Ragan heats up in Atlanta and so do the peanuts

STATESVILLE, N.C. (August 27, 2013) - After finishing 12th at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night, David Ragan feels he's just getting warmed up. Things are about to get even hotter as the No. 34 team heads to sizzling Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway with Peanut Patch Hot Boiled Peanuts on its Ford Fusion.

The Cajun-spiced snack brings an entirely new paint scheme to the No. 34 Ford - a fiery orange and yellow design that also features associate sponsor RaceTrac. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Ragan, get an autograph and try some free Peanut Patch samples on Saturday, Aug. 31, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Hampton, Ga., RaceTrac near Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Ragan will bring the experience of participating in a recent tire test at the 1.5-mile oval as well as 10 previous Atlanta starts when he takes the green flag for Sunday night's AdvoCare 500. His best finish at the venue is eighth (2008).

Comments from Peanut Patch Hot Boiled Peanuts team driver David Ragan heading to Atlanta:

"Atlanta Motor Speedway is a challenging racetrack even though it appears to be very similar to Charlotte or Texas or even Chicago and Kansas somewhat. That asphalt is just really wore out and it's just very hard on the tires. It drives a lot differently than those other tracks. It is a 1.5-mile tri-oval but it's a lot different than the others.

"We really have to work hard at getting our car to handle well on old tires. Five hundred miles at Atlanta is one of the longest races of the year. It seems like it goes on forever. It's a tough race, but I always look forward to it because it's in my backyard. I love being back home in Georgia. It's a big race for our sponsor, Peanut Patch Hot Boiled Peanuts, and for our team owner, Bob Jenkins. It's going to be a fun weekend and we're looking forward to it.

"We got a top-15 finish for Peanut Patch last weekend at Bristol, which we were real excited about and proud of as a team, and we'll be looking to have another good weekend for them at Atlanta. We've got a cool new paint scheme, we've got some events where fans can get some autographs, it's a holiday weekend -- it's going to be fun.

"Atlanta is one of the raciest mile-and-a-half's we go to just because of the fact that there's multiple grooves and the tires fall off a lot. Charlotte is very, very close, and Texas is very, very close. They've aged well since they've been paved years ago. But Atlanta has some characteristics that make it tough. You've got guys that can run the bottom, run the middle and run the very top. You've got guys that are good on new tires for a few laps but then the tires wear out, and then you see a different group of guys that are fast. I think it's got a lot of different characteristics that make for a good race."

Front Row Motorsports