John Quinn, the crew chief for Newburgh’s Ricky Craven for the past four races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, recalled a Busch North race at New Hampshire International Speedway 10 or so years ago.

It gave him his first insight into Craven.

“It started to rain halfway through the race. Ricky was leading the race and we were all chasing him, of course,” said Quinn, who was working on the crew for Tom Bolles at the time.

“They lined up all the cars on pit road and Ricky wouldn’t get out of his car. All the other drivers bailed out and got a drink. There was an hour and a half delay. He put his window net down, but he didn’t even take off his helmet. I was thinking what is this guy?” chuckled Quinn. “He sat in the car, waited for the track to dry, and went out and whipped our [rear ends].

“He was there, he was doing a job, he was focused, and he was ready to go. He wasn’t going to let anything distract him. Nothing. And he didn’t let anything distract him.”

The West Springfield, Mass. native said he “loves” working with Craven and expects them to finish strong over the last six races. He is disappointed Craven has decided not to return to Roush Racing next year.

“That’s the worst part. I’d like to have a shot to work with him for a full year. He’s so easy to work with. We get along so good. Hopefully, maybe down the road we’ll have another shot to work together,” said the 38-year-old Quinn.

Quinn said it is Craven’s demeanor that makes him enjoyable to work with.

“He’s very down-to-earth and very focused. He’s built his own cars, he’s tuned his own cars, he’s done all that stuff that a true short track racer has done all of their lives,” said Quinn. “For him and I to talk about something to do with that chassis on that given time, he knows exactly what I’m talking about. He’s not like a driver that shows up and drives and says, ‘Well I don’t know. It does this and it does that.’ You can bounce specifics off of Ricky and he’ll go ‘Yeah, this is what we need to do’ or something like that. That’s the best part about working with him. He knows what you’re talking about.”

Craven’s rookie teammate, Todd Kluever, said, “I owe a lot of the success we’ve had recently to Ricky.”

“It’s sad to see him go. He’s been real good to me. He’s been real patient with me,” said Kluever, a shoo-in to be the series’ rookie of the year.

“He’s a great guy. He’s helped me out with so much more than just on-the-racetrack stuff. [He’s helped me] with personal issues like moving to a new city and the personal stuff that goes along with being a race car driver,” said Kluever.

Dwight Dubois, Craven’s truck chief for the last seven races, said, “Everybody likes Ricky.

“He’s a pretty cool dude. I’m really impressed with him. I hate to see him go. He’s a guy you can call any time of the day, and if you have a problem, he’ll talk with you, he’ll sit down and have lunch with you. Not many drivers will do that in the Cup series.”

Quinn, Dubois, and the rest of the crew will have a significant say in Craven’s future. A strong finish over the next six races is a must for Craven if he is to land a respectable ride for 2006.

“We want to give Ricky a win before he leaves,” said Dubois.

His former crew chief, Mike Beam, said, “It will be sad for the sport” if Craven doesn’t land a quality ride for next year.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.