Ricky Craven was expecting a phone call, and if it came, he had to take it. No ifs, ands or buts about it. He had to take it.

There was a time in Craven's life when the important call might've been from a car owner or maybe a potential sponsor. Years ago, Craven might've all but killed to talk up an owner who could provide a decent car or somebody to foot the bill for it all. An interview could wait. A ride or money couldn't.

For Craven, that was a different time and a different place. No, this call was different. This call was going to be coming from his 15-year-old daughter, Riley, who was in the process of returning from a 24-day school trip to China. Eventually, Riley did ring in on another line. She was back in the country, safe and sound, and bound for home later that night.

Having last raced on a full-time basis in 2005, in the Craftsman Truck Series with Roush Racing, Craven for all intents and purposes appears to have a much different grasp on the things that truly matter in life. Racing is still important to him -- he misses the competition greatly -- but so is his family, which includes wife Kathleen, Riley, son Richard, and another daughter Lydia, who is a 2½-year-old bundle of energy.

"Since [2005], I've made nearly every baseball game, every softball game," Craven said. "I've really caught up on some things that I may have missed earlier with my children. When I'm not occupied with one, I'm occupied with the other, it seems."

If his family doesn't keep Craven on his toes, other responsibilities do. His annual snowmobile ride is heading into its 10th edition. Previous events have raised a total of more than $1.1 million, and have benefited charities that include Children's Miracle Network, Give Kids the World, The National Marrow Donor Program, Make-A-Wish and The Travis Roy Foundation.

He's also a racing analyst for Yahoo! Sports and hosts a regular show on Sirius Satellite Radio, In the Driver's Seat. Yes, Ricky Craven is now a full-fledged member of the media.

"I had a list of things I wanted to do and things my family wanted to do that we simply hadn't had time to do," Craven explained. "Last year was a disconnect [from racing] for me, and it's created some fabulous family memories. But I wanted to get reconnected with the sport, and both Sirius and Yahoo! have done that for me. It's been a lot of fun.

"The only difficulty for me is that in the world I lived in for 25 years, it was very easy to understand if you were making progress or not. All you had to do was look at your statistics, your performance. It's a little more difficult for me this year to measure how much I'm actually contributing."

What Craven isn't doing is actively pursuing another opportunity to drive. He is not retired. No, not retired, necessarily. Craven just isn't chasing down every lead on a job that he might come across, and these days, good deals don't just drop out of the sky and into someone's lap. If he isn't looking for another ride, chances are, he's not going to find one.

Again, at least part of the new outlook on his career comes as the result of a different perspective on life. He won't throw another competitor under the bus simply to get ahead himself. He admits that he once might well have done just such a thing, back when he was maybe 20, 21, and not 41. (Continued)