Ricky Craven could have woken up on Monday morning thinking about what might have been.

Instead, he’s thinking about what the future holds.

The Newburgh native earned the pole for Sunday’s Pepsi 400 in Brooklyn, Mich., then tracked eventual winner Sterling Marlin during the late going before rain scrapped the final 38 laps of the race.

Still, Craven said NASCAR’s decision to stop the race prematurely after a 1-hour, 45-minute stoppage earlier in the day was the right move.

“It was official,” Craven said with a laugh. “We finished second, no matter how many times we win it in our head.”

Craven said that when a race finishes like the Pepsi 400 did, it’s natural to think of missed opportunities. He also said he’s trying not to do that.

“You always have that question mark, but I would rather look at it from the standpoint of progress. It was our career best, and we’ll win next week.”

Craven said that by the time the yellow caution flag waved on lap 156, conditions had deteriorated to the point that safety was a major concern.

“When the caution came out the second time for rain, it was at a critical point,” Craven admitted. “From a selfish standpoint, I’d love to have had two or three more laps, because we were catching up.

“But from a realistic point of view, if I had been leading, I would have said it should have been stopped. It’s better to stop a race like that rather than because you just had someone hit the wall.”

Craven followed Marlin across the finish line under the caution to post a NASCAR Winston Cup career-best finish. His Tide team earned $92,545 for its second-place effort.

Craven said that crew chief Mike Beam kept him informed about the strategic situation as he steadily reeled in Marlin’s Dodge.

“He would give me my lap time, Sterling’s lap time, and what the interval was,” Craven said. “We were closing at one or two tenths [of a second] per lap.”

Craven entered the second half of the NASCAR Winston Cup season striving for consistency. He seems to have achieved that: Over the past four weeks, he has posted three top-10 finishes and was leading the fourth race when his car broke down.

His recent results: 10th at the Pennsylvania 500; ninth in the Brickyard 400; 35th (after leading) at the Global Crossing at the Glen; and second at the Pepsi 400.

Craven has earned $1,231,764 in 23 starts. His average start has been 22.6 and his average finish is 24.4.

His recent successes have vaulted him from 29th to 23rd in the Winston Cup Points Standings since the second half of the season began in New Hampshire on July 22.

Craven is excited about the future.

“I’ve got so much time. I’ve got plenty of time,” Craven said. “I’m 35, and what I’m most excited about is that I’m back. I’m racing the best of my life. I’m racing with authority, and driving very comfortably.”