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MARTINSVILLE, VA. -- After claiming the Busch Grand National North Championship in 1991 Ricky Craven made the jump to full-time Busch Series competition where he quickly drove his way towards being one of the series’ most popular drivers.
He earned the Rookie of The Year award and finished second in the Championship in back-to-back years. He claimed four wins during his time in the Busch ranks before making the move to Nextel Cup competition in ’95.
Since, he’s made 42 starts in the number two division collecting 16 top-10s. His Last outing behind the wheel of a Busch car was two years ago in Chicago where he scored an 11th place finish.
As far as his success at Martinsville, where he will make his first start of the year, his Busch numbers show 3 top-10s with two third place efforts from 1993. But, he’s done better than that in other series. He scored his first career Cup win here in 2001 and last year he took the trophy in the Craftsman Truck Series event.
To say the Virginia short track is one of his favorites, that is an understatement. And since he currently does not have a ride in any series, Craven signed up for a one-race deal with FitzBradshaw Racing behind the wheel of the No. 12 Dodge in order to run the event. It marks the first time in 12 years that the Busch Series will race on the .526-mile track.
“I didn’t want to miss the Busch Series coming back to Martinsville. There are still plenty of things that motivate me in racing still. Like coming here and winning the Busch race, I’ve won a truck race , I’ve won a Nextel Cup race here. It is just so cool to be here,” he says.
Despite only having a one-race deal on his plate, the veteran and still fan favorite in the northeast, isn’t ready to call it quits just yet.
“At 40, I still want to do this. I still have a burning desire to compete. At some point, I think you do have to say, ‘All right, it’s been good.’ But, I haven’t reached that point. The only thing that would motivate me to get back into a full-time ride would be a Championship-contending opportunity. For the simple reason that I’ve enjoyed my career. It’s been rewarding. It hasn’t been perfect, there have been a few challenges,” he explains.
“As long as I’m still motivated to compete, I’ll still battle for that job.”
