Michael Waltrip Racing boosted its Chase for the Sprint Cup hopes Tuesday when it officially named David Ragan as the driver of its No. 55 car for the remainder of the season beginning in two weeks at Kansas Speedway.
Brian Vickers had started the season in the No. 55, but a recurrence of blood clots forced him to step out of the ride while on blood thinning medication. Rookie Brett Moffitt has been substituting since.
But with Ragan's own substitute driver duty about to expire -- he's been filling in for the injured Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing -- MWR secured his services for the remainder of the season.
Ragan had politely declined to comment on the MWR situation when asked by USA TODAY Sports on Friday, but said in a statement the only way to repay the team was to put it into the 16-driver playoff.
"It's going to be awesome knowing when I climb in the No. 55 at Kansas that car will be mine the rest of the season," he said. "I look forward to working with (teammate) Clint Bowyer, the crew and shop employees at MWR. It's tough what's happened to them this year but I hope I can come in and make 2015 something special."
Though he is currently 19th in the Sprint Cup Series standings, Ragan could put MWR into the Chase either by winning a race or finishing high enough in points to qualify for the 16-driver playoff this fall.
That's a chance MWR didn't have once Vickers had to step out of the car. Co-owner Michael Waltrip said Ragan's signing was "incredible" and "a very positive turn of events for that team."
"Life has thrown a lot at MWR the first part of this racing season, but our team has stood tall and worked through it," he said. "Our original plans for the No. 55 team have been challenged since December and we felt it was important for our employees and our sponsors to solidify the remainder of the 2015 season."
As for Vickers, Waltrip said there was no need to "add any timeline pressures" to have him rush back. It's unclear when and if Vickers can return, because he has now dealt with blood clots on multiple occasions.
"We are going to remain very close with Brian while he works on his plan to return," Waltrip said. "We have told him that MWR is here when he has a clear picture about what the future holds. He is working with a lot of medical advisors and once he has established his plan, we will sit down and discuss next steps."
Waltrip will drive the No. 55 car this week at Talladega Superspeedway before Ragan steps in at Kansas. JGR has not announced its plans for the No. 18 car, but team owner Joe Gibbs said earlier this month he wanted to get rookie Erik Jones in a Sprint Cup car sooner than later (there's no timetable for Busch's return).
Meanwhile, Ragan's original car for this season -- the No. 34 at Front Row Motorsports -- will have to move on without the driver it loaned to JGR on a temporary basis.
"We are grateful to David Ragan for his contributions to the growth of Front Row Motorsports and his commitment to our partners over the past three years," team owner Bob Jenkins said. "He led us on our first trip to victory lane, and that's a moment we'll never forget. We wish him the best with his new team."
Front Row will have Chris Buescher in the No. 34 car for Talladega. A driver lineup beyond this week has not been determined.
