Coordinates: 54°31′37″N 1°33′09″W / 54.5270°N 1.5526°W / 54.5270; -1.5526

Darlington
Darlington town centre including the town clock
240px
Darlington  Darlington shown within County Durham
Population	97,712 [1]
OS grid reference	NZ289147
- London	219 mi (352 km)
Unitary authority	Darlington
Shire county	County Durham
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DARLINGTON
Postcode district	DL1, DL2, DL3
Dialling code	01325
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Darlington
Website	http://www.darlington.gov.uk
List of places: UK • England • County Durham

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, in the North East of England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river.^[2] It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001.^[3] The town owes much of its development to the influence of local Quaker families during the Victorian era, and it is famous as the location of the world's first passenger railway. It is popularly known by locals as "Darlo". The railway station is an important stop on the East Coast Main Line.

History[link]

St Cuthbert's Church

Early history[link]

The name Darlington derives from the Anglo-Saxon Dearthington, which seemingly meant 'the settlement of Deornoth's people' but by Norman times the name had changed to Derlinton.^[4] During the 17th and 18th centuries the town was generally known by the name of Darnton.^[4] Darlington started life as an Anglo-Saxon settlement.^[4] It has an historic market area in the town centre. Built in 1183, the Grade I listed St Cuthbert's Church is one of the most important early English churches in the north of England.^[5]

Visiting during the 18th century, Daniel Defoe noted that the town was eminent for "good bleaching of linen, so that I have known cloth brought from Scotland to be bleached here". He also disparaged the town, writing that it had "nothing remarkable but dirt" (the roads were probably unpaved at the time).^[6]

The Durham Ox came from Darlington.^[4]

19th century industry[link]

At the beginning of the 19th century, Darlington was still only a small market town.^[7] During the 19th century, powerful Quaker families such as the Pease family and the Backhouse family were prominent employers and philanthropists. Darlington's most famous landmark, the clock tower, was a gift to the town by the industrialist Joseph Pease in 1864.^[8] Its face was produced by T. Cooke & Sons of York, and the tower bells were cast by John Warner & Sons of nearby Norton on Tees.^[5] The 91 acre South Park was re-developed into its current form in 1853, with financial backing from the Backhouse family.^[9] Alfred Waterhouse, who designed London's Natural History Museum and Manchester Town Hall designed the Grade II listed Victorian Market Hall in 1860, and Backhouse's Bank (now Barclays) in 1864, the latter taking three years to complete.^[5] George Gordon Hoskins is responsible for much of the town's architecture from this period, such as The King's Hotel. The Darlington Free Library was built with funding from Edward Pease, and opened in 1884.^[10]

Railways[link]

Darlington is known for its associations with the birth of railways. This is celebrated in the town at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum. The world's first passenger rail journey was between Shildon and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.

The town later became an important centre for railway manufacturing. An early railway works was the Hopetown Carriage Works (est.1853) which supplied carriges and locomotives to the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the engineering firm of William and Alfred Kitching also manufactured locomotives in the 19th century. The town developed to have three significant works. The largest of these was the main line Darlington Works, whose main works was known as the North Road Shops; opened in 1863 and closed in 1966. Another was Robert Stephenson & Co. (colloquially: "Stivvies"), who moved to Darlington from Newcastle upon Tyne in 1902, became Robert Stephensons & Hawthorns in 1937, were absorbed by English Electric around 1960, and closed by 1964. The third was Faverdale Wagon Works, established in 1923 and closed in 1962, which in the 1950s was a UK pioneer in the application of mass-production techniques to the manufacture of railway goods wagons.

To commemorate the town's contribution to the railways, David Mach's 1997 work "Train" is located alongside the A66, close to the original Stockton-Darlington railway. It is a life-size brick sculpture of a steaming locomotive emerging from a tunnel, made from 185,000 "Accrington Nori" bricks. The work had a budget of £760,000.

For 19 years, the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust^[11] built a 50th member of the long withdrawn LNER Peppercorn Class A1 engine, called 'Tornado' and numbered 60163, from scratch in the 1853 former Stockton and Darlington Railway Carriage Works at Hopetown. Many of the original fleet had been built at Darlington locomotive works in the late 1940's.

Engineering[link]

Darlington has long been a centre for engineering, particularly bridge building.^[4] Bridges built in Darlington are found as far away as the River Nile and the River Amazon.^[4] The large engineering firm Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company still has its headquarters in the town. The firm built the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge and the Humber Bridge, among others.^[12] One of the leading engine building firms, Cummins, has major premises in Darlington, and it houses the industrial headquarters of AMEC.^[13] The engineering companys Darlington Forge Company (cl.1967) and Whessoe also originated in Darlington

Other[link]

In 1870, The Northern Echo newspaper was launched. It is based in Priestgate and is a long-standing part of life in the North East. Although a local paper, it is a full-bodied newspaper in its own right and includes national and international news in its scope. William Thomas Stead was a notable editor of The Northern Echo. Opposite The Northern Echo building is The William Stead public house, restaurant and beer garden. It was announced on 9 April 2011 that The Northern Echo are to relocate in way for a Cornmill Shopping Centre expansion.^[14]

Recent history[link]

In 1939, Darlington had the most cinema seats per head of population in the United Kingdom.^[5] The town centre has undergone a full refurbishment entitled The Pedestrian Heart, which has seen the majority of the town centre pedestrianised.^[15] Initially, the project received criticism surrounding changes to public transport, and removal of Victorian features along High Row.^[16][17] There is now growing evidence, however, that the now-completed changes are meeting with local approval.^[18]

In 2007 planning permission was granted for a new shopping centre to replace the dated and unsuccessful Queen Street shopping centre. Planned to open in 2010, the project has sinced stalled, with any works yet to take place.

