BRISTOL, Tenn. — Both the Nos. 4 and 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyotas advanced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, and teammates John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith were both in contention for the win as laps dwindled down at the 0.533-mile track in Tennessee.
The difference, Nemechek was looking for — and missed — win No. 6 of the 2021 season. Smith was searching for — and captured — his first, ever.
Smith beat Nemechek out in a battle for the lead with four laps left. Nemechek said he did not cut Smith any slack, nor was he told to over the team radio.
“No,” Nemechek said. “I mean, for an organization, obviously you want to get two trucks into the next round. But that’s not something that has been discussed.”
After a late-race caution, action restarted with five laps remaining in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics. Sheldon Creed, who led a race-high 189 of the 200 laps, led the field back to green with Smith alongside him and Nemechek behind him. Creed ended up sliding out of the lead and back into the pack after slight contact with the wall. That set the scene for the Smith-Nemechek showdown.
Smith was credited with the lead for the final five circuits. The No. 18 driver won by 0.422 seconds over Grant Enfinger. Nemechek fell to third at the checkered flag.
“I’m pissed right now,” Nemechek said. “Two teammates racing hard at the end, whatever. You get moved out of the way, kind of a cheap shot.
“But it’s a company win, so it is what it is. We raced as hard as we could, and that’s what we had to do.”
Nemechek entered Thursday’s elimination race already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8 by virtue of points.
Smith, meanwhile, was last (10th; out by 12 point) in the playoff standings after placing 28th at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and seventh at Darlington Raceway. Originally the ninth seed in the postseason, Smith was looking at a must-win situation come the final stage at Bristol.
“I think any other driver that was in my situation would have done the exact same thing,” Smith said. “If you wouldn’t have done that, I think you are in the sport for the wrong reason.”
Austin Hill (wrecked out, finished in 24th) and Todd Gilliland (10th place) were ultimately eliminated from title contention.
The Round of 8 begins next Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Nemechek won on the 1.5-mile Nevada track earlier this season, while Smith finished 19th.
“All eyes forward to Vegas,” Nemechek said. “We’re going to go out there and try to win, lock ourselves in, go to Phoenix and hoist that big trophy at the end of the year.”
In a stunning upset on Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, rookie Chandler Smith stole a victory from reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed, clinched a spot in the Round of 8 of the Playoffs and eliminated Todd Gilliland from the postseason.
The entire tenor of the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics changed in the final five laps. On a restart on Lap 196 of 200, Smith powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the inside of Creed’s No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet and refused to cede the top spot.
After contact between the trucks, Creed slowed with a cut left-rear tire, spun and finished 19th as Smith parried charges from Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate John Hunter Nemechek and race runner-up Grant Enfinger, who finished .422 seconds behind the winner, with Nemechek taking third.
The victory was Smith’s first in the series, and it came at the most opportune time. As he approached the final restart, the 19-year-old driver knew his only remaining path to the Round of 8 was a victory.
“I’m speechless right now,” Smith said after climbing from his truck. “I’ve really been tested this last year or two and tested my faith. I have to thank everyone behind me… This is just incredible. It finally paid off. I’m just so happy right now.”
Creed led 189 laps and appeared headed for a sweep of all three races in the Round of 10 until he and Smith made side-to-side contact after the final restart.
“I was kind of at their mercy,” said Creed, who already had clinched a spot in the Round of 8 with wins at World Wide Technology Raceway and at Darlington. “I knew I was going to get hit—I just didn’t know where.
“They did what they had to do to win… I don’t know if they’re going to get away with that in the next round.”
Smith was not apologetic for the way he raced Creed after the final restart.
“I think any other driver that was in my situation would have done the exact same thing,” he asserted. “If you wouldn’t have done that, I think you’re in the sport for the wrong reasons.”
Austin Hill was eliminated from the Playoff after crashing out on Lap 189 and causing the 11th caution of the action-filled race. Gilliland fell from seventh to 10th after the final restart and missed advancing to the Round of 8 by two points.
“I really don’t know what happened,” Gilliland said. “They both slipped by me—the 21 (Zane Smith) and the 99 (Ben Rhodes). I’m just heartbroken. To miss by two points there—it really, really stings. Just heartbroken.”
Zane Smith and Rhodes were the last two drivers to advance to the Round of 8, both finishing two points ahead of Gilliland. They join Creed, Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen and Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar as the series heads for Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 24.
