In 1995, Ricky Craven appeared to be on a fast track to Winston Cup stardom as rookie of the year, but after a couple of debilitating accidents in 1996 and 1997, his fortune appeared to be going south. However, in 1999 Ricky has seen some of his old glory return with some impressive performances while driving for some of the lesser-known Winston Cup teams. At this writing, Craven is driving the #50 for Midwest Transit Racing in Concord, North Carolina, and hopes to use this as a new beginning in his quest for success in Winston Cup competition. Circle Track's Bob Myers sat down with Craven to get the lowdown on where he is headed.
Circle Track: What are your racing plans for the 2000 season?Ricky Craven: I'm not sure. I'm more concerned about the short term, becoming comfortable with where I am. I hope I can expand on that for 2000 and 2001.
CT: Will you finish this season with the fledgling #50 Midwest Transit Racing Chevrolet team (this question was asked in August)?Craven: Well, I'm certainly interested in doing that because I have trust and confidence in the people involved. The decision to race with a team should be based on the people involved rather than engines and cars. Midwest Transit Racing has a wonderful facility (near Concord), and Hendrick Motorsports is supplying engines and some cars. The team has the resources to race at the Winston Cup level. If I race for the #50 team the rest of this year, I had just as soon race for it for the next five years. I have no interest in bouncing from team to team. When I came to Winston Cup, my intention was to begin and end my career with the same team or organization. It's surprising to me that the #50 team hasn't gotten more attention, considering the commitment it has made. Hopefully, we can run well enough to get the team more exposure and sponsorship, although Midwest Transit is committed this year and next.
CT: What's the #50 team's potential?Craven: I think we showed our potential at New Hampshire (in July) in just the second race together. We ran in the top 10 most of the day and finished 13th after a late stop for fuel.
CT: Was that performance uplifting?Craven: Yes, and when I really needed it. I think the most exciting part of that weekend was the communication that the team had and the willingness to work together. I felt awfully good about the performance.
CT: As a Busch Series team owner/driver, how many Busch races will you run next year out of Ricky Craven Racing shops near Concord?Craven: That depends on where I am in Winston Cup.
CT: Having missed parts of three seasons with injuries and changed teams twice, have you completely recovered?Craven: Yes, I feel good. I haven't taken any bad lumps over the past couple of years. I think the best therapy for me was not returning to the car quickly and risk getting beat up again. I had a chance to heal.
CT: You said in 1996, your second season in Winston Cup, that your goal was to be a top contender at the end of the third year. How much have the accidents and injuries, especially post-concussion syndrome, set you back? Craven: It's hard to say how much I was set back, but in racing terms, they spun me out. I am behind where I wanted to be and have a lot of catching up to do. I have to get back on track, turn my career around, and return to the level where I was in 1996 and 1997 as quickly as possible. That starts with reflecting on the things I have and haven't done well.
CT: Were you at all spooked by the horrifying crash at Talladega in Larry Hedrick Racing's Chevrolet in 1996?Craven: No, that just disrupted things because I fractured two disks in my back, and the physical repercussions disrupted what we had going. After that race, we were still fourth in points and had momentum. It took a period of time to get back to 100 percent physically. A wreck at Texas about a year later beat me up worse than the one at Talladega, which looked much worse than it was from my standpoint.
CT: Highly touted when you came into Winston Cup as a rookie in 1995, how do you feel about not reaching stardom and your goals?Craven: It's difficult to deal with. I'm as much a competitor as anyone who puts a driver's helmet on.
CT: Might you have been by now a Jeff Burton, or even a Jeff Gordon?Craven: In my mind I believe I could be and that I still can. I really admire what they have done and commend them for the way they've handled themselves and their success this quickly.
CT: Having changed rides to newly organized teams twice in two seasons, do you believe car owners lack confidence in you?Craven: The bottom line is performance for car owners and sponsors. My performance has not been as good in 1998 and 1999 as it was the previous three years. I need to correct that.
CT: Has your self-confidence suffered?Craven: Sure. There were times, particularly in the last year, when things did not work positively. Most of my racing career, beginning in 1982, had always been positive. That was a challenge for me.
CT: How discouraged are you?Craven: I actually believe that everything I have experienced will make me a better person and a better race car driver. I need to translate that into performance. If the performance is there, the opportunities will be there. I'm certainly as committed as I was five years ago.
CT: You seemed to be on track toward the top when you drove for car owner Larry Hedrick, with whom you earned top rookie honors in 1995 and in 1996 logged two Third Places, five top 10s, sat on two poles, and ranked 20th in points. Why did you leave Hedrick for Hendrick Motorsports' #25 team after the '96 season?Craven: I viewed that as the opportunity to play for the "Chicago Bulls of NASCAR." I challenged myself to do that and realize the same type of success that Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton are having now. It was a risk I took, and it didn't work out. It was a decision I made.
CT: Did you have any qualms about the fact that the #25 team had not-and still hasn't-won a race since 1991?Craven: The most important part of that whole equation for me was to be able to work with (owner) Rick Hendrick. The only regret I have is that I was never able to work with Rick because of his illness (leukemia). He was never able to attend one of my races in a Hendrick car. I believe he is one of the few people who would have been the glue to keep that program together. In 1997, we had things going our way, and at the end of the season, about the time Rick became ill, things fell apart.