In August 2008 the King's Hotel in the town centre was devastated by fire, severely damaging the roof and 100 bedrooms. Several shops, including Woolworths, were damaged and had to close for weeks afterwards. No one was killed in the blaze. Work on the restoration of the building was completed by the end of 2011.

Government[link]

On 1 April 1997, the Borough of Darlington became a unitary authority area, which separated it from the non-metropolitan county of Durham for administrative purposes. The current MP is Jenny Chapman.

Geography[link]

Darlington in 2004

Darlington is located in the Tees Valley, and is often slated as 'the gateway to the Tees Valley'. Although the Tees Valley is often known for its industry, comparatively little in the way of industry exists in Darlington.

Darlington is close to the Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales and Cleveland Hills; the North York Moors are also within easy reach of the town. Both the River Tees and River Skerne pass through the town, the River Skerne later joining the River Tees which then flows into the North Sea.

Darlington railway station (Bank Top) lies on the East Coast Main Line. There are also local services from the historic North Road railway station and associated Darlington Railway Centre and Museum.

Suburbs[link]

There are several suburbs of Darlington. In the north are Harrowgate Hill, Harrowgate Village and Beaumont Hill and to the northeast are Whinfield are Haughton Le Skerne. To the east is Eastbourne with Firthmoor and Skerne Park to the south and situated in the west end are Hummersknott, Mowden and Blackwell. Finally, to the northwest are Branksome, Cockerton, Faverdale, The Denes, West Park, High Grange and Pierremont which is associated with the notable Henry Pease (MP).^[19][20]

The suburbs to the south west and west of the town centre are the most affluent, newly built homes, featuring large detached homes in leafy streets; especially the suburb of Blackwell which features a golf course and a rugby football club. The suburbs to the north of the town centre are the least affluent areas of the town.

Twin towns[link]

Darlington is twinned with:

• Mülheim an der Ruhr in Germany.
• Amiens in France.^[21]

Economy[link]

Part of the town centre; newly refurbished pavements are noticeable

Darlington memorial hospital

Darlington market hall

The Cornmill Centre

Orange are the largest private sector employers in the town, hiring 2500 people.^[22] Nevertheless there are major engineering sites, with both Cleveland Bridge and the industrial arm of AMEC headquartered in the town. Cummins also operate a major engine building site.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Darlington at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Darlington is historically a market town with a well established weekly outdoor market and a thriving indoor market located underneath the town clock on Prebend Row. Also located on Prebend Row is the Cornmill Shopping centre which is the main retail area of Darlington. The market square is one of the biggest in the country.^[27]

Darlington attracts people from a wide area to its newly pedestrianised town centre. The retail is remaining strong even through the economic downturn of 2009. House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer both have outlets in the town centre, with Debenhams scheduled to open in 2014.^[28]

Culture[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The Civic Theatre is a popular arts venue in the town, hosting a mix of musicals, dramas, plays and pantomimes. The smaller but well-used Arts Centre, founded in 1982, features smaller events, film screenings and more experimental material.

The Rhythm'n'Brews festival is a music and real ale festival normally held in early autumn, with many rock, blues and jazz acts playing at various venues around Darlington, as well as a Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) run bar at the Arts Centre.

The Forum Music Centre, opened in 2004, hosts regular live music events, from Ska and Punk to Indie and Classic Rock. Also runs a popular comedy club. As well as live music, the facility houses a state of the art recording studio and several rehearsal rooms. The Carmel Rhythm Club is another place for music. Held at Carmel College in the Hummersknott end of town. A charitable organisation for the Carmel PTA (Parents and Teachers Association) attracts many large bands in the genre of rhythm and blues.

Darlington town centre has built a strong focus on independent shopping, giving a breathing space from the usually high street national stores and introducing a varied and popular shopping experience. Grange Road has a number of expensive and attractive designer stores, Duke Street houses art galleries and restaurants and nestled between the two is Skinnergate, which holds the greatest variety of interesting and original stores.

Darlington Dog Show has been a championship event since 1969. It was normally held in September on the showground in South Park, although in more recent years it has moved to Ripon.

Football teams in the town are Darlington, a team in the Football Conference, and Darlington Railway Athletic, a team in the Northern League. The rugby teams are Darlington Mowden Park R.F.C., who were promoted as champions from National League Three in 2011/12 and will play in National League 2 as of 2012/13, and Darlington RFC. Cricket clubs are Darlington Cricket Club and Darlington Railway Athletic Cricket Club. The Darlington 10K road run is held every August, and attracts several thousand competitors. The Dolphin Centre, which provides a wide range of sporting facilities, was opened by Roger Bannister in 1982, and received a £5 m refurbishment in 2006 and was later given a new official opening by Redcar athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Darlington Library, an impressive Grade II listed building situated in Crown Street, was a gift to the town from Edward Pease, a leading Darlington Quaker. Edward Pease (1834–1880) left £10,000 in his will to build either a free library in Darlington or to be used for other educational purposes. The people of Darlington voted to adopt the Free Libraries Act and the town's first free library was officially opened on 23 October 1885, by his daughter, Lady Lymington.^[29] The building now houses the Central Lending Department, Reference Library and Centre for Local Studies.