Friesen ran fourth on Thursday, followed by non-playoff driver Johnny Sauter, Hocevar, Crafton, Zane Smith and Rhodes.
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming Smith as the winner. The No. 88 of Crafton had one lug nut not safe and secure, resulting in a monetary fine to be announced next week.
Mooresville, NC (September 16, 2021) – Today, 23XI Racing announced veteran crew chief Mike Wheeler will move full time to Director of Competition, a role he has held since 23XI Racing’s inception, along with crew chief of the No. 23 Toyota Camry. With the move, Bootie Barker will step in as crew chief for Bubba Wallace for the remainder of the 2021 season.
As 23XI Racing continues to grow and move towards expanding in 2022 and beyond, this move allows Wheeler to fully focus on continuing to build the team, the team’s expansion in 2022 with the newly announced No. 45 team and work on the team’s future headquarters.
“Mike Wheeler (Wheels) has been a huge part of helping build 23XI Racing,” said 23XI President Steve Lauletta “From day one, Wheels has helped put this team together, with a focus on the competition side. As we move towards 2022, it’s important for us to put the right people in place that help continue the growth of 23XI to the next level. As we finish out the 2021 season, this move allows Wheels to focus on our overall vision for 23XI and allow Bootie (Barker) to help Bubba and the No. 23 team finish strong over the final eight races.”
A veteran of the sport, Barker has been at 23XI Racing throughout the 2021 season and brings multiple years of crew chief experience to his new role. Throughout his career, Barker has served as crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Truck Series and the ARCA Series. Most recently in the Cup Series, Barker served as crew chief for Ty Dillon at Germain Racing in 2017.
“Being a part of 23XI Racing from when it was just an idea, to seeing the plans come to life, securing our temporary shop and working to build this team has been an amazing opportunity and one I’m excited to continue as the team grows and expands,” said Wheeler. “I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to be back on the box this season with the No. 23 team and Bubba, but to be able to solely focus on the next steps it takes to expand to a multi-car team, build a new shop and get this team to where it’s in contention to win each and every week is exciting for me and I’m ready to give it my full attention as we finish this season and move into 2022. Bootie (Barker) has been a great asset to 23XI Racing all season and with his experience, he was the right choice to step in and finish the 2021 season with Bubba and the No. 23 Toyota Camry team.”
The change is effective starting with this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 18, 2021.
A majority of the over-the-wall crew for the Ganassi No. 1 Chevrolet and postseason-eligible driver Kurt Busch was sidelined last weekend at Richmond Raceway because of COVID-19 contact-tracing protocols. Team roster pages for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Bristol showed those crew members are set to return, and a CGR spokesperson confirmed the team will “have all of our crew members back in their respective positions this weekend.”
The roster lineup also means the Ganassi No. 42 Chevy team and driver Ross Chastain will have its pit-crew lineup restored for Saturday night’s 500-lap race. The No. 42 crew had shifted over to the No. 1 team at Richmond, helping Busch gain one position and spring into the lead after the first pit-stop exchange last Saturday night. Busch exited with just 40 laps complete after a crash, but praised his team and the overall depth of the Ganassi pit-crew pipeline.
“Yeah, it seemed like there wasn’t even a blip on the radar with the problem that our pit crew faced with COVID protocols,” Busch told NASCAR.com. “We were out of the race early, it didn’t help anything, but overall the whole group really rallied together to make it seem seamless.”
Busch sits in a tie for 12th place — the final transfer spot — heading into Saturday’s Round of 16 finale in the Cup Series playoffs. Four drivers will be trimmed from the title-eligible field after Saturday night’s event at Bristol, where Busch is a six-time winner in his Cup Series career.
Chastain did not qualify for the 16-driver grid, but has been the top finishing non-playoff driver in each of the two postseason races thus far — placing third at Darlington and seventh last weekend at Richmond. Chastain’s No. 42 team used a pit-crew comprised of veteran Mike Metcalf, plus development crew members from Spire Motorsports and StarCom Racing at Richmond.
That was Ed Partridge, both in stature and in personality.
At 6-foot-7, you could never miss Partridge, whether in the garage of a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race or at the track he owned, Riverhead Raceway, on New York’s Long Island.
That’s because Partridge’s passion for racing, and for people, always made him so prevalent. And that’s what made the morning of Sept. 11 so difficult for the motorsports community.