CT: Considering that you had an outstanding first season with Hendrick, highlighted by third in a rare one-two-three sweep of the '97 Daytona 500 by Hendrick cars, what happened in 1998?Craven: As I said, we lost our momentum at the end of 1997. We lost several team members. My personal situation with post-concussion syndrome was as disruptive for the team as it was for me. They had to find a driver. It was certainly the low point of my career. It's important for me to learn from that.
CT: Did you resign or were you dismissed from Hendrick during the '98 season?Craven: It was a mutual agreement. We had lost communication. It was evident that we needed to go in a different direction. However, I think that Rick Hendrick, being the people person he is and manager of all sorts of personalities, could have saved the relationship. But that wasn't an option...I didn't know John Hendrick (Rick's brother, who took over the motorsports business in Rick's absence), and with no disrespect to him, I didn't have the same relationship with him that I had with Rick.
CT: Why can't the #25 team win, given it has the same resources as Gordon and Terry Labonte?Craven: The #25 team will win, but it's going to require a commitment by everyone involved. The quality of cars and engines was never an issue with me. I believe we had that. What counts are the relationships and chemistry among driver, crew chief, and team members. We had that in 1997, and I don't think anybody can argue that point. But we lost it. Neither (crew chief) Andy Graves nor I was strong enough to retain it. Perhaps if Andy and I had been a little older and more advanced in our careers, or if Rick had been there, we could have handled it differently.
CT: Are you bitter about the way the Hendrick experience turned out?Craven: No. It hurt very much, and I can't say I wasn't bitter at the time, but I think that's a natural reaction for anyone. What's more important is to try to understand how it could have been different and to use that to move forward. The #50 team to me presents an opportunity to race with Hendrick Motorsports again in expansion form. Someday, Rick and I might be in position to help one another again.
CT: You opened this season with a new team owned by Florida businessman Scott Barbour. Why did you leave that team, with which your highest finish was 19th in 13 races?Craven: At the end of 1998, there were few options, and I took a chance trying something different. The bottom line is, it wasn't one of my better decisions.
CT: How did the ride with the Midwest Transit team, owned by businessmen Hal Hicks and Mike Witters, develop?Craven: Crew Chief John Monsam called and invited me to visit the shop. I was very surprised at how far the team had progressed and how much of a commitment had been made.
CT: Will you have to prove yourself again?Craven: Sure I will. Again, this is all about performance.
CT: Do you think you'll get the opportunity?Craven: I think I have the opportunity with the #50 team to try to get back on track and recognize the same progress that I had from 1995 through 1997.
CT: Just 33 years old, can you still make it big in Winston Cup?Craven: I've given myself a timetable. I want to be a contender in the next two or three years, or I will give serious consideration to doing something altogether different. I love auto racing. It's absorbed most of my life. I built equity with the fans, particularly with the New England fans.
CT: Born in Newburgh and the only Maine native driving in Winston Cup, do you feel you've let the New England fans down?Craven: Certainly I've let myself down. There has been disappointment for all of us, and for that I apologize. The expectations were high after finishing third in the ('97) Daytona 500, and then things kind of fell apart. The wonderful thing is that the fans still support me, and that encouragement fuels the fire to push forward.
CT: Have you reached a crossroad in your career?Craven: Yeah, definitely. I want to commit to a program and get myself back to where I was a few years ago...I won't race just to be racing. It's important to me to be among the contenders and leaders.
CT: How has falling below expectations affected you mentally and emotionally?Craven: Well, actually, the experience in 1998 was difficult professionally but very rewarding personally. It allowed me to spend more time with my family (wife Cathleen, daughter Riley Diane, 7, and son Richard Everett, 3) that I ordinarily wouldn't have had. If that's stopping to smell the roses, that's what I did.
CT: Do you still reside in Concord?Craven: Yes, but we have a summer home in Maine.
CT: Have misfortune and hard knocks made you more determined?Craven: That helped temper me and strengthen my character. I am no less determined.
CT: You also said in 1995 that your greatest fear coming into Winston Cup was failure. How do you feel about that now?Craven: It's still the most uncomfortable feeling I have.
CT: What's the highlight of your big-league career?Craven: Granted, finishing one-two-three with my two teammates at the Daytona 500, in my debut for Hendrick Motorsports, was a wonderful feeling. The Daytona 500 has and always will be my favorite race. But emotionally, sitting on the pole in Hendrick's Chevrolet at New Hampshire in July 1998 after missing 12 races with post-concussion syndrome, and the warm reception I got from the fans, made for the most significant moment of my career. I really didn't know whether I would race again. Three races later, I parted with Hendrick.
CT: What's the biggest mistake you've made?Craven: Probably going to Hendrick Motorsports a couple of years before I was ready.
CT: Are you terribly disappointed in your career to this point?Craven: I am extremely satisfied with my career up to 1998. I'm quite disappointed with the past 18 months (as of August).
CT: What do you see for Ricky Craven in the racing future?Craven: I want to be a contender to win every week in Winston Cup racing, and I am willing to exhaust myself to do that. I have learned from all of my experiences, and I feel good about that happening.
CT: Anything else you wish to add?Craven: Interviews such as this one have become difficult for me because they play on negatives. I understand that the media is simply doing its job and asking the questions it needs to ask. I'd like to make the point that the only way the interviews are going to get more positive is for me to perform better. How I'm able to do that is not clear, but that's the bottom line.