Darlington Memorial Hospital on Hollyhurst Road, lies in the corridor between Woodland Road and The Denes.

Transport[link]

Road[link]

The Great North Road, now known as the A1, used to run directly through the centre of Darlington. It connects Darlington to Edinburgh, Sunderland and Newcastle in the North and Leeds, York and London in the South. The road has since been diverted to the west of the town; the original route is now the A167 via North Road in the town centre. The £5.9 m five-mile (8 km) A66 Darlington Eastern Bypass opened on November 25, 1985 and is currently undergoing major reconstruction in an effort to reduce congestion at rush hour. The Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor, linking Central Park (Haughton Road) north-east of the town centre to a new roundabout on the A66, was opened in the summer of 2008. The A1(M) Darlington Bypass opened in May 1965.

Rail[link]

Darlington railway station

Darlington is served by Darlington railway station (or Darlington Bank Top railway station) which is on the East Coast Main Line and has regular services to London Kings Cross, Leeds City station, Wakefield Westgate, Edinburgh Waverley, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport and Newcastle. North Road railway station is situated just outside of Darlington town centre. Darlington Bank Top railway station also serves as the mainline interchange for Middlesbrough railway station, which itself has few intercity services. Darlington railway station boasts a large Victorian clock tower which, in the relatively low rise town centre, can be seen throughout large areas of the town.

Bus[link]

Arriva buses in Darlington

Bus transport in the town is provided by Arriva North East and Scarlet Band. Darlington lost out on considerable public receipts when the municipal bus operator Darlingon Transport Company was placed into administration during an attempted privatisation, due to continuing financial difficulties and the Darlington Bus War.

Arriva run most of the bus services in the town, and Scarlet Band operate five routes, primarily the services with fewer passengers. Arriva used to run the routes now operated by Scarlet Band but Darlington Council re-tendered them due to financial trouble in early 2009 after the re-shuffle of the Bus system. .

Stagecoach used to operate in the town (since the Bus War) until 2007, when they sold their operations to Arriva. Arriva therefore became the main bus operator, operating nearly all routes in the town, until Scarlet Band became present in early 2009.

Darlington was chosen by the Department for Transport as one of three national Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns (together with Peterborough and Worcester) in 2004, and has successfully delivered a three year research and marketing programme to promote sustainable travel choices under the brand name 'Local Motion'. It was also chosen as one of six cycling demonstration towns in October 2005, receiving £3 million worth of funding from the government and local authority money.^[30] The money has been spent over the course of three years on improving cycling facilities and routes, and linking the town to the national cycle route network. Darlington is the only place to win both sustainable travel and cycling demonstration town status.^[31]

Airport[link]

Five miles east of the town centre is Durham Tees Valley Airport (formerly Teesside Airport), which has flights to a few domestic locations across the UK and international flights to locations across Europe. The nearest larger airports are Newcastle Airport (47.6 miles) and Leeds Bradford International Airport (62.0 miles). Darlington also has direct rail links with Manchester Airport (124 miles).

Education[link]

The town has the Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (former grammar school). There are many other schools including: Haughton Community School,Abbey Junior School, Branksome Science College, Longfield Academy of sport, Hummersknott School & Language College, Carmel RC Technology College, Hurworth School, Haughton School which is now known as the Darlington Education Village, is a pioneering partnership of 3 schools providing inclusive learning to all. It includes Beaumont Hill School, Springfield Primary and Haughton School. Darlington College is the newly built FE College. Teesside University opened a Darlington campus in 2011 offering higher education in the town to students and businesses. The town has other schools that have become Academies, this includes Eastbourne Comprehensive School, which has now become St. Aidan's Church Of England Academy. The town is also home to two independent schools - Yarm at Raventhorpe (formally Raventhorpe Preparatory School), and Polam Hall School which caters for boys and girls aged three to eighteen. A third independent school, Hurworth House School in the neighbouring village of Hurworth-on-Tees, closed in 2010.

Media[link]

Darlington is home to the regional daily paper The Northern Echo and its sister weekly paper Darlington & Stockton Times. A radio station of the TLRC network, Star Radio North East, broadcasts from the town.^[32]

In November 2009 the town appointed an official 'Twitterer in residence', the first of its kind in the UK. Mike McTimoney (known on Twitter as TheDarloBard) is a local regular Twitter user who has been officially charged with tweeting for and about Darlington,^[33] and to help promote The Darlington Experiment 2.0, the town's social media campaign.

Sport[link]

the Darlington Arena, home of Darlington F.C..

The town is home to the football team Darlington F.C., known as The Quakers because of the contributions made to the town by men such as Edward and Joseph Pease, members of the Religious Society of Friends. The town's football club play at the 25,000 capacity Darlington Arena which opened on Neasham Road in 2003 after 120 years at Feethams. In 2010 they were relegated from the Football League, 21 years after they suffered a similar fate where they were then promoted back from the Football Conference at the first attempt. In the 2010–11 season Darlington won the FA Trophy but were relegated four divisions to the Northern League Division One for 2012-13 Darlington will play 2012 - 2013 season at Heritage Park in Bishop Auckland.

Darlington's leading Rugby Union club is Darlington Mowden Park R.F.C.. Mowden were promoted as champions from National League Three in 2011/12 and will play in National League 2 as of 2012/13. As a result, Mowden are the highest placed sports team in Darlington.