Late Friday, Sept. 10, just hours after winning the Whelen Modified Tour race at Richmond Raceway with driver Ryan Preece behind the wheel, Partridge lost his life after suffering a heart attack. Partridge was 68-years-old.
Partridge’s belief in others propelled them far beyond the local roots of Riverhead, even beyond the Whelen Modified Tour. Preece was the perfect embodiment of that belief becoming reality.
By the end of 2015, Preece was a proven commodity on the tour — a 15-time winner and 2013 tour champion — and decided to fully chase his NASCAR dream, an opportunity that culminated in a full-time ride with JD Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2016.
But after an unmemorable year outside an 11th-place finish at Road America and a 10th-place effort at Darlington Raceway, Preece moved back home in 2017, eager to rekindle whatever success he could back in a modified. The one man who believed in him was Eddie Partridge.
“I ended up going to work for him full time and maintaining the cars and setting them up,” Preece told NASCAR.com. “And people said to him, ‘he’s not capable.’ But Eddie didn’t say, ‘you know what, you’re right. Hey, we’re gonna do something different here, Ryan.’ He believed in me and gave me an opportunity to prove myself.”
Ed Partridge (holding trophy) celebrates the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour owners championship in 2017, with driver Ryan Preece, wife Connie, and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series Director Jimmy Wilson. (NASCAR)
Preece did just that, winning five of the 14 races he entered in 2017, as well as helping lead Partridge to his second owners championship on the Tour, along with co-drivers Jon McKennedy and George Brunnhoelzl.
Simultaneously, Preece used the sponsorship money he had to get into Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Xfinity Series car for four races — a gamble that resulted in his first career NXS win and four top fives.
Now a third-year driver in the NASCAR Cup Series for JTG Daugherty Racing, Preece credits Partridge as the catalyst for his triumphs today.
“His goals and my goals all aligned,” Preece said. “And we both did no matter what it took to achieve those goals. There’s not many people out there that are like him and are willing to do whatever it took.”
Preece isn’t the only product of Partridge to find current success in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Mike Wheeler and Freddie Kraft, crew chief and spotter respectively for Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 team, were both given their first true shots in racing by Partridge.
In the fall of 2000, Wheeler was a late-model racer trying to find his opportunity. Partridge’s modified team was struggling, but the team owner knew Wheeler was a talented mechanic. He soon asked ” Wheels” to help set up his shocks and measure roll centers and, shortly thereafter, Wheeler found himself working part-time for Partridge at night.
That eventually evolved into a full-time job for Wheeler, who was in the midst of his fall semester of his senior year at Kettering University. Before Wheeler came aboard full-time, Partridge’s team qualified for just eight of 19 races. In their first race together at Martinsville Speedway, the car rocketed up the leaderboard and qualified second.
“It was a big deal at the time because everybody thought we were cheating,” Wheeler said. “No one knew me. I was just a young kid in college. And I just went there to set the car up, make sure that bump steer was right, all the parameters were where they should be. We went down to Martinsville though, and no one had notes because it was the first and only time we went there that year and we ran really well.”
At a loss for words this morning. Over 20 years ago, Eddie Partridge gave me an opportunity that help make me who I am today. We spent countless time racing together and he taught me so much about it all. Going to miss you Eddie. pic.twitter.com/rnuGemw0Od
The work he did for Partridge didn’t go unnoticed, and it was just a few years later that Wheeler was hired by Joe Gibbs Racing to engineer for its Xfinity Series team, before coming up to the Cup Series in 2005 with the team’s debut of the No. 11 car.
Kraft said on the most recent episode of Dirty Mo Media’s “Door Bumper Clear” podcast Partridge gave him his first chance to spot any type of race car.
“He was the first one to ever give me a job spotting,” said Kraft, who also spots for Jeb Burton in the Xfinity Series and Derek Kraus in the Camping World Truck Series. “And it just opened the door for where I’m at today, honestly.”
Having three products of the modified tour so closely tied to Partridge as part of today’s Cup Series speaks to the legacy Partridge leaves behind, Kraft believes.
“[It’s] just a testament to what Eddie built as a program. (He was) just an unbelievable guy,” Kraft said.
