Newburgh’s Ricky Craven said he wanted to get off to a good start in his first full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series because if you don’t, “it’s difficult to battle your way back.”

There are only 25 races in the Craftsman Truck Series compared to 36 in the Nextel Cup series, he explained.

So far, so good for the former Nextel Cup driver who is currently in third place in the points after three races thanks to two top-five finishes in his Superchips No. 99 Roush Racing Ford-150.

“I’m happy with our start but not satisfied,” said Craven Wednesday. “We’re still working through the transition. Some aspects come naturally like racing at Daytona, Fontana and Atlanta. Other aspects are quite different. In Atlanta [last Friday], we practiced, qualified and raced all on the same day.

“But it’s all good. The trucks are fun to drive,” added Craven.

“I really enjoy our racing team. They’re very enthusiastic. We made a lot of fundamental mistakes at Atlanta [and finished 18th],” said Craven. “Most of us got home early Saturday morning but we all went right back to the race shop [in North Carolina] for a noon meeting after getting a few hours sleep. We revisited the race and talked about the areas we need to improve.”

Craven said it was a beneficial meeting, and during testing Tuesday at Martinsville (Va.), “we had the most productive day we’ve had from top to bottom. We had eight very productive hours. We ran 400 laps.”

The next Craftsman Truck Series race is April 9, the Kroger 250, at Martinsville.

Craven finished fourth in the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway and was third at the American Racing Wheels 200 at the California Speedway before last Friday’s race, the World Financial Group 200, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He said driving for Roush Racing has lived up to expectations and said owner Jack Roush has been “very supportive.

“It’s a great organization,” said Craven who will test on four consecutive days next month, two in Chicago and two in Texas.

He reiterated that expectations are high and he has his sights set on winning the points championship.

Craven ended a 31/2-year affiliation with PPI Motorsports last July after the team struggled miserably. He was running 34th in the points at the time.

He hopes a successful truck campaign will lead him back to the Nextel Cup series.