Richard Allen Craven (born May 24, 1966) is an American stock car racing analyst and former driver. Prior to his broadcasting duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the ARCA Menards Series, and the three national series.[1]
Ricky Craven | |||||||
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Born | Richard Allen Craven May 24, 1966 Newburgh, Maine, U.S. | ||||||
Achievements | 1991 Busch North Series Champion | ||||||
Awards | 1981 Unity Raceway Rookie of the Year 1990 Busch North Series Rookie of the Year 1990, 1991 Busch North Series Most Popular Driver 1992 Busch Series Rookie of the Year 1995 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
278 races run over 11 years | |||||||
Best finish | 15th (2002) | ||||||
First race | 1991 AC Delco 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
Last race | 2004 EA Sports 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
First win | 2001 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
Last win | 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers' 400 (Darlington) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
142 races run over 14 years | |||||||
Best finish | 2nd (1993, 1994) | ||||||
First race | 1986 Oxford 250 (Oxford) | ||||||
Last race | 2006 Goody's 250 (Martinsville) | ||||||
First win | 1991 True Value 250 (Oxford) | ||||||
Last win | 1994 Meridian Advantage 200 (Nazareth) | ||||||
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
26 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 14th (2005) | ||||||
First race | 2004 Sylvania 200 Presented By Lowe's (Loudon) | ||||||
Last race | 2005 Ford 200 (Homestead) | ||||||
First win | 2005 Kroger 200 (Martinsville) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of December 2, 2012. |
He occasionally served as a pit reporter when NASCAR aired on TBS in the mid-1990s. Craven is perhaps most well known for winning the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, beating Kurt Busch in the closest finish in Cup Series history at the time. A margin of victory, 0.002 seconds, only tied by Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer in April 2011 at Talladega with Jimmie coming out on top. It stood for more than 20 years until Kyle Larson bested Chris Buescher by a margin of 0.001 seconds at Kansas in May of 2024.
Personal
editCraven graduated from Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine.[2]
Racing career
editBeginnings
editCraven began racing at the age of 15 at Unity Raceway, winning twice as well as the Rookie of the Year award. The next year, he won 12 feature events and the track championship. In 1984, Craven raced at Wiscasset Speedway in the Late Model Division; in this year he won the track championship along with the Rookie of the Year title.[3] After that, he began running in the American Canadian Tour, where he had rampant success. In 1986, he made his NASCAR debut at Oxford Plains Speedway in his own No. 12, finishing 25th after suffering an engine failure. Four years later, he began running the Busch North Series, winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 1991, he was named the champion in that series, winning ten times in the No. 25 Chevrolet, with two of those ten wins in "combination" races with the Busch Grand National Series, including the prestigious Oxford 250. In addition, he made his Winston Cup debut at Rockingham, starting and finishing 34th for Dick Moroso. He moved to the Busch Series full-time in 1992 in the No. 99 Chevy for Bill Papke, and once again was named Rookie of the Year. In 1993 and 1994, he finished runner-up to Steve Grissom and David Green, respectively, in the championship standings. On October 9, 1994, Craven would serve as a pit reporter for TBS's broadcast of that year's Mello Yello 500, serving as a precursor to his broadcasting career.
1995–1998
editIn 1995, Craven teamed up with Larry Hedrick Motorsports and Kodiak to run for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. Craven qualified for all 31 races, finished in the Top 10 four times, and defeated Robert Pressley for the top rookie award. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a partial ownership share in the team. He began 1996 with three consecutive Top 10 finishes and his first career pole. He was fourth in points before the Winston Select 500, during which he was involved in a multi-car wreck. On lap 130, his car was launched into the air and impacted with the catch fence above the wall before being thrown back onto the track and hit by another car. This crash was similar[citation needed] to Jimmy Horton's barrel roll in 1993 where he cleared the track. Craven's flip completely sheared the catchfence off the turn and NASCAR threw a lengthy red flag to make repairs. He walked away, but fell to twentieth in points and only had one Top 5 finish and one pole for the rest of the season
At the end of the year, Craven left Hedrick to drive the No. 25 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports.[4] Craven finished in the Top 5 in the first two races of the season. He finished third in the 1997 Daytona 500 behind his teammates Terry Labonte in second and Jeff Gordon in first giving Hendrick Motorsports a 1-2-3 sweep of the Daytona 500. While practicing for the inaugural Interstate Batteries 500, Craven crashed hard into the wall. He missed two races due to a concussion suffered from the wreck. Upon his return, he won the Winston Open and finished a then-career-best 19th in points and a total of $1,139,860 in winnings for 1997. After the 1998 season started, the side effects of the concussion began to appear, and Craven was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, and was forced to miss several races until he recovered. He returned at his home track at New Hampshire International Speedway later that year won the pole. After four races, he was released permanently from Hendrick, and did not return until the final three races of the season, filling in for Ernie Irvan at MB2 Motorsports.
1999–2006
editFor 1999, Craven signed on to drive the No. 58 Ford Taurus for Scott Barbour's SBIII Motorsports, a brand new team in NASCAR. He did not finish any better than 19th while driving the car and after he failed to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600, he was replaced by Loy Allen Jr. Several weeks later, he signed up with another new team Midwest Transit Racing, replacing rookie Dan Pardus in the No. 50 and finished the season with them. Craven returned to the team in 2000 but after failing to qualify for four of the first nine races of the season, the team switched to a part-time schedule. Following this decision, Craven had four Top 20 finishes but finished 44th in points.