Partridge also fielded cars for some other top drivers, including Jimmy Blewett, who won five of his six career Whelen Modified Tour races with Partridge from 2006-2009. Those victories included a checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway in 2006, and Riverhead Raceway in 2008, just under a decade before Partridge would take ownership of the New York facility.
Ed Partridge (left) celebrates winning a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Riverhead Raceway in 2008 with driver Jimmy Blewett (center) and his wife, Connie. (NASCAR)
And for all the racing triumphs and stories tied to Partridge, it’s his character that people remember most.
Ron Silk was the driver for Partridge’s his first championship in 2011, a season highlighted by wins at Stafford Motor Speedway, Delaware Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The duo competed in SK Modified races, events at New Smyrna Speedway and found success outside the tour in those races.
But it’s the time they spent on the road traveling from race to race that stands out in Silk’s memory.
“Eddie had a presence,” Silk recalled. “Everyone respected him. And obviously he took racing very seriously and wanted to win — and we were able to do that — but he also had the ability when things didn’t go good, or you had a rough day, he was able to shake it off and still have fun. He never made you feel like you were letting him down. You just go to the next one and do better. It was a great atmosphere to be in.”
The relationships Partridge built during his time in the sport will last forever. That much is obvious in the lasting impact he’s had on those around him.
“There was a point [Sunday] when I was thinking about something that usually I pick up my phone and I call him and just start talking to him about it and what his thoughts were,” Preece said. “And now I can’t make that phone call. It’s gonna take some adjusting to.”
Silk entered Richmond Raceway on Sept. 10 having won each of the past two races on the tour schedule but crashed out late en route to a 19th-place finish.
“I saw [Partridge] walking out of the track at Richmond the other night, and I had a rough night so I wasn’t in much of a mood to talk,” Silk said. “So I kept going and drove home and got the news while I was driving, and I wish I would have stopped for a few minutes and spoke to him and congratulated them on his last win. Just never think it’s gonna be the last time you get to talk to somebody.”
His legacy lives on though on Sept. 18, as the Whelen Modified Tour heads back to Riverhead Raceway (8 p.m. ET, TrackPass), a fitting, yet painful, next stop on the schedule. While emotions will be high just hours after his funeral, Silk believes it’s exactly where the tour should be.
“Hopefully he’s watching over us this coming Saturday at Riverhead and can be proud of the race that we put on,” Silk said. “Certainly life is so ironic that we’re going to Riverhead this week, but I know he’d be excited that we were headed there, that’s for sure.”
Ed Partridge (right) celebrates the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship in 2012 with driver Ron Silk (left), and his wife, Connie. (NASCAR)
Today’s Modified Monday is in honor of legendary Modified car owner Ed Partridge
There are three playoff spots still up for grabs as the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads for Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Three drivers are in unassailable positions above the current elimination line on points — Jeremy Clements, Riley Herbst and Brandon Jones. At least two of them — the two with the highest point totals among them after Bristol — are guaranteed to advance to the postseason.
Their only vulnerability lies in the prospect of a driver outside the top 12 winning Friday’s race, a circumstance that would eliminate the lowest driver in points among those three.
The most intense battle on Friday involves the Regular Season Championship, with AJ Allmendinger leading reigning series champion Austin Cindric by five points. The regular-season winner gets a bonus of 15 playoff points. Second place gets 10.
“I’m pumped, but, as always, a bit nervous to go to Bristol,” Allmendinger says. “It’s the place where I made my first Cup Series start, so that race track will always be special. It’s one of those races that you know from start to finish you’re going to be in a grind, and you’re going to be in traffic.
“It’s a difficult race, but I think we’ll be really fast there. The Regular Season Championship is on the line this week, so it will be fun battling with Austin going for that title. Hopefully, we can execute all day and have a shot to win.”
When Ricky Craven left his role as a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports at the end of last season, he essentially drove off in style: behind the wheel of a classic Corvette.
After a nearly 30-year racing career that began in the sportsman ranks in his native New England and on through nearly 20 years in different levels of NASCAR competition, followed by almost 15 years in broadcasting with Yahoo Sports, ESPN and FOX, Craven was too young to retire and go sit in a rocking chair.
Instead, the 55-year-old Maine native decided to indulge himself and follow a long-held dream by going into business for himself, collecting and selling both modern and classic Chevrolet Corvettes. The outcome: Ricky Craven Motorsports in Landis, North Carolina, about 35 miles north of Charlotte.
