Much Improved -- Vickers & Ragan

By far the two most improved drivers this year on the Sprint Cup circuit are David Ragan and Brian Vickers.

Ragan drives the #6 AAA Ford Fusion for Roush-Fenway Racing. Brian Vickers drives the #83 Red Bull Toyota Camry for Red Bull Racing.

When Ragan first broke into the Cup Series, Tony Stewart referred to him as a dart without feathers due to the fact that he was always spinning out and brining out cautions.

Vickers is a Hendrick Motorsports outcast. He won the Busch Series championship with the team, but struggled with the constantly ignored #25 car for HMS. In his tenure with HMS in the Cup Series, Vickers only captured one win, and boy was it controversial. Remember Talladega? When Vickers hit his teammate Jimmie Johnson, sending him into Dale Earnhardt Jr. While they both spun into the grass, Vickers went on to capture his first Cup Series win under caution.

Let's take a look at last year's statistics for the drivers.



David Ragan

Starts: 36 (All Races)
Average Start: 29.1
Average Finish: 24.5
Points: 3251
Earnings: $4,728,400

(Sorry for not going extremely in depth).

Brian Vickers

Starts: 23 (Yep, bunch of DNQs)
Average Start: 23.0
Average Finish: 25.1
Points: 2065
Earnings: $2,105,820

Now, here's their current stats, through 19 races of 36.

David Ragan

Starts: 19
Average Start: 18.2
Average Finish: 16.8
Points: 2185
Earnings: $2,185,860

So, although it doesn't look like he's done much better, Ragan is definitely on pace to break his marks set last season. Yes, that includes points and earnings. He also sits 15th in points, very close to making his way into the Top 12, which would get him a spot in the Chase.

Brian Vickers

Starts: 19
Average Start: 26.6
Average Finish: 17.1
Points: 2188
Earnings: $2,039,470

With Vickers, you can easily see that he's done way better than he did last year. He's already surpassed his points total from last season, and one more race will push him past his earnings for last season. Vickers is one spot ahead of Ragan in the points (14th) and is also very close to earning a spot in the Chase.

Which one has improved more? You decide.