Some Ricky Craven memories from NASCAR’s Super Bowl

One February Super Bowl down…one to go!
I’m talking about that NASCAR Super Bowl called Daytona 500. It’s coming up on the last Sunday of this month.
I got to thinking about “The Great American Race” over Super Bowl weekend. In particular, Maine’s greatest connection to this race — Newburgh’s Ricky Craven.
15 years ago Ricky Craven finished 3rd in the (1997) Daytona 500. Remember the Hendricks team sweep. Jeff Gordon first, Terry Labonte second and Craven third. It was Craven’s first race in the No. 25 Budweiser car.
As time marches on and memories start to fade, I ask this. Could Craven’s feat a decade and a half ago be the greatest performance ever by a Mainer in a major sporting event?
In honor of the 15 years that have passed since that special Sunday in Daytona, I offer 15 pieces of memory…
1. Ricky Craven started the race in the 40th position.
2. NASCAR tracks don’t release attendance figures but I think there were a few more at Daytona in 1997 than in Newburgh… population about 1,500.
3. Craven earned $155,625 for his 3rd place finish that day. This year the 3rd place guy will make a minimum of $759,600.
4. Of the thousands and thousands of race car drivers out there, Craven was one of just 43 on that track.
5. Dale Earnhardt finished 31st that day. Dale Jr was racing his second year on what was then called the Busch Series.
6. Andy Graves was Craven’s crew chief that day.
7. Craven took over the Budweiser ride from Ken Schrader. Many in the garage were not happy Schrader got bumped. Schrader finished 33rd in the’97 Daytona in the No. 33 Skoal Bandit car.
8. The week after Daytona, Craven finished 5th at the race in North Carolina.
9. He finished 19th in Winston Cup points in 1997.
10. Craven’s first NASCAR win would come 4 years later, in 2001. His first year in the Tide Ride. When you think about it, Craven got to drive 3 of the most rides, Kodiak, Budweiser and Tide.
11. Ricky Craven raced in 9 Daytona 500’s.
12. Average finish in Daytona 500’s: 18th.
13. 27 of the drivers were 35 years old or older that day. Craven was 30.
14. Craven drove a Chevy Lumina. Wonder how many were sold by Chevy dealers around the country on Monday after the Hendricks sweep?
15. Ricky Craven did win a race in 1997. He won the Winston Open, held before the Winston all-star race. The win qualified him to race in the all-star event. He finished 8th.

ITEMS FROM THE DUFFEL BAG:
– I thought Claude Julien was going to give Tim Thomas more rest after the all-star break? Back to back starts over the weekend against  Pittsburgh and Washington. Does this say something about Tuukka? Are they showcasing Thomas?
– At last check former UMaine Black Bear Gustav Nyquist had 40 points in 39 AHL games with Grand Rapids. The Detroit Red Wings are so good they don’t even need him right now.
– I notice former Dirigo HS star hoops player Thomas Knight has played in 20 of 23 Notre Dame games, albeit small minutes. The Fighting Irish are pretty good!
– Best deal for the Red Sox just might be the $1.2 million agreed to with Alfredo Aceves. Seems like he should make more after his performance last year.
– By the way, what does it say that only David Ortiz remains unsigned? While both sides publicly say all the right things, I think both sides are ticked at each other, bigtime.
– Good luck trying to get a seat in Mars Hill gym Tuesday night when Washburn arrives to play Central Aroostook in a boys hoops showdown.
– A lot of things can happen between now and Thursday night, but the Bangor vs Brewer boys/girls doubleheader could mean big things to all 4 teams. We’ll have live coverage of both games on AM620/WZON.