“I had a piece of property where I kept my old race cars and memorabilia in, and I began last year transforming that into Ricky Craven Motorsports, where we just sell hot rods,” Craven told NASCAR.com. “Corvettes have always been my favorite. And we’ve already moved 27 Corvettes this year.”
“I needed to think about the third chapter in my life. And I knew for certain that I couldn’t close one chapter without opening another. That’s just an important part of my personality.”
Craven is definitely enjoying the newest chapter of his life. His business is growing and gaining more attention both locally in the Tar Heel State as well as nationally. His pursuits of particularly rare and exotic Corvettes have taken him and his checkbook all over the country, from Texas to Florida to Minnesota and a couple times across the West Coast.
Photo courtesy of Ricky Craven
“For 40 years, I’ve been consumed with NASCAR on some level,” Craven said. “And so I wasn’t naive enough to think, well, no matter what I do, I’ll be successful at it. There’s a lot about this industry to learn. But the basis of it is that I love Corvettes.
“And the pursuit of the car is the most enjoyable part of what I do, what really gets me excited in terms of buying from other people and collectors, discovering a car and then trying to acquire it. That’s the part of this whole equation that gets me excited and gets me out of bed every day.”
Having a thoughtful and analytical mind and style as a broadcaster, leaving FOX was a difficult decision, Craven admits. But the COVID-19 pandemic and how it impacted both NASCAR and his life, made him decide if he was ever going to open his Corvette business, it was the right time.
“In some ways, the six weeks when we were locked down due to COVID and being able to reflect on life in some strange way was of great value, because I felt like the music was going to stop and I would be left without a seat,” Craven said. “Not immediately, but I was just being practical. I had 15 years (in broadcasting) after hanging up my helmet, where I was able to play a role and contribute and I really thoroughly enjoyed it.
“There’s been a few times this year where there has been an absence (being away from in front of the camera). You miss the people, you miss being part of a team. And fundamentally, that’s been the majority of my life. That’s just part of my structure.
“I have a love affair with of auto racing. And NASCAR is part of who I am. It’s absolutely etched into my DNA.”
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Craven had a rewarding NASCAR Cup Series career, making 278 starts and earning two wins, with 17 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes. He also made 142 Xfinity Series starts with four wins, plus 27 top-five and 57 top-10 showings and 26 starts in the Camping World Truck Series, with one win, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
Craven is perhaps best known for his second career Cup win, one of the most exciting in NASCAR history, in 2003 at Darlington Raceway. He and Kurt Busch beat and banged on each other until Ricky barely pulled ahead at the finish line, capturing the checkered flag by a mere .002 of a second.
That mark remains the closest margin of victory in Cup history.
“I am absolutely linked to that moment, and my career is probably 95 percent associated with that one race,” Craven said. “Seldom do I go somewhere and meet somebody for the first time where it’s not brought up.
“That race also created a connection and a friendship with Kurt Busch. I didn’t really have that before and I’m not sure I would have had (if it wasn’t for that finish). He’s embraced the moment as much as I have.”
But while fans today still talk with him about that incredible day nearly 20 years ago, it actually was not what Craven considers the highest point of his career. That distinction was his first career win two years earlier at Martinsville Speedway.
“There’s not even a close second,” Craven said. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime race, the one that stands out above all else. It was a life-changing moment.”
When asked to reflect back on who were the toughest competitors he ever faced and — at times — even traded paint with, Craven points to a sportsman racer he did battle with early in his career, as well as the likes of Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.
“It’s pretty hard to say one driver, because they were tough in different ways,” Craven said. “Dave Dion was among the most underrated drivers, a local hero of mine in New England that I competed against. He gave you nothing, but he was a good, fair driver.
“In Cup, in a lot of ways Tony Stewart was as tough as anybody I competed against. I think Dale (Earnhardt) was obvious. And Jeff Gordon was right there. I mean, Jeff was, is and always will be a good friend of mine. But he had this incredible ability when he got in the race car to just completely disconnect from that.
“He was more than just competitive, he was ruthless. But he always had a smile on his face. He was just an incredible talent and an incredible competitor. He was every bit as competitive as Dale Earnhardt, but he had a completely different personality and persona. Also, Mark Martin was one of the best I ever competed against, and Rusty Wallace was arguably the best short track driver I competed against.”
