David Ragan returns to the big time as JGR sub for injured Kyle Busch

David Ragan knows how it feels to compete for a top-tier NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization. Now he'll get the chance to do it again behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Ragan spent five earlier Cup seasons with Roush Fenway Racing -- before RFR began sliding toward mediocrity the past couple seasons.

During his time at Roush, Ragan showed flashes of potential highlighted by a lone win in the July 2011 race at Daytona International Speedway. But the Unadilla, Georgia, native and second-generation driver never became the consistent frontrunner that team co-owner Jack Roush and primary sponsor UPS wanted.

So when UPS decided to move its sponsorship elsewhere at the end of the 2011 season, Ragan had to settle for a ride with team owner Bob Jenkins' Front Row Motorsports organization that -- to put it bluntly -- was light years behind Roush Fenway in terms of its infrastructure, resources and equipment.

As expected, the past three seasons have been a struggle for Ragan as Front Row has remained well behind the curve. The one notable exception came in May 2013 at Talladega Superspeedway, about the only track on the Sprint Cup schedule where a backmarker team can win if the right circumstances come together. On that particular afternoon, that's exactly what happened as Ragan was the beneficiary of a late-race push from teammate David Gilliland and managed to pull off the biggest stunner since Trevor Bayne's victory in the 2011 Daytona 500.

But since his win at Talladega, Ragan has been mostly a non-factor as Front Row Motorsports has continued to struggle to keep up with the sport's top teams, and even its second-tier ones.

With no signs of that changing, Ragan began 2015 with sponsorship for the Daytona 500 but no guarantee of a ride for the full season.

So when Joe Gibbs Racing contacted Ragan on Monday to ask about his availability as a possible temporary replacement for the injured Kyle Busch, Ragan was understandably interested. Busch is sidelined indefinitely after suffering a compound fracture of his right leg and a broken left foot in a crash during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway last Saturday.

"As a race car driver, I had to look at my career and my opportunities, and this was something that I couldn't let pass," Ragan said on Thursday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he shook down Busch's No. 18 Toyota for the first time during a day-long test session for Sprint Cup teams. "I'm very fortunate that our team owner Bob Jenkins and Jerry Freeze (general manager) were open to the idea. I think they're happy for me to be in a situation with quality people, quality team, but also to remember where I came from.

"Certainly, the Front Row Motorsports team has been a great spot for me the last few years, and if it were a situation where I was committed to a full-time program and we had a full-time sponsor, it would have been something that I couldn't have made happen. The stars just aligned right."

Although it took some comprising for the plan materialize -- Front Row Motorsports is a Ford team; JGR fields Toyotas -- the end result was 29-year-old Ragan moving into Busch's car for Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at AMS.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to get in one of the premier rides in our sport for a little while to kind of see where I stand in my career as a driver, and it's been a few years since I've been with one of the larger teams," Ragan said. "I'm grateful that all the parties involved really worked hard and it all can benefit us in a lot of different ways -- thankful to them for that. It all really happened quick -- Monday night and Tuesday obviously to be down here a day early for practice. A lot of the people involved had to have some give and take, and it worked out great."

Among those lobbying for Ragan was first-year JGR driver Carl Edwards, who competed as a teammate to Ragan during all five of Ragan's seasons at Roush Fenway.

"David has a lot of experience," Edwards said. "He's a great teammate, and when his name was brought up -- a lot like when they brought up Matt Crafton (Busch's Daytona 500 fill-in), I thought, 'Man, that's a great guy to be in that race car.' So, yeah, my vote was to put David in the car, and the way I understand it, everybody felt the same way. It's not a good position to be in to have to go find a driver, but everybody is really excited about having David here."

Ragan doesn't know how long he will be in the car since no timetable has been given for Busch's return. It's also theoretically possible that JGR could put another driver in the car before Busch returns.

Ragan's goal is to simply go out and make the most of the time he does have, which would undoubtedly elevate his stock as a candidate for opportunities down the road. Although he is not auditioning for Busch's ride or any seat at Joe Gibbs Racing, a strong performance in the car over multiple weeks could be a game-changer for his future in the sport.

Does Ragan feel extra pressure suddenly going from Front Row to one of the sport's top rides?

"There's a lot of pressure regardless of what car you're driving, but absolutely working with a different team, working with a different group of guys, manufacturer -- there are just a lot of newness that surround it," Ragan said. "It's different, but it's also a challenge that I'm up for and (that) will only make me smarter and better for it with different people.

"Any time you can get an opportunity to work with some really smart people that go about the weekend maybe in a different way, it only gives me a better experience on what's going on. I'm not really putting any more pressure on me, but it is something that I pay attention to, and I do want to do a good job."

In the meantime, Ragan doesn't plan to fully detach from the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports car to which he plans to return when his time in the No. 18 comes to a close.

Veteran Joe Nemechek is in the No. 34 weekend at Atlanta, but the team has not named a driver for the weeks ahead.

"As far as going for the next few races or however long I'll be out, I don't know really know what their strategy is," Ragan said. "I know a few guys have reached out to them and they've got a couple different scenarios to play out. I will certainly throw a recommendation out, and just like Kyle wants me to take care of his car while he's out, I want whoever is in that car to take care of that program while I'm out for a few weeks. That's something we'll probably talk about next week. This week was kind of a blur."

VIDEO: Break a leg? Not so lucky in NASCAR, either