Notable people[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

• George Allison - Football manager in the 1930s
• James Atkinson - (1780–1852) surgeon, artist and Persian scholar
• Garry Williamson Barnes - Footballer
• Zoe Birkett - Singer and runner up on television show 'Pop Idol'
• David J. Bodycombe - Games designer
• Aidan Chambers - Prize-winning children's author
• Tom Craddock - Footballer
• James Cudworth - Locomotive Superintendent for the South Eastern Railway (1845–76)
• Giles Deacon - British Fashion Designer
• J. M. Dent - Publisher who produced the Everyman's Library series.
• Frederick Dickens - Charles Dickens' beloved scapegrace brother. He is buried in the West Cemetery.
• Elizabeth Esteve-Coll (née Kingdon) b 1938, daughter of a Darlington bank clerk. She became director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London - the first woman to head a national arts institution.
• Ruth Gemmell - Actress
• Ian Hamilton - Poet and editor
• Ralph Hodgson - Poet
• George Gordon Hoskins - Architect responsible for many of Darlington's Victorian buildings
• Glenn Hugill^{[citation needed]} - Actor and TV producer
• Richard Hurndall - Actor
• Mary Lawson - Stage and film actress of 1920s and 1930s^[34][35]
• Michael Lee - Drummer (Little Angels, The Cult, Page and Plant, Thin Lizzy)
• Neil Maddison - Footballer
• James Morrison - Footballer
• Edward Pease (1767-1858) - Quaker industrialist
• Joseph Pease (1799-1872) - Industrialist; the first Quaker M.P.
• Vic Reeves - Comedian and author
• Katherine Maria Routledge, née Pease (1866–1935) archaeologist who undertook first scientific survey of Easter Island archaeology.
• Willie Smith - Twice world billiards champion (only entered twice).
• William Thomas Stead - Editor of The Northern Echo; Victorian social commentator who died on the Titanic
• Sir John Summerson - Architectural writer
• David Varey (born 1961) - Former cricketer^[36]
• Paul Walton^{[citation needed]} - Motoring Journalist
• Giuseppe Wilson - Footballer, Lazio's second highest capped player
• Darrien Wright - Strictly Dance Fever winner

See also[link]

North East England portal

• Darlington Corporation Light Railways
• Trolleybuses in Darlington

References and notes[link]

External links[link]

• Media related to Darlington at Wikimedia Commons
• Darlington Borough Council
• Statistics about Darlington from the Office for National Statistics Census 2001
• Darlington Tourist Information
• Darlington Railway Centre & Museum
• Historic Postcards of Darlington
• [1]

Richard Allen Craven (born May 24, 1966, in Newburgh, Maine) is an ESPN broadcaster who works ESPN2's NASCAR Now and a race analyst for the network. Prior to his ESPN duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the K&N Pro Series, and the three national series.^[1] He occasionally served as a pit reporter when NASCAR aired on TBS in the mid-1990s. Craven is perhaps most well known for winning in the closest finish in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.

Beginnings[link]

Craven began racing at the age of 15 at Unity Raceway, winning twice as well as the Rookie of the Year award. The next year, he won 12 feature events and the track championship. After that, he began running in the Canadian-American tour, where he had rampant success. In 1986, he made his NASCAR debut at Oxford Plains Speedway in his own #12, finishing 25th after suffering engine failure. Four years later, he began running the Busch North Series, winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 1991, he was named the champion in that series, winning ten times in the #25 SpeeDee Oil Change & Tuneup Chevrolet, with two of those ten wins in "combination" races with the Busch Grand National Series, including the prestigious Oxford 250. In addition, he made his Winston Cup debut at Rockingham, starting and finishing 34th for Dick Moroso. He moved to the Busch Series full-time in 1992 in the #99 DuPont Chevy for Bill Papke, and once again was named Rookie of the Year. In 1993 & 1994, he finished runner-up to Steve Grissom and David Green, respectively, in the championship standings.

1995-1998[link]

Craven's 1997 racecar

In 1995, Craven teamed up with Larry Hedrick Motorsports and Kodiak to run for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. Craven qualified for all 31 races, finished in the top-ten four times, and was able to defeat Robert Pressley for the top rookie award. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a partial ownership share in the team. He began 1996 with three consecutive top-ten finishes and his first career pole. He was fourth in points before the Winston Select 500, during which he was involved in a multi-car wreck. On lap 130, his car was launched into the air and impacted with the catch fence above the wall before being thrown back onto the track and hit by another car. This crash was similar^{[citation needed]} to Jimmy Horton's barrel roll in 1993 where he cleared the track. Craven's flip completely sheared the catchfence off the turn and NASCAR threw a lengthy red flag to make repairs. He walked away, but fell to twentieth in points and only had one top-five finish and one pole for the rest of the season

At the end of the year, Craven left Hedrick to drive the #25 Budweiser Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. Craven finished in the top-five in the first two races of the seasonl He finished 3rd in the 1997 Daytona 500 behind his teammates Terry Labonte in 2nd and Jeff Gordon in 1st giving Hendrick Motorsports a 1-2-3 sweep of the Daytona 500. While practicing for the inaugural Interstate Batteries 500, Craven crashed hard into the wall. He missed two races due to a concussion suffered from the wreck. Upon his return, he won the Winston Open and finished a then-career-best 19th in points and a total of $1,139,860 in winnings for 1997. After the 1998 season started, the side effects of the concussion began to appear, and Craven was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, and was forced to miss several races until he recovered. He returned at his home track at New Hampshire International Speedway later that year won the pole. After four races, he was released permanently from Hendrick, and did not return until the final three races of the season, filling in for Ernie Irvan at MB2 Motorsports.