As for today’s drivers, Craven is particularly impressed with the season Kyle Larson is having. What makes Craven’s appreciation of Larson’s achievements a bit sweeter is that he can enjoy Larson as more of a fan, rather than having to remain neutral during all his years as a broadcaster.
“I’m a big advocate for Kyle Larson, it’s just a phenomenal story,” Craven said. “I think it’s inspiring for everybody that he’s gotten a second chance, and he’s capitalized on it. And it was long before Rick Hendrick called. It was the work that he did through the middle of the country racing dirt tracks every chance he got and the way he handled himself and, and the responsibility that he took. I’m enjoying that. I’ve also always been a fan of Martin Truex Jr. and his family. I raced against his dad early in my career.”
But it was a chance encounter with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison that helped shape the kind of racer Craven would become and ultimately lead him on a path to NASCAR.
Allison made an appearance at Unity Raceway in Craven’s native Maine when Craven — then a 15-year-old aspiring racer — earned the main event win there one night, defeating several drivers much older than himself. That definitely caught the eye and admiration of Allison.
“I remember Bobby saying to me after the race, ‘Were you driving that 12 car?’ And I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ And he said, ‘You drove the tires off that thing.’ I was just a kid and he goes, ‘I can’t believe it. Congratulations!’
“After that, when I reflect back on it, I wanted to be Richard Petty. I wanted to be Bobby Allison. And I never deviated from it.”
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Craven had two particularly bad wrecks that impacted him and the rest of his career, eventually playing a part in his decision to walk away from racing at the end of the 2006 season, at the still-young age of 40. The first bad wreck was in 1996, when he was involved in a multi-car crash at Talladega Superspeedway.
It was an especially brutal impact, but ultimately nothing compared to a crash Craven suffered the following April in practice at Texas Motor Speedway.
It would be recorded as the first bad crash at the then-new 1.5-mile facility. He would suffer a number of injuries, including a severe concussion, that prompted him to be airlifted by helicopter from the track to a trauma center in serious condition. The wreck led to him becoming a more cautious and admittedly tentative driver.
Craven missed just two races after the wreck at Texas, but lingering effects of the concussion returned in 1998. He competed in the first four races before sitting out the next 12 events as his recovery continued. After returning for four races, he would miss another 10 events before being released by Hendrick Motorsports. He finished the last three races of the 1998 season driving for MB2 Motorsports.
“There was a point where I didn’t know if I could come back right,” Craven said. “That that was the most adversity I ever had in my career.”
Yet, he also wore the crash as almost a badge of honor.
“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do,” Craven said. “You never know what’s going to inspire you and encourage you and motivate you.”
Even in the face of adversity, Craven has always maintained a positive personality. But he does admit to two regrets from his career. The first was wishing he had more than just two Cup wins.
The other was not being able to accomplish a lifelong goal.
“I really regret that I didn’t try to qualify for one Indy 500,” Craven said. “That’s something that I just would have liked to have done. And when I quit racing, that (opportunity) was gone.
“I admit I was depressed for about six months (after hanging up his fire suit). But I honestly do not spend a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror. I’ve tried to look out the front windshield 99 percent of the time. I want to know where I’m going more than where I’ve been.”
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The Ricky Craven File:
* Age: 55
* Hometown: Newburgh, Maine
Career highlights:
* He won Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1995.
* NASCAR Cup career: 278 starts, two wins, 17 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes. Also six poles. Best season finish: 15th (2002).
* NASCAR Xfinity Series career: 142 starts, four wins, 27 top-five and 57 top-10 finishes. Also four poles. Best season finish: second in 1993 and 1994.
* NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career: 26 starts, one win, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
* NASCAR K&N Pro Series (East and West combined): 51 starts, 14 wins, 26 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes. Also 13 poles. Best season was 1991, when he won the East championship. In 21 starts, he won 10 races, plus had 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes.
Patrick Emerling picked a fine time to find a checkered flag.
Despite never winning at the quarter-mile bullring before, Emerling claimed his first Riverhead Raceway victory on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in the Miller Lite 200 on Saturday night on New York’s Long Island.
Emerling posted two runner-up finishes at Riverhead earlier this season but had yet to break through to Victory Lane. In the penultimate race of the tour schedule, Emerling tightens the pressure on defending champion Justin Bonsignore heading into next week’s finale at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Points, though, weren’t the first thing on Emerling’s mind.
