Looks like Almirola will take over the #43 in the Cup and Ragan will take over Almirola's ride (#88) in the Nationwide.

Wow! A ride is a ride I guess, maybe Regan can fine tune his abilities there...

I still don't know why Petty let Allmendinger go. Allmendinger had a great year behind him.

Just saw that on Speed ch. That's surprising...

If it is true David Ragan will drive in the 88 Nationwide series, that is a real shame. David deserves much better than that. David belongs in the Sprint Cup Series. Such a a waste of talent. Maybe David should go out on his own and get a sponsor and align with a smaller Sprint cup team.

I'm not sure that David deserves better than the Nationwide car.
I mean, he didn't really do much in his past 4 years with Roush.
If Roush does manage to find a sponsor for that #6 car in the Cup, I would rather see Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in than Ragan.

If David Ragan does not find a Ford team to drive for, he should rent a racecar from Roush and hire some of his former team members and try and get into the Daytona 500. David should have put away enough money from his days at Roush that he could at least afford a one race deal. He should have enough friends at UPS to get sponsorship for the biggest race of the year. If David really feels he belongs in Nascar, he should be willing to invest in his future by setting up a team to prove his true worth. People who go to college make a hugh financial investment in the hopes of graduating and getting a good job to make more money. No reason David should not make a big financial investment in his future.

Invest all of his life savings into one 2 hours long race? I'm not sure that anyone would do that ...

I am not asking him to invest his life savings for one race. He could be creative and make arrangements to have a racecar for the Daytona 500. We all know Nascar racing is very expensive, but the rewards can make up for the investment. Racers all over the country spend alot of money just to have fun racing. You would think David would have enough contacts built up over the years to help him get help from Roush, Ford , and UPS to get the necessary tools to setup a race team for the race he almost won last year. Renting a racecar from Roush would be alot less expensive than owning everything. It would be foolish to just walk away from racing without putting up some kind effort. In racing you have to make things work for yourself.

The only problem is - Ragan is not just another rookie who needs his big break to prove he can drive. He's been in NASCAR for like 5-6 years now - everybody already know his racing abilities.

True, David is no rookie, but he continually improved to make himself a contender for wins. There are many winning racers who did not perform as well as David did in 2011. His teammate Biffle always talked about winning but ended up dropping back as the race progressed. David cant afford to disappear from the Sprint cup if he wants to continue to be a raceer. David made very few errors racing and performed most pit stops perfectly. He may have only one one point paying race, but he put himself in position to win many races . He needs to focus on every chance at racing in the Sprint Cup.

Biffle was a Truck and Nationwide champ, he finished second and third in the Cup and he also qualified for the Chase pretty much every year so he can afford a off season.
Ragan drove for one of top teams in NASCAR and still managed only 1 win in 4 years. He was no better at Roush than Jamie McMurray was. Sometimes you just have to let a man go. Even if that #6 could find sponsor for the next season I would still replace Ragan with Stenhouse. Ragan will never be better than he is now. Stenhouse has a potential to be the next Carl Edwards or Matt Kenseth. It would be a shame to let that talent get wasted because of Ragan who, like I have said, didn't really do much during his 4 years with Roush.

It takes more than good equipment (which Ragan had) to win a race. It takes guts and stamina to drive that car to a win! All those guys out there make it look easier than it is! There's a lot of things to worry about when you are the one behind the wheel! Doing 140+ in a car that doesn't corner well will wear you out in every way imaginable! What's the first inclination you get when you almost loose the car in a turn? You slow down! But if you slow down in a Cup event because you lost nerve in a turn, there's the next turn staring you in the face! And if you don't charge it like there's nothing wrong, someone WILL pass you!

I know what it takes to win.
But I guess Ragan doesn't have it. And his excuse can't be "I can't do it because it's too hard". He needs to be replaced by a driver who has what it takes to win (whoever that driver is).

I just do not believe the blame should be placed on David Ragan for not winning enough in 2011. With spotters and crew chiefs playing such a large roll in winning a race, I dont think David had good spotters and did not have a crew chief that was willing to take risks to put David in victory lane. It seemed to me that all the Roush crew chiefs were more focused on having their drivers in the chase than winning races.
If David rented race cars for 2012 and ran his own team in selected events during 2012, I bet he could win races by using his own judgement as to when to pit and find the right strategy to win.

When is the last time this has happened in NASCAR? You are suggesting David own(rent), drive, and crew chief for select races . . . notgonnahappen.com. (I think Morgan Sheppard is the only driver in recent years who has done all three within a race . . . I think Morgan may have got out of the car at pit stops too if memory serves.)

Even if that happens, what team owner in the future will give him a car to drive with no crew chief?
Plus I don't think David has earned enough money in his NASCAR career to run a competitive team by himself. It's not exactly cheap to run its own team without sponsors (and there are no sponsors since none of them wanted to sponsor David in that #6 car).

I have never heard David Ragan make any excuses about not winning. David proved he deserved to be in Sprint Cup by winning a restrictor plate race. The restrictor plate races make everyone equal. For David to place himself in a position to win demonstrates he is a winner.
I dont think the number 6 team lost its sponsor because David did not win enough. Sponsors have had to pull out for many reasons. To sponsor a top team for the whole year will cost millions of dollars. David could more easily find sponsors who would like to sponsor a car on a race to race basis. He could maybe have a different sponsor for each race. Since Roush is going to a three car team, Jack may be willing to rent a car to someone for select races . With races teams down sizing, there must be crewmen looking to join a newly formed team. What other option does David have besides forming his own team ? We all realize it cost money to race Nascar, but there are ways cost can be decreased by renting equipment ?

Rent a racecar, a Pickup truck, a flatbed trailer... take a tool box, 2 sets of tires, (one for practice, one for qualifying) one tank of gas. No crew. Qualify....

Start and park! Boom! $50,000!!!


If you already had a car, I bet this could be done for less than a couple of grand per week...

UPDATE 5: Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that Aric Almirola will drive the legendary #43 Ford Fusion in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition beginning in 2012. Almirola has made 35 starts in the Sprint Cup Series, his most recent stint coming in 2010 when he finished the last five races of the season in the #9 Ford. During the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola posted a career-high, fourth-place effort. Almirola drove a JR Motorsports entry [#88 Chevy] in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2011 and capped off a successful season with a fourth-place finish in the championship point standings. "One of the things I am most excited about is to have the chance to drive a car as iconic as the #43," stated Almirola. "There is so much history surrounding that number and to have my name above the door will be really special for me. This is the first real opportunity I've had to drive in the Cup Series full time. Last year the #43 team had a lot of speed and was competitive on a weekly basis. Greg Erwin is a great crew chief and I'm excited to work with him. Everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports has a lot of enthusiasm and drive and I'm really looking forward to getting to work."
Almirola will join a team that is poised to compete for a spot in the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Paired with veteran Crew Chief Greg Erwin, Almirola will get behind the wheel for a team that earned one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 2011 en route to a 15th-place finish in the owner point standings.
"We are thrilled to welcome Aric Almirola into the RPM family," said team Co-owner Richard Petty. "We feel extremely fortunate to have had a number of very talented drivers interested in joining our organization, but ultimately we felt Aric would be the best fit for the team and for our current and potential partners. We have had the chance to watch his progress for the past several years and we had success with him in the past. We are really confident in his potential as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. We think Aric has all the makings to be the next bright star in our sport."(Richard Petty Motorsports)(1-4-2012)