The No. 50 Purpose Money Ford 150 at Atlanta. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

David Ragan headed to Atlanta this weekend full of optimism and excitement. Heading back to the track where he made his debut with Roush Racing and coming home to his native Georgia, Ragan hoped to score a solid finish in front of his local friends and family. Ragan brought his F-150 home in the sixth position, scoring his seventh top-10 finish of the 2006 season.

Ragan started the race in the 11th position, and reported quickly that his truck was loose at both ends of the speedway. Ragan was able to hold his position and not give up any ground to the field despite his handling issues. "I just need some clean air and I'll be alright," he reported to his crew. Ragan took advantage of a debris caution at lap 42 to bring the Purpose Money Ford to pit road for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to help the handling of the No. 50 Ford. Ragan restarted the event in the eighth position, and continued to run inside the top-10 over the course of the long green flag run.

The No. 4 truck had an incident that brought out the caution on lap 78, setting the stage for final pit stops. Ragan brought his Ford down pit road for tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment. The Purpose Money crew was able to complete the service quickly and sent Ragan back on track for the restart in the sixth position. Ragan shuffled his position in the running order over the remaining laps as the multi-groove Atlanta Motor Speedway provided the racing action it is known for. A late caution period bunched the field back together for one final restart, and Ragan made the most of it. He restarted in the ninth position at lap 121, and was able to pick off three trucks in front of him to bring home a strong sixth-place finish when the checkered flag fell on lap 130.

"This was a great way to kick off our program with Purpose Money," said Ragan. "I love racing at Atlanta, it's just so much fun to race here."

"We're pretty happy with our effort here today, it would have been great to get up there inside the top-five, but we're not going to complain. The guys on pit road did a great job for us today, they helped us gain some positions on pit road. I'm really proud of everyone on this team. They've all worked really hard and you can see that this team has come together. Michel Jourdain will be in this Purpose Money Ford next week at Texas, and I know that they are looking forward to coming back here after their great run in the spring race there. It was a great race for us today, and I can't wait to get back in the Purpose Money Ford in a few weeks."