Track owner and tour car owner Eddie Partridge lost his life to a heart attack following his win with Ryan Preece on Sept. 10 at Richmond Raceway. Partridge’s funeral was held Saturday morning and culminated with Partridge making one final lap around his racetrack.
“First off, I’d like to dedicate this race to Eddie Partridge there,” Emerling said. “Since I started racing, I was racing against his car. Hell of a team always, hell of a car. That was a team you always looked up to.
“So to win here today, I mean, we had two seconds in a row. It’s unbelievable. I mean, it’s kind of what we had to do with our points situation there. I’d just like to give it up to the team here and everyone involved here.”
Emerling started off eighth and didn’t pose a threat early, mired in the middle of the top 10 but not making quick work of any competitor in particular.
But a rash of cautions over the middle portion of the race allowed Emerling to methodically work into the top five.
Emerling got his best break after a lap 106 caution that saw leader Riverhead regular Dave Brigati turn another regular, Tim Rogers Jr., sideways in front of the field. Ron Silk climbed the left-front tire of Rogers’ car but all continued forward with the exception of Brigati and Mike Christopher Jr., who suffered a flat right front.
That chaos allowed Emerling to restart on the front row alongside Kyle Soper. Emerling got the better of Soper on that and multiple restarts and eventually pulled away to hold off a final charge from Bonsignore.
“Patrick and Soper just got through that mess and track position’s huge, but they had a really good car too,” Bonsignore said. “Can’t take anything away from them so congrats to them guys. It’s been a hell of a battle between the two of us all year, so they gained some tonight but we’ll see. We’ll go into Stafford next week, have a good run and then try and get another one here.”
Six-time modified tour champion Doug Coby was looking for the hat trick at Riverhead this year, but contact between him, Rogers and the outside wall entering Turn 3 destroyed his front suspension at lap 54. That sent Coby behind the wall early and jeopardizes his chances at the 2021 owner’s championship heading into Stafford.
The race started clean and green with a 45-lap run led entirely by Rogers before Tyler Rypkema turned around and brought out the first caution of the day.
Shortly after the restart, Coby found his trouble in Turn 3 and saw his hopes of a three-peat vanish.
At lap 90, a pileup involving J.B. Fortin, Kyle Bonsignore and Craig Lutz in Turns 1 and 2 brought out the red flag after Lutz’s motor expired and laid oil on the racetrack.
The final caution of the race came at lap 133 when Dylan Slepian and Chuck Hossfeld got together and turned Slepian sideways in Turn 1.
On the ensuing restart, Emerling got the jump and never looked back.
Advancing to the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is the name of the game for the 16 drivers hoping to grab hold of the championship trophy in November at Phoenix Raceway. But for NASCAR fans who want to enter with Advance Auto Parts for a chance to win a February trip to Daytona International Speedway — including tickets, VIP access, accommodations and more — all they have to do is tune in to the three elimination races and guess how many times the word “advance” is said during the broadcasts.
In the “Advancing with Advance” Sweepstakes, fans are challenged to log in to Twitter and use the #AdvancingWithAdvance and #Sweepstakes hashtags and tweet their guess to @AdvanceAuto for the number of times they think “advance, advances, advancing, advanced, or advancement” will be said during the broadcasts of the races when the NASCAR Cup field is reduced. The elimination races are scheduled to be as follows: Sept. 18 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM), Oct. 10 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, Sirius XM) and Oct. 31 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).
Entries for the Bristol race open at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 16 and close at 5 p.m. ET, Sept. 18. Entries for the Charlotte race are open at noon ET, Oct. 8 and close at noon ET, Oct. 10. And for Martinsville, entries open at noon ET, Oct. 29 and close at noon ET, Oct. 31.
After each elimination race, the closest guesses will receive Advance Auto Parts swag and their names entered for a chance to win the grand prize. After Round 1 (ending at Bristol), the twelve closest guesses will win the swag and entry. After Round 2 (ending at Charlotte), the eight closest guesses will win, and after Round 3 (ending at Martinsville), the four closest guesses will win. If more than twelve, eight or four fans guess closest after each round, respectively, there will be a random drawing to determine the winners.
The first elimination race is this Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM), so get ready to make your first guess when the playoff field is cut from 16 drivers to 12. Then don’t forget to come back for the elimination races on Oct. 10 and Oct. 31 and make more guesses. Your guess in “Advancing with Advance” could help you advance to Daytona International Speedway to see the 2022 Daytona 500. Don’t miss out!
