Rick Crawford back on Gulf Coast

Jun 18, 2010

NASCAR driver Rick Crawford back on Gulf Coast with mind on business Mark Inabinett-Mobile Press Register

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Rick Crawford, center, presents the hood of his No. 14 Ford to Ken Suda, left, senior vice president of operations at Teledyne Continental Motors, and Ricky Isler, president of UAW Local 1639, on Thursday in Mobile. Teledyne served as a sponsor on Crawford's truck at last season's race at Talladega Superspeedway. Rick Crawford is a big Elvis Presley fan. So you know he'd go for "A Little Less Conversation" -- both the song and in his professional life.

But talk is what the Mobilian is up to these days, on Sirius Satellite Radio on Tuesdays and with potential sponsors as he attempts to get back on the racetrack.

"I'm answering a lot of phone calls," Crawford said. "We have a lot of irons in the fire. They just aren't hot enough to get us back on the racetrack. But we hope to be back on the track soon."

Crawford, 51, hasn't driven in the past four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races after sitting out just one of the previous 328.

Circle Bar Racing's No. 14 Ford started 2010 without a primary sponsor. Crawford raced in the season opener at Daytona with a one-shot sponsor, then soldiered on without a primary sponsor for three races. Despite two top-10 finishes in those events, the Circle Bar operation was shuttered by the lack of funding. Crawford filled in at Kansas for a part-time team and has been sidelined since.

"I'm realistic about the whole situation," he said. "Sometimes I've thought that it's possible that I might have run my last laps. But whenever I thought that, my phone would ring -- a sponsor would call or another owner would call or NASCAR would call. Every time you think things are down and out, something else picks you back up. I'm not ready to stop just yet."

Of the four races he missed, Crawford was at the track for three of them -- two as a consultant and one as a spotter. He said the time out of the truck has given him a broader perspective on the series, but it's also made him want to mix it up with old rivals such as Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine all the more.

"It's made Rick Crawford tougher," he said. "I'll come back hungrier. I'm working real hard to put some deals together, and we're coming back to win."

Crawford visited Teledyne Continental Motors in Mobile on Thursday, presenting the company with a truck hood as thanks for serving as a sponsor for the No. 14 Ford at Talladega Superspeedway last season.

But Crawford said his first visit to the area since the Gulf oil spill had two purposes. Even with his professional problems, Crawford said he knows the home folks are hurting, too.

"I came to Mobile to say thank you to some people, but also to check out our businesses that are suffering because of the oil spill," Crawford said. "I want to let everyone know that Alabama is open for business.

"I ate some great seafood today, but I see a lot of things that are at a standstill. So everybody, please patronize our businesses."