Barrett Jackson To Back Ragan at PIR

The No. 34 Ford Fusion won't be up for auction, but the renowned Barrett-Jackson auto auction will be all over it at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. The famed automotive auction house will be the primary sponsor of David Ragan's Front Row Motorsports entry in this weekend's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the one-mile desert oval.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company specializes in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners and automotive enthusiasts around the world. The company produces the "World's Greatest Collector Car Events" in Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Fla., Las Vegas and Orange County, Calif.

"Barrett-Jackson is excited to sponsor David Ragan's No. 34 Ford this Sunday," said Craig Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. "This is not only a tremendous opportunity for Barrett-Jackson to increase its visibility on racing's biggest stage, but an honor to be involved in NASCAR's most celebrated competition series."

Ragan is ready to get back in the saddle after a disappointing second-lap crash in Monday’s rain-delayed Daytona 500. He has 10 career Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix, with a top finish of 10^th in 2008. Sunday's race airs on FOX with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. (ET) and on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

"It's really cool having Barrett-Jackson on our No. 34 Ford Fusion this weekend,” said Ragan. “Who doesn't love the Barrett-Jackson auctions? It's like a car collector's Disney World. I know because I'm a bit of a collector myself. I love getting my hands on some of the old classics - they just have so much character and style. So, I think this partnership is perfect. And it's in the perfect place, right in their backyard, too.

"Obviously, Daytona was really disappointing,” he said. “We saw over the course of Speedweeks that the track conditions and the car set-ups made for some pretty dicey racing, so we expected to be on the look-out for that in the 500. But we sure didn't expect to be taken out on the second lap. But, we've already put that behind us.

"It'll be good to go to Phoenix, where we think we'll at least have a little more control over our own destiny. We're in a situation where we have to run a strong race and get as many points as possible, and I think the car that our crew chief, Jay Guy, has been working on for us will help us do that. I ran pretty well on the short tracks last year, and we've all got one race with the new configuration under our belts, so we know what we need to go do this weekend. I'm really anxious to get back in the car and get a good run in our Barrett-Jackson Ford Fusion."