Only about 10 years ago, many Las Vegas bookmakers were less than savvy when it came to NASCAR, and certain sharp bettors took full advantage.
On the second of a recent two-part episode of the Risk of Ruin podcast, professional gambler Mark DeRosa shared a few stories about how he and his betting partners were able to do just that.
Strolling one day north of the Strip to a joint called Poker Palace — in his words a “total dump” and a “tiny little casino the size of my house” with “a lot unsavory characters” — DeRosa spotted stale NASCAR odds displayed on a dry-erase white board, not on a digital oddsboard to which most sportsbooks had evolved.
The bookmakers at Poker Palace would basically copy NASCAR odds from other sportsbooks, and since they took very little NASCAR action, the numbers wouldn’t get updated. This made for easy pickings for a bettor paying attention to the market.
DeRosa recalled a particular weekend at this casino when Carl Edwards was still listed at his opening odds of 15/1, when most books had shortened him to 6/1. DeRosa bet $300 on Edwards to win $4,500, about the max Poker Palace would allow.
Sure enough, Edwards won the race.
“I go in there to cash the ticket a couple days later, and all hell was breaking loose. They didn’t know what to do,” DeRosa told podcast host John Reeder. “Everyone in the sportsbook knows something is going on.”
There was clearly unrest between the 75ish-year-old supervisor and the ticket writer – the only two people working in the book.
“They had never cashed out a ticket that large … and they didn’t know the proper legal proceedings for that,” DeRosa said. There are tax implications with winnings of a certain amount.
DeRosa and his partner Zack White (you remember Zack — he often imparts his wisdom in this space like here, here and here) figured they’d go back to the well. So White, who wouldn’t be recognized as the guy who just took them for nearly $5,000, headed back to Poker Palace the following week to check the NASCAR lines.
Except there were no NASCAR lines.
“‘We’re not going to do NASCAR anymore,'” White said he was told. “‘We only wrote one ticket, and it was a winner.’ So they hung it up.”
Talking About Practice
We wrote earlier this year that some sharp bettors are finding greater edges with the lack of practice and qualifying for most races this season, because practice and qualifying offer the same information to bettors and bookmakers and thus level the playing field.
Back when DeRosa and White were building their business in Vegas, though, many bookmakers weren’t aware of the significant information that could be derived from practice.
DeRosa remembers arriving early Wednesday mornings at Caesars Palace, where practice would be shown live on the big screen. Matt Metcalf — now director at Circa Sports – would be there, too, making max-limit NASCAR bets and moving the lines along with him.
“I’d make a bet, say on Dale Earnhardt Jr., and (the Caesars sportsbook supervisor would) look up at the screen and say, ‘Yeah, Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks really good in practice. That’s a good bet.'”
These days, sportsbooks will pause wagering during practice. That wasn’t the case back then.
“You would have the lines move from like +140 to -200 in the course of 20 minutes,” DeRosa said.
Even some of the best bookmakers in Vegas found themselves flummoxed by NASCAR.
DeRosa said he and Metcalf would combine to make tens of thousands of dollars in NASCAR matchup bets in the middle of the week at The Plaza, whose book was run by Mike Colbert. Despite some legal troubles, Colbert had a reputation as top Vegas book.
DeRosa recalled, “Finally, one day Colbert asks me, ‘How come I don’t write a single bet all week long? The odds have been up since Monday, and I don’t write any bets until Wednesday or Thursday, and then all of a sudden, I write $100,000 or $50,000 in volume, and then I don’t write any more volume until Saturday.'”
In response, DeRosa played dumb. But he revealed to Reeder, “The reality of it was, that’s when practice was going on, and you could tell which drivers were stronger than others. It amazed me that sometimes the bookies could not see what was going on.”
‘Greeting From Las Vegas’
We’ve given just a taste of the two-part episode, titled “Greeting From Las Vegas,” which recounts the exploits of the friendship and partnership of DeRosa, White and Rufus Peabody, one of the most well-known professional gamblers in the industry. We recommend listening to the whole thing.
Reeder bills his Risk of Ruin show as “a podcast about gambling and life and their intersection.” Check it out for some fantastically entertaining tales from gambling lore.
Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.