1999-2006[link]

For 1999, Craven signed to drive the #58 Turbine Solutions Ford Taurus for Scott Barbour's SBIII Motorsports, a brand new team in NASCAR. Craven did not finish any better than 19th while he drove the car, and after he failed to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600, he was replaced by Loy Allen Jr.. Several weeks later, he signed up with another new team, Midwest Transit Racing replacing rookie Dan Pardus in the #50 and finished the season with them. Craven returned to the team in 2000, but after failing to qualify for four of the first nine races of the season, the team switched to a part-time schedule. Following this decision, Craven had four top-twenty finishes but finished 44th in points.

In January the next year, it was announced he would replace Scott Pruett in PPI Motorsports's #32 Tide Ford. Craven won the pole at the summer race at Michigan International Speedway, and at the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Craven held off Dale Jarrett in the closing laps for his first career Winston Cup win. In 2002, he won two poles, finished in the top-ten nine times, and finished a career-best 15th in points. In 2003, Craven's team switched to Pontiac and with an in-house engine platform, and at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway, he battled Kurt Busch for the win, defeating him by .002 seconds in what was voted in December 2009 as the Finish of the 2000s in the Sprint Cup Series.^[2] That race he became the last-ever person to win in a Pontiac. Craven failed to visit victory lane again that season, and dropped twelve spots in points. After he did not post a single top-ten finish three-quarters of the way through the 2004 season, he was replaced by Bobby Hamilton Jr., and only returned to run at his home track at New Hampshire. His final Cup race he participated in was the 2004 AMP Energy 500 at Talladega where he drove in a Joe Gibbs development car, the number 11 Old Spice Chevrolet.

In 2005, Craven moved to the Craftsman Truck Series to drive the #99 Superchips Ford for Roush Racing. Despite a win at Martinsville Speedway and a fourteenth place finish in points, he and Roush parted ways when the season came to a close. His final start in NASCAR came at the Goody's 250 in the Busch Series for FitzBradshaw Racing. He finished 39th after the brakes on his #14 Family Dollar Dodge failed.

Post-retirement[link]

Craven spent the next few years looking for a part-time ride, but none came through. He eventually retired and has since worked for ESPN and Yahoo! Sports as a NASCAR analyst.

References[link]

• Ricky's stats on Racing Reference
• Ricky Craven Biography
• Homestead-Miami 2003 Trackside Report
• Family, the outdoors bigger now for Craven
• End to Ricky and yahoo sports.

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Ricky Craven at Racing Reference
• Ricky Craven Fan Club Archive Website
• Ricky Craven ESPN Bio

Kurt Thomas Busch
Born	(1978-08-04) August 4, 1978 (age 33) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Achievements	2003 IROC Champion 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion
Awards	2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
412 race(s) run over 13 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 51 (Phoenix Racing)
2011 position	11th
Best finish	1st - 2004
First race	2000 MBNA.com 400 (Dover)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2002 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last win	2011 AAA 400 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 24 170 15
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
18 race(s) run over 4 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 1 (Phoenix Racing) No. 54 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2011 position	97th
Best finish	39th (2006)
First race	2008 Emerson Radio 250 (Richmond)
Last race	2012 Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 (Iowa)
First win	2006 O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
Last win	2012 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 15 3
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
25 race(s) run over 2 year(s)
Best finish	2nd (2000)
First race	2000 Daytona 250 (Daytona)
Last race	2001 GNC Live Well 200 (Milwaukee)
First win	2000 Sears DieHard 200 (Milwaukee)
Last win	2000 Motorola 200 (California)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 17 4
Statistics current as of May 24, 2012.

Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 51 TAG Heuer/Phoenix Construction Chevrolet Impala for Phoenix Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and drives the No. 1 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet Impala for Phoenix and the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

Busch has also driven for Penske Racing and Roush Fenway Racing in his Sprint Cup career, which began in 2001.

Busch, winner of 24 Cup races and the 2004 championship, also races on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA. ^[1]

He is a second-generation race car driver, his father Tom won several NASCAR sanctioned events. He is the older brother of Kyle Busch, who is also a NASCAR driver.^[2]

Busch won the Cup Series Championship in 2004, the first ever season using the "Chase for the Cup" points format, finishing just eight points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. With a 2006 win in the Nationwide Series, Busch became one of only 23 drivers with a win in all three of NASCAR's top divisions: the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series.

