David Ragan: Expect a surprise winner (or several) in the Chase - MotorSportsTalk

David Ragan and Front Row Motorsports delivered the most stunning result of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season one year ago at Talladega Superspeedway, when Ragan led teammate David Gilliland to a 1-2 finish.

This year, repeating that feat would put Ragan in the Chase for the Sprint Cup thanks to the new format that allows drivers to effectively make the post-season with a victory.

Yesterday, Ragan was upfront about FRM’s chances, saying that “we are not a Chase contender, we’re a wild card contender.” But he recognizes the opportunity that has emerged in 2014 for FRM and other small teams.

“We are not consistent enough to win several races [or] click off five or six top-10s in a row and we realize that,” he said. “But what NASCAR has done has given us a chance to be in the Chase for the championship and that would really change the course of Front Row Motorsports and what we’re trying to achieve as a team and personally as a driver.”

Altogether, he expects to see a surprise regular season winner or two that perhaps may not be able to truly contend in the Chase but can at least get into it and raise their team’s status like Kurt Busch did with Furniture Row Racing last year.

With the “Outlaw” in the cockpit, FRR shook its also-ran status and became the only single-car team to ever make the Chase since its inception in 2004 (Busch is now at Stewart-Haas Racing, while FRR’s running with Martin Truex Jr.)

Ragan sees several competitors that could help their team follow FRR’s lead.

“I think you look at AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears – they’ve been running a lot better this year – even look at the Petty cars, Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola – they are not consistent enough to make the Chase in the old format,” he said. “I think they would admit that too.

“Look at our team, you look at Tommy Baldwin’s guys, Reed Sorenson had a shot to win the Daytona 500 this year. Yes, there will be one, maybe two cars, that will benefit from the new changes and will make the Chase, absolutely.”

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”