came in the fall of 2008, when he placed 10th.
Ragan finished sixth at the track last Saturday in the Sprint Showdown.
"I’m excited for another hometown race," Ragan said. "I feel like we learned a few things last weekend that we can apply to this weekend, but 600 miles is a long race. The track definitely changes going from day to night, so you need to keep making the right adjustments to keep up with it. Track position and patience will be key factors in surviving all 600 miles and getting a good finish Sunday night."
Ragan has three top-10 finishes in the Nationwide Series at Charlotte in six races.
He made one Camping World Truck Series start at Charlotte in 2006. Ragan qualified 12th and finished 25th.
Ragan finished in 24th place in the Coca-Cola 600 last year.
"The tricky part about the Coke 600," said crew chief Donnie Wingo, "is not only is it the longest race of the year, but it starts in the twilight and goes into the night, which can cause a balance swing, so you need to have enough adjustability in it. We’ll take some stuff from last week and try to improve some more. Track position will be very important, so we’ll focus a lot on that and try to get a good starting position."