Early and personal life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2009)

Busch with his former wife, Eva

At the age of six, Busch was accompanying his father to the track and driving go-carts himself. As an underage teenager, he competed in Dwarf competition winning in just his second race, at the Las Vegas Speedway Park. This father and son team competed western tracks from Southern California to Utah. In 1994, his first full year as a driver, Busch won 10 consecutive races at 10 different tracks. His father eventually sold their dwarf equipment and purchased a powerful car for the Legends Series, which Busch began driving in 1996 at age 18.^[2] After graduating at Durango High School, Busch enrolled at the University of Arizona, hoping to earn a degree in Pharmacy.^[2]

Busch became engaged to girlfriend, Eva Bryan, while attending the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix. On July 27, 2006, during an off weekend following the Sprint Cup Pocono race, they were married in Virginia. The footage was taped and later aired on national television. His younger brother Kyle Busch also competes full-time in both the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and runs part time in the Camping World Truck Series. Busch is also an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears. The 2011 NASCAR season took a toll on the marriage and finally, Kurt and Eva filed for divorce in early June and were legally separated later that month. Kurt appeared to show off his new girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, during the June 26, 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend at Sonoma, California.^[3]

Racing career[link]

Beginnings[link]

Busch's first racing experience was in a Dwarf car at age 14 at Pahrump Valley Speedway.^[4] He was put in the Dwarf car by his father.^[5]

Busch earned his big break after Chris Trickle was wounded in a mysterious shooting (Trickle would die of the injuries over a year later and to this day the murderer has never been found). The Star Nursery team looked for a new driver to replace Trickle for the No. 70 team. Busch gained national exposure while competing against Ron Hornaday, Jr., Matt Crafton, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and others for the first time in the 1997 Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park.

Busch and the Star Nursery team went on to win the 1998 Auto Zone Elite Division Southwest Series Rookie of the Year.^[6] He followed up by winning the series championship in 1999.^[7]

That led to a tryout in a Roush Racing "Gong Show", which he won and earned a Craftsman Truck Series ride. He raced the No. 99 Exide Batteries Ford F-150.^[4] He won four races and finished runner-up to teammate Greg Biffle in the championship standings, as well as winning Rookie of the Year honors.

Sprint Cup Series[link]

Roush Racing[link]

2000–2005[link]

Roush announced during the 2000 season that Busch was being promoted to the Winston Cup series to replace Chad Little in Roush's No. 97 John Deere Ford for the 2001 season. However, Little was released from the ride toward the end of the season and Busch ran several races, beginning at Dover in September, with Jeff Hammond as his crew chief. Busch finished 48th in the points with no wins, top fives, or top tens.

Busch ran for rookie of the year honors in 2001, starting 35 of 36 races with no wins, although he scored three top fives and six top tens that year. However, he ran the first several races in an unsponsored car due to John Deere pulling its sponsorship before Roush signed Newell Rubbermaid as the team's sponsor, with its Sharpie brand featured on the hood of the car. He and Dale Earnhardt made contact in the Daytona 500, and Earnhardt stuck his hand out the window at Busch to give him the finger. To this day Busch recalls this as the only time he encountered Earnhardt on the track (in fact, it was the last time Earnhardt and Busch competed in the same race due to Earnhardt's fatal crash at the end of the race). Busch finished with a 27th place finish in the championship standings, was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award, earned more than $2 million in winnings. Busch's best finish was third at the spring Talladega race, and he added a fifth place at Indianapolis. He also won the pole for the Southern 500 at Darlington.

2002 was Busch's breakout year in the Winston Cup Series. He won his first race at the Food City 500 in Bristol in the spring. Busch added a second win at Martinsville in October, then won at Atlanta the next week and Homestead in the season finale. Busch scored four wins, 12 top fives and 20 top tens, with one pole, and finishing third in the final standings in 2002. He finished the season particularly strong, winning three out of the final five races and finishing third and sixth and leading many laps in the other two. Busch finished 3rd in points that year. He also collected $5,105,394.

Busch had an up and down year in 2003, finishing 11th in the season standings, earning four wins (including a season sweep at Bristol, making him the first driver to do that since Rusty Wallace accomplished the feat in 2000), nine top fives and 14 top tens but finishing only 11th in the standings following a late season slump, although he collected US$5 million+ dollars again that year. Busch was the runner-up finisher in the closest finish in NASCAR history on March 16, 2003. The race in Darlington, South Carolina was decided with a two-lap side-by-side battle with Ricky Craven, who ended up crossing the finish line first, 0.002 seconds ahead of Busch.

In 2004, Busch won three races, two poles and the inaugural NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship. He won his fourth consecutive race at Bristol after winning the Food City 500 in March (winning that race for the third consecutive year), and became the second driver to sweep both races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a single season. He scored ten top five and 21 top ten finishes that season. Irwin Industrial Tools and Crown Royal replaced Rubbermaid as his sponsor. Midway through the 2005 season, Busch announced that he would be leaving Roush Racing at the end of the season and would replace Rusty Wallace in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing South. Busch won three races during the 2005 season, along with nine top five and 18 top ten finishes in 34 races. He finished 10th in the final standings.

Busch (97) and Joe Nemechek at Talladega Superspeedway in 2005.

Penske Racing[link]

2005–2011[link]

Busch left Roush Racing and joined Penske Racing South in 2006. Busch had asked team owner Jack Roush to let him out of his contract at the end of the 2005, but Roush initially refused. However, after Chip Ganassi released Jamie McMurray from his 2006 contract, Roush decided to release Busch. McMurray, who was originally slated to join Roush in 2007 to drive the No. 6, instead replaced Busch in the No. 97, which was then renumbered to No. 26. In the 2006 season, driving for Penske, Busch scored one win at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500, his fifth win at the track. Busch celebrated the victory by getting out of his car and making a snow angel on the track, due to snow that had fallen at the track that weekend. He also won six poles and had seven top fives and twelve top ten finishes but finished 16th in the final standings. He also made his Busch Series debut for Penske in the No. 39 Penske Truck Rental Dodge at Texas Motor Speedway, winning in his first race. He ran six more races that season and picked up a second win at Watkins Glen International. In the 2007 season, Busch had two wins, one pole, scored five top-fives, and ten-top tens through 26 races and qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch's on-track performance increased noticeably after the addition of Pat Tryson as his crew chief mid-way through the season.^[8] He also ran four more Busch races, earning 2 top five and 3 top ten finishes.

