In the cold stillness of January, a former NASCAR driver who grew up in the Maine hills has taken the reins of a small dirt-and-asphalt oval in Hermon and set out to revive something the place had let go. Ricky Craven, who bought the track from Del Merritt last fall, has laid a seven-race season of fast pro stock cars on a calendar that climaxes in a 200-lap contest on October 10, with a purse that may top twenty-five thousand dollars. It is the kind of gamble a local racing community has long hoped someone would make, and whether the cars and crowds follow the ambition will become clear once
Ricky Craven Offers Record Purse at Hermon Speedway, Launches Seven-Race Pro Stock Series
The payday of his or her life
Mark
Why does a $25,000 winner's purse matter at a track like this?
Mimi
Because Craven says it's the biggest in Hermon's 60 years. It signals the new owner is putting real money behind the pro stocks, the fastest and costliest cars in the region.
Luke
Worth noting that figure is Craven's own statement, and he said it "can exceed" $25,000 including lap money. He also said the purse and lap money are still a work in progress.
Mark
So the record claim isn't independently checked?
Luke
Not in what's reported. It's attributed to him.
Mimi
The structure matters too. Winners of the first six races get a top-10 start in the 200, so the early races feed the finale.
Mark
And pro stocks were dropped in 2019?
Mimi
Yes, for slower, cheaper late models. They returned in 2023 as a couple of races a year with the Granite State series.
Luke
Whether the cost of pro stocks keeps fields small is unknown. The pit pads are sold out, but that's 80 pads across all classes, not a pro stock entry count.
Mark
Any detail that stands out?
Mimi
Stan Meserve as competition director, and Craven turning 60 the day after the 60th anniversary opener.
Der Puls
- A track that dropped its top weekly division in 2019 is trying to bring the fastest cars in the Northeast back to its fence.
- Craven's debut as owner lands on the track's 60th anniversary opener, putting a new hand on old wheels in front of the grandstands.
- A purse that could exceed $25,000 and a points fund open to drivers from any series are pulling outside teams toward Hermon.
- Pit pads are already sold out and a veteran competition director is in place, yet the purse details remain unfinished and the fields are still waiting to fill.
In the cold stillness of January, a former NASCAR driver who grew up in the Maine hills has taken the reins of a small dirt-and-asphalt oval in Hermon and set out to revive something the place had let go. Ricky Craven, who bought the track from Del Merritt last fall, has laid a seven-race season of fast pro stock cars on a calendar that climaxes in a 200-lap contest on October 10, with a purse that may top twenty-five thousand dollars. It is the kind of gamble a local racing community has long hoped someone would make, and whether the cars and crowds follow the ambition will become clear once the green flag falls on May 23.
Ricky Craven says he is having the time of his life, and his plans for his first season as owner of the Hermon track show why. The Newburgh native and two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner bought the former Speedway 95 from Del Merritt last fall, signed several corporate sponsors, and renamed the place Speedway Presented By Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.
The centerpiece is a seven-race Pro Stock series, all run on Saturdays and ending with the 200-lap Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 200 on October 10. Craven says the winner's share will be the biggest in the track's 60-year history, potentially more than $25,000 with lap money included, though the exact figures are still being worked out. Pro stocks were the top weekly division here until 2019, when the track switched to cheaper late models. Craven decided that when he bought the track, he would build around the fastest cars in the region.
The format is designed to draw teams from far beyond the local regulars. Any pro stock driver can enter any race, points pay out by season-long finish, and winners of the first six races are guaranteed a top-10 start in the finale. The second twin 35-lap race will even run inverted. Craven has hired Winslow native Stan Meserve, a former Cup driver and Hall of Fame figure, as competition director, calling him his first hire and a mentor.
The facility is changing as well. The pit area has been moved closer to the track, the back stretch has been paved, and all 80 pit pads are already sold out. The real test comes May 23, when the season opens and the question is whether pro stock fields fill.
Ricky Craven says he is having the time of his life, and the plans he laid out Monday for his first season as owner of the Hermon track show why. The Newburgh native, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, bought the former Speedway 95 from Del Merritt last fall. Since then he has signed multiple corporate sponsors and renamed the place Speedway Presented By Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.
The centerpiece of his plan is a seven-race Pro Stock series, all on Saturdays, ending with the 200-lap Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 200 on Oct. 10. By Craven's account, it will pay the biggest winner's share in the track's 60-year history. Including lap money, he told the Bangor Daily News, the winner's purse can exceed $25,000. He added that the exact purse and lead-lap money are still a work in progress.
Pro stocks are the fastest and most expensive race cars in the Northeast. They were the top weekly division at Speedway 95 until 2019, when the track dropped them for the slower, cheaper late models. They came back in 2023 as a couple of races a year with the New Hampshire-based Granite State Pro Stock series. Craven said that when he decided to buy the track, he also decided to build around the fastest cars common to the region and, to some degree, New England.
The schedule opens Saturday, May 23, with the Speedway 60th Anniversary 60-lapper, which is also Craven's debut as owner. The track opened in 1966, and Craven turns 60 the day after the opener. Next come a 100-lap Granite State Pro Stock race on June 20, a 75-lapper on July 18, and twin 35-lap features on Aug. 15. The 128-lap Granite State Pro Stock Stan Meserve Classic follows on Sept. 12, then a 50-lapper on Oct. 3, and the finale on Oct. 10 as part of Paul Bunyan weekend. Race times have not been set. The 200 will be the longest race in the 15-year history of the Granite State touring series.
The format is built to draw teams from beyond one series. Every pro stock driver can enter every race, not just Granite State regulars. A points fund will pay out by season-long finishing order, with the top point earners getting the most. Winners of the first six races are guaranteed a top-10 starting spot in the 200. The twin 35s will produce a single winner, the driver with the best combined finish, and the second race will run inverted, with the first race's winner starting at the back. Craven said the series is structured to encourage drivers and teams from all over to take part, calling them an exciting, high-energy, talented group, and said the last race of the year will always be the track's marquee event.
Four other classes will race regularly: Late Models, Strictly Streets, Super Streets and Road Runners. Craven is also looking at a new Crown Vics class for modified Crown Victorias, Mercury Grand Marquis or Lincoln Town Cars, which he said is a rage across the country. He has dropped Wacky Wednesday racing for the entry-level classes.
For competition director he hired Winslow native Stan Meserve, who ran 31 NASCAR Cup races in 1968. Meserve is in the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame (2007), the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame (2013) and the Wiscasset Speedway Hall of Fame (2020). He also worked as an official on the American-Canadian Tour and the NASCAR Busch North Series, and created Distance Racing, building and tuning top race cars in the Northeast. Craven called him his first hire, a mentor and like family, with credibility across northeastern racing and nationally. Derek Mingo will assist him.
The facility is changing too. Craven said the pit area has been moved 60 to 80 feet closer to the track, and some paving was done on the back stretch. All 80 pit pads, the portable heavy-duty mats that let teams work on cars while protecting the ground from fluids, are already sold out to drivers and teams. The thing to watch is May 23, and whether pro stock entries fill the fields once the purse details are final.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
With everything, including lap money, the winner's purse can exceed $25,000.— Ricky Craven, track owner
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