Newburgh’s Ricky Craven loves New Hampshire International Speedway and returning to his native New England.

But the love hasn’t been mutual.

His 11 Winston Cup races there have yielded an average finish of 29th. He has finished 36th or worse in the last four Loudon races.

That’s not to say he hasn’t had success there. He has won Busch Grand National and Busch North races and he has earned poles in both as well as the Winston Cup circuit.

“It hasn’t been the most productive track for me the last couple of years. But circumstances had a lot to do with that,” said the 36-year-old Craven on Thursday. “It certainly has been a rewarding track for me during my career with the wins in Busch North and Busch Grand National and poles in all three divisions. Now I just need that win [in Winston Cup] to complete the package.”

A broken camshaft and blown right tire that resulted in a race-ending collision with the wall resulted in a pair of 38th-place finishes last season.

“Having done this so many years, you understand the fundamentals of the sport,” said Craven. “You truly control a lot of what happens on the weekend. However, there is an element of it that you can’t control.

“The bottom line is you need to qualify well, maintain track position and have good or great pit stops,” added Craven.

He likens his relationship with NHIS to “what Boston Garden was to the Celtics. It’s special to me. I don’t think there is a driver in NASCAR who has the hometown support I have at Loudon. I have a great time with friends and family and a lot of quality time with the New England fans.”

He acknowledges that the “expectations are always higher” for the two Winston Cup races at Loudon and there is additional pressure.

“There is also more demand on our time. Our great challenge for the weekend will be to balance it all out,” said Craven, who made public appearances in the Portland area Thursday.

Craven enters the weekend 13th in the points standings but just one point out of 12th. He hasn’t finished any lower than 23rd over his last eight races but hasn’t cracked the top 14 in the last five. He has 13 top-20 finishes in 18 races with an average starting spot of 15.3 and an average finish of 17.8.

The Tide Ford Taurus No. 32 he will qualify Friday is the same one in which he captured poles at North Carolina 400 in February and the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway (S.C.) on March 17.

The last time he drove it, he finished seventh at the MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover Downs (Del.) on June 2 after qualifying sixth.

“If this isn’t my favorite car, it’s close to it,” said Craven. “Ironically enough, it’s an old McDonald’s car [driven by former Craven teammate Andy Houston last season]. When they dissolved last year, we acquired their team.”

Craven is optimistic about Sunday’s race.

“We feel like we’re a contender every week. We really do,” said Craven.

Busch North series tight at top

The Busch North Series race at Loudon on Saturday, the New England 125, will feature the top three drivers in the points separated by only 27 points.

Scarborough’s Kelly Moore has 1,365 points through nine races; Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, N.H., is next with 1,352 and Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre is third with 1,338 points.

Each has won two races.

Moore will start fifth behind pole winner Brian Hoar of Colchester, Vt. Leighton will start seventh and Santerre qualified 20th Thursday.

The race will start at approximately 3 p.m. It will follow the Craftsman Truck Series race, the New England 200.

As for the other Maine qualifiers, Strong’s Tracy Gordon will start eighth followed by Sanford’s Mike Gallo (13th), Morrill’s Travis Benjamin (26th), Scarborough’s Robbie Harrison (27th), Yarmouth’s Bill Penfold (30th) and the only female driver, Eliot’s Carey Heath (36th).