NASCAR’s Back, MLB’s Back: We Talk To Driver David Ragan About The Atlanta Braves
By Jeff Schafer
The Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers reported to their camp in Disney on Friday and just like that, baseball is back! The NASCAR season has also began with the great american race, the Daytona 500.
A huge NASCAR fan, Chipper Jones, picked him favorite to win the Daytona 500 this morning.
Wanna wish @JeffGordonWeb good luck in his final Daytona 500 today! Pulling for ya buddy!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) February 22, 2015
In light of both seasons starting, we talk to longtime Atlanta Braves fan and NASCAR driver David Ragan about a little NASCAR and baseball.
TomahawkTake: Being originally from Georgia, were you born into a Braves family or when did you first become a Braves fan?
David Ragan: My Grandad was a big Braves fan. So I can remember watching games with him. We would go to a few Braves games a year in Atlanta and the Macon Braves were still playing when I was a kid as well.
Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
TT: You still lived in Georgia when the Braves won their only championship in 1995, can you say a few words about the year they won…what you were doing when they won, what Atlanta was like, etc
DR: I remember David Justice hitting the solo homerun in the game… We were in Atlanta the following couple of days, and I remember begging my dad to stop by then Fulton County Stadium and buy some Championship gear….
TT: What is your fondest memory from being a Braves fan?
DR: My first trip to Turner Field was pretty cool, and certainly the 95 Championship…. We went to one of the games in 98 when the Turner field was pretty new, and it was a cool experience….
TT: Who is your all-time favorite Atlanta Braves player?
DR: Everyone says Chipper (Jones) but I was a big Javy Lopez Fan. I played Catcher and he was a good player for a number of years… So I always liked him, I have done a few events the last few years around Atlanta and got to meet him a few times and he is a great guy. Honorable Mention is John Rocker… No one was more dominant than he was when he had is head on straight
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TT: Do you ever talk baseball in the NASCAR garage with other drivers? And if so, what drivers and what are the conversations like?
DR: Sometimes… Kenny Wallace is a big Cardinals fan, and we go back and forth sometimes…. Kurt Busch has gone to all the Major League parks… I went with him to a Giants game a few years back, and he knows his baseball. You will always see some of the NASCAR people at the baseball games if they are close to the Racetracks…
TT: Where do you think the Braves will finish in the NL East and who will be their toughest competition in their division (Nationals, Phillies, Mets)?
DR: The Nationals will be the competition… I have a feeling they will finish 2nd…
TT: What is one thing from the Braves you most looking forward to watching?
DR: Seeing if they can beat the Nationals during the regular season, and praying their pitching stays healthy….