LOUDON, N.H. — Consider retired driver Ricky Craven as the godfather of auto racing in New England.
The Newburgh native and 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year is a race analyst for ESPN and self-described “guardian” of all things racing in the six-state region.
Craven was at Canterbury (N.H.) Woods Country Club on Thursday where he hosted the One for Kids charity golf tournament.
“I love being back in New England and I love the way I was received and treated every time I came home,” said Craven. “The most inspiring moments for me as a driver were returning to New Hampshire Speedway.”
Craven is a veteran of 17 Cup series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and will be an interested observer for the Foxwoods 301. The race begins at 1 p.m instead of the originally scheduled 2 p.m. with wet weather in the forecast.
Craven began racing at 15 at Unity Raceway, the oldest track in Maine. He made good use of his time on the American Canadian Tour and gravitated to NASCAR’s Busch Grand National Series where he was the 1992 Rookie of the Year. He reached the Winston Cup in 1995, two years after Cup series racing was introduced on the Magic Mile.
For local drivers like Craven, the house that Bob Bahre built became the hub of auto racing in New England.
“The impact for me as a New Englander was that I get two home games a year, and it was the most important race on the schedule,” said Craven. “It was more important than Daytona, coming home to New Hampshire was the race I wanted to win more than any other.”
The biggest piece of unfinished business in Craven’s career was failing to take the checkered flag on his home track.
He finished fifth in 1997 and sixth in 2002.
Craven was recovering from a concussion and dealing with a crisis of confidence when he returned to NHMS in July 1998 for the Jiffy Lube 300, an event that was a turning point in his career. He won the pole position before an adoring crowd on race day.
“Jeff Gordon had won three or four poles in a row and Jeff was on the pole at the time and I was the last car out at New Hampshire,” said Craven. “I proceeded to set that Budweiser car on the pole. I remember the introduction that Sunday and we came out of the stage and I was the last guy introduced. When I was introduced the whole place went crazy.
“I grew up a New Englander and I don’t think you understand what that means unless you are a New Englander.”
While Craven is the patriarch at the Magic Mile, NASCAR’s ambassador to the region is Joey Logano of Middletown, Connecticut.
Logano considers the Magic Mile his “home track” and expects to have the crowd on his side.
Craven, Rob Bouchard of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and Pete Hamilton of Dedham, Massachusetts were the first New Englanders to have an impact in NASCAR’s senior circuit, but Logano has bypassed them all. Logano won his first Cup race in Loudon in 2009 and won again in 2014.
Like Craven, Logano made his climb to NASCAR’s elite on the small tracks of New England.
“The sky is the limit for Joey and I still think he can win some titles,” Craven said.” he’s that good, but he has to be hungry and he has to put the effort into it.”
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