Kurt Busch's 2008 Sprint Cup Series racecar

In 2008, in order to make sure rookie teammate Sam Hornish Jr. would be guaranteed a starting spot in the season's first five races, the owner's points from Busch's No. 2 car were transferred over to the No. 77 car driven by Hornish. Busch would still be guaranteed a starting spot, due to NASCAR's Champion's Provisional Rule, which states that the most recent series champion not in the top 35 in the previous season's final owner points automatically qualifies for a race. (with his 2004 championship, Busch was by several years the most recent). On June 29, Busch broke a 29-race winless streak at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was called due to rain on lap 284. It was his fourth win since joining Penske Racing and 18th overall.

He began his 2009 season at the 2009 Daytona 500, he was involved in a wreck on lap 124 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. swerved into Brian Vickers. Vickers shot up the track and hit the wall, ricocheting into Denny Hamlin, who came down into Busch. He then spun into the grass (along with 8 other drivers). Busch made numerous pit stops to repair the car, and was able to finish tenth. Busch then qualified fourth for the season's second race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. He ran in the top five most of the race and finished fifth. This moved him up seven spots in the standings to third. Busch led most of the race the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500, leading 235 of 325 laps and getting his nineteenth Sprint Cup Series victory. He led more laps in the race than he did in the entire 2008 season. He remained in the top five in points for the rest of the season. He qualified for the chase, and ended up 4th in the standings, the first car that was not under the Hendrick Motorsports banner.Busch picked up another win at the 2009 Dickies 500 after his brother Kyle ran out of fuel with two laps to go.

For the 2010 season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Penske Racing will bring Brad Keselowski on board to drive the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger. Busch and Sam Hornish will be his teammates.^[9] Keselowski will also run a full-time Nationwide Series, driving the No. 22 Discount Tires Dodge Challenger. 2009 Rookie Justin Allgaier will accompany him in the Nationwide Series.^[10] Steve Addington, who was Kyle Busch's crew chief for the past two seasons and led the younger Busch to 14 victories, became the crew chief for Kurt at the start of the 2010 season, as Pat Tryson left to join Michael Waltrip Racing as Martin Truex Jr's crew chief. On May 22, 2010, Kurt Busch won the 26th Annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. He then followed it up by winning the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend, becoming only the seventh driver to win both in the same year. Kurt eventually made the Chase being seeded 5th in points. Busch also, amazingly, finished seventh at Daytona after wrecking three times in the last twelve laps. Busch would finish out the season 11th among the Chase contenders.

2011-2012[link]

In 2011, Busch earned his first Budweiser Shootout win after Denny Hamlin went below the yellow line at the end of the race at Daytona. He would go on to win the 2011 Gatorade Duel 1, and because Pole Winner Dale Earnhardt Jr's crash in practice, which forced him into a backup car, Kurt Busch started in first for the 2011 Daytona 500, and started the 2011 season 3 for 3. Busch won the pole for and led most of the race at Kansas, for 152 laps. However, a fuel pickup issue late hurt his chances of winning. Teammate Brad Keselowski took the victory. However, a few weeks later on June 26, Kurt finally got an elusive road course victory at Infineon Raceway. Not only did he win, but he also the most laps with 76. Because of Brad Keselowski's injury during a practice crash at Road Atlanta, Busch filled in for Keselowski in his NASCAR Nationwide Series car for the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, and Busch managed to get the pole and the win. As of August 13, 2011, Kurt Busch has won 1/4 of all of his Nationwide races. On October 2 Kurt Busch won on 2 late restarts beating Jimmie Johnson in turn 1 leading the final 43 laps to grab his first ever victory at the Monster Mile at Dover. After a frustrating final 5 races, things came to a head when Busch launched a verbal tirade against ESPN pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch at Homestead. Crew chief Steve Addington moved to Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2011 season.

Busch's employment with Penske Racing terminated on December 5, 2011. Although most observers of the sport believe he was fired,^[11] Busch claimed in a public statement that the parting was "mutual": "I am grateful to Penske Racing for six very productive years. Together we won a lot of races — 16 in all. ... Coming to a mutual agreement to go our separate ways is a positive step for me."^[12] In contrast, the Charlotte Observer reported several sources confirming team owner Roger Penske decided that Busch's altercation at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the last straw in his stormy tenure with the team but chose to defer the announcement until after Champion's Week.^[13]

Following his release from Penske Racing, Busch reached an agreement to drive for Phoenix Racing, driving the No. 51 Chevrolet, for the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season,^[14] with limited sponsorship from TAG Heuer.^[15] He will also run a limited Nationwide Series schedule for the team,^[16] while running additional Nationwide Series races for Kyle Busch Motorsports, sharing the No. 54 Monster Energy car with his younger brother.^[17]

At the 2012 Aaron's 499 at Talladega, Busch paid homage to the 2006 racing comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby by running his #51 car with the paint scheme of Ricky Bobby's #62 "ME" Cougar car from the movie, causing NASCAR on Fox commentators Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip to jokingly refer to Busch as "Ricky Bobby" throughout the race, and Busch also dropped movie lines into radio chatter with his spotter and crew chief. Busch's girlfriend Patricia Driscoll spent months getting permission from Sony and Will Farrell as well as other trademark and license holders. Busch's real-life fall from grace during the 2011-12 Sprint Cup off-season has been compared to Ricky Bobby's.^[18] Towards the end of the race, when Busch spun out on the trioval off the bumper of Brad Keselowski, Busch made a unique move by driving back to the pits through the pit road exit and then swinging around to take his pit stop.

