Ricky Craven
Maine is famous for three things---Moose, L.L. Bean, and Ricky Craven! Ricky’s racing career began at age 15 at Maine’s Unity Raceway where he promptly won twice and was named Rookie of the Year. He won the track championship the following year, and the year after that was top gun at Wiscasset Raceway (a track I have visited).
Widening his horizons, Ricky then advanced to Tom Curly’s ACT Tour and from there to the extremely competitive Busch North Series where he gained Rookie of the Year status in 1990 and with 10 victories, the 1991 championship. Overall in 49 Busch North Series races, he registered 13 wins, 25 top-five finishes, and 35 top-tens. In 1999, he also picked up a win in the corresponding West Series.
The next step up the racing ladder was the national Busch (now Xfinity) Series, where after some part time starts, in 1992, became a full time Busch Series driver winning the Rookie of the Year award. The next two years, 1993 and ’94, he was the Series point runner up. Ricky’s overall Busch Series record includes four wins---at Hickory, Nazareth, Oxford, and Loudon.
While he made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut in 1991, he became a regular in 1995, again earning Rookie of the year honors. Overall, Ricky won twice in Sprint Cup competition, at Martinsville in 2001 and then at Darlington in 2003 where he and Kurt Busch banged wheels and traded sheet metal, with Ricky prevailing in the closest ever NASCAR race finish. Ricky was also part of a great Daytona 500 finish. In 1997, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Ricky swept the event…totally dominating the victory podium.
A Craftsman Truck Series win at Martinsville in 2005 rounded out Ricky’s NASCAR resume, giving him victories in all three top series.
Lingering effects of a nasty crash sidelined Ricky’s on-track career, but when one door closes, another opens. He’s now a most respected racing analyst for ESPN…I consider Ricky the thinking man’s racing reporter. Welcome Ricky Craven to the EMPA HoF.
Maine is famous for three things---Moose, L.L. Bean, and Ricky Craven! Ricky’s racing career began at age 15 at Maine’s Unity Raceway where he promptly won twice and was named Rookie of the Year. He won the track championship the following year, and the year after that was top gun at Wiscasset Raceway (a track I have visited).
Widening his horizons, Ricky then advanced to Tom Curly’s ACT Tour and from there to the extremely competitive Busch North Series where he gained Rookie of the Year status in 1990 and with 10 victories, the 1991 championship. Overall in 49 Busch North Series races, he registered 13 wins, 25 top-five finishes, and 35 top-tens. In 1999, he also picked up a win in the corresponding West Series.
The next step up the racing ladder was the national Busch (now Xfinity) Series, where after some part time starts, in 1992, became a full time Busch Series driver winning the Rookie of the Year award. The next two years, 1993 and ’94, he was the Series point runner up. Ricky’s overall Busch Series record includes four wins---at Hickory, Nazareth, Oxford, and Loudon.
While he made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut in 1991, he became a regular in 1995, again earning Rookie of the year honors. Overall, Ricky won twice in Sprint Cup competition, at Martinsville in 2001 and then at Darlington in 2003 where he and Kurt Busch banged wheels and traded sheet metal, with Ricky prevailing in the closest ever NASCAR race finish. Ricky was also part of a great Daytona 500 finish. In 1997, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Ricky swept the event…totally dominating the victory podium.
A Craftsman Truck Series win at Martinsville in 2005 rounded out Ricky’s NASCAR resume, giving him victories in all three top series.
Lingering effects of a nasty crash sidelined Ricky’s on-track career, but when one door closes, another opens. He’s now a most respected racing analyst for ESPN…I consider Ricky the thinking man’s racing reporter. Welcome Ricky Craven to the EMPA HoF.