In January the next year, it was announced that Craven would replace Scott Pruett in PPI Motorsports's No. 32 Ford. He won the pole in the summer race at Michigan International Speedway and in the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway, he held off Dale Jarrett in the closing laps for his first career Winston Cup win. In 2002, he won two poles, scored nine Top 10 finishes, and finished a career-best 15th in points. In 2003, his team switched from Ford to Pontiac, providing the No. 32 car with a factory-backed engine program. In the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway, he battled Kurt Busch for the win, defeating him by .002 seconds in what was voted in December 2009 as the "Finish of the 2000s" in the Sprint Cup Series.[5] In that race, he became the last person to win in a Pontiac. Craven failed to win races again that season and dropped 12 spots in the points standings. After he did not post a single Top 10 finish three-quarters of the way through 2004, he was replaced by Bobby Hamilton Jr., and only returned to run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his home track. His last Cup start was the 2004 EA Sports 500 at Talladega, where he drove in a development car for Joe Gibbs Racing, the No. 11 Chevrolet.
In 2005, Craven moved to the Craftsman Truck Series to drive the No. 99 Ford for Roush Racing. Craven was second in points after 9 races, and there was talk about him being promoted to Mark Martin's No. 6 Nextel Cup ride for 2006. However, a brutal stretch of finishes led to a free fall in the point standings, and it was announced that he would be gone from Roush at the end of the year. Craven did win at Martinsville Speedway late in the year, and finished fourteenth in points.
His final NASCAR start came at the Goody's 250 at Martinsville in the Busch Series for FitzBradshaw Racing in 2006. He finished 39th after the brakes failed on his No. 14 Dodge.
Retirement from racing
editHe eventually retired and worked for ESPN and Yahoo! Sports as a NASCAR analyst. In January 2019, he departed ESPN after 12 full years with the network to work for Fox.[6] Craven later left Fox at the conclusion of the 2020 season to pursue a new Ricky Craven Motorsports venture.[7] He previously owned a motorsports dealership by that name in Belfast, Maine.[8]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
editDaytona 500
editYear | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 14 | 16 |
1996 | 36 | 13 | ||
1997 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 40 | 3 |
1998 | 32 | 14 | ||
1999 | SBIII Motorsports | Ford | 28 | 26 |
2000 | Midwest Transit Racing | Chevrolet | DNQ | |
2001 | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 18 | 23 |
2002 | 43 | 17 | ||
2003 | Pontiac | 25 | 26 | |
2004 | Chevrolet | 28 | 23 |
Busch Series
editCraftsman Truck Series
editNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | NCTC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||
2004 | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports | 47 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | MAR | MFD | CLT | DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | GTW | MCH | IRP | NSH | BRI | RCH | NHA 31 |
LVS | CAL | TEX | MAR | PHO | DAR | HOM | 105th | 70 | [35] | |||||||||||||
2005 | Roush Racing | 99 | Ford | DAY 4 |
CAL 3 |
ATL 18 |
MAR 2 |
GTY 10 |
MFD 8 |
CLT 10 |
DOV 7 |
TEX 13 |
MCH 33 |
MLW 21 |
KAN 13 |
KEN 13 |
MEM 27 |
IRP 25 |
NSH 24 |
BRI 32 |
RCH 20 |
NHA 11 |
LVS 23 |
MAR 1* |
ATL 9 |
TEX 21 |
PHO 32 |
HOM 21 |
14th | 2976 | [36] |
Winston West Series
editNASCAR Winston West Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | NWWSC | Pts | Ref | ||
1999 | SBIII Motorsports | 58 | Ford | TUS | LVS 23 |
PHO | CAL 1 |
PPR | MMR | IRW | EVG | POR | IRW | RMR | LVS | MMR | MOT | 44th | 279 | [37] |
References
edit- ^ Ricky Craven (April 18, 2007). "Where there's Smoke". Yahoo. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ "Ricky Craven will be only third auto-racing driver to join Maine Sports Hall of Fame". Bangor Daily News. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ NASCAR Driver of the Day: Ricky Craven
- ^ "NASCAR's burgeoning popularity will be fueled by new tracks and new stars in '97". CNN Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 8, 2001. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
- ^ Craven win at Darlington in 2003 top (Sprint) Cup race of the decade
- ^ Crandall, Kelly (January 29, 2019). "Craven joins Fox Sports". Racer. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ^ "Ep. 140 | Ricky Craven". Spreaker. The Racing Writer's Podcast. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ Mahoney, Larry (September 1, 2000). "NASCAR driver's Belfast shop to feature snowmobiles, ATVs, collectibles". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1986 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1987 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1991 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1992 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1993 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1994 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1995 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1996 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1997 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1998 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2004 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Ricky Craven – 1999 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
External links
edit- Official Website
- Ricky Craven driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Ricky Craven Fan Club Archive Website
- Ricky Craven ESPN Bio
- Ricky Craven on the Muck Rack journalist listing site