NHRA[link]

Busch began training in January 2011 under veteran NHRA Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson and obtained his NHRA Pro Stock competition license. He made his drag-racing competition debut on March 10 at the 42nd annual Tire Kingdom Gatornationals in Gainesville, FL. On March 12, Busch qualified in the Pro Stock field, and made his first professional drag-racing Elimination-round start on March 13, losing to Erica Enders by 0.004 second in a car carrying Shell sponsorship and painted to look like his NASCAR Sprint Cup racer. Busch is only the third driver to cross over between NASCAR and NHRA, the other two being Richard Petty and John Andretti.^[1]

Controversies[link]

2005 Phoenix incident[link]

Busch's 2005 season was cut short by two races after a confrontation during the Phoenix, Arizona race weekend with Maricopa County Sheriff deputies on November 11, 2005, when he was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving.^[19] At first, the Sheriff's department claimed that their equipment for sobriety testing had failed and they could not release results of his drunk driving tests. This claim later proved to be false, but by this time, Roush Racing responded two days later by suspending Busch for the remainder of the season and replacing him with Kenny Wallace for the final two races. Team president Geoff Smith famously declared they were "officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists."^[20] Busch was 8th in the Cup Series Chase for the Championship at the time of the incident. He was sentenced to serve 50 hours of community service which was to be completed within one year. In November 2006, one year after the incident, Busch was declared an honorary deputy in Maricopa County.

2011 Homestead incident[link]

In the final race of the 2011 season, Busch finished 47 laps behind the leaders, after spending time in the garage for mechanical issues. While turning into the garage, Busch made an obscene hand gesture. While his car was undergoing repairs, Busch verbally abused Dr. Jerry Punch while waiting to be interviewed by Punch for ESPN, in an incident captured by a fan and posted on YouTube.^[21] NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for his actions during the race, and Penske Racing issued an apology for Busch's "inappropriate actions".^[22]

In December 2011, he announced that he was seeing a sports psychologist, acknowledging "I need to be a better person on the radio, to the team, as a leader. It's personal issues, of course, and working with a sports psychologist, I've gotten obviously a small grasp, but there's obviously bigger things that I need to accomplish and things can't happen overnight."^[23]

Penske Racing and Busch later mutually agreed to part ways,^[24] although many in the sport believe he was fired.^[25]

Feuds with rival drivers[link]

In the February 2006 edition of GQ Magazine, he was selected number three on their list of the top ten most hated athletes, behind Barry Bonds and Terrell Owens.^[26]

Aside from Jimmy Spencer, Busch has had notable run-ins with Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart and even with younger brother Kyle Busch, who he now races for in the Nationwide Series. On June 4, 2007 in the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, after a crash with Stewart he drove beside Stewart's car on pit road, and gestured through his window netting. Busch was penalized 100 championship points, fined $100,000, and placed on probation until the end of the year.

But Busch would tangle with Stewart again only months later. During practice for the 2008 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, Stewart clipped the back end of Busch's car sending Busch into the wall. After sustaining major damage Busch drove towards Stewart's car and rammed Stewart's car three times before attempting to return to the garage after the practice was called. Stewart had stopped his car in an effort to block Busch from going back into the garage area but Busch went around Stewart.

On June 21, 2009 in the Toyota Save-Mart 350 Busch was involved in a wreck with Johnson. Three weeks later at Chicagoland Speedway, both Johnson and Busch were involved in another incident where they collided into each other. Busch then retaliated by colliding with Johnson's car in the door area shortly after the contact. Over a year later, Busch was involved in an accident at Pocono Raceway after bumpdrafting with Johnson. His crash was overshadowed by Elliott Sadler's horrific crash.

On May 15, 2012, Busch was fined $50,000 and put on probation until July 25, 2012 after being involved in an altercation with Ryan Newman and reckless driving on pit road during the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway three days earlier.^[27]

Racing record[link]

Sprint Cup Series[link]

Summary[link]

(Data current as of October 3, 2011)^[28]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Kurt Busch at Racing Reference
• 10 Questions with Kurt Busch – July 2005 interview of the defending Nextel Cup champ

Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen in 2009; Working on a Dream Tour in Valladolid, Spain
Background information
Also known as	The Boss, Bad Scooter
Born	(1949-09-23) September 23, 1949 (age 62) Long Branch, New Jersey, United States
Genres	Rock, folk rock, heartland rock, hard rock, roots rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass guitar, piano, percussion, banjo, drums, keyboards
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Columbia
Associated acts	The E Street Band, Steel Mill, Miami Horns, The Sessions Band
Website	www.brucespringsteen.net
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster Takamine Guitars Gibson J-45 Hohner Marine Band Harmonica Gibson J-200 Gibson ES-335 Gibson Hummingbird

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.^[1]

Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide^[2] and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.