Checker Auto Parts 500 - Ricky Craven Notes

Checker Auto 500 Preview - Ricky Craven- No. 32 Tide Pontiac

2003 Best Finish: 1st- Darlington, S.C. - 3/16/03 2003 Best Start: 6th- North Carolina Speedway- 2/23/03
2003 Stats: 1 Win (Darlington, S.C.- 3/16/03); 3 Top-5 Finishes; 8 Top-10 Finishes; 0 Bud Pole Awards
2003 Average Starting Spot: 24.7 2003 Average Finish: 22.7
Points Standing: 24th Winston Cup Career Wins: Two (Darlington 3/16/03; Martinsville, 10/15/01)
Career Pole Positions: 6 (Martinsville, 1996; New Hampshire, 1996 & 1998; Michigan, 2001; Rockingham & Darlington, 2002)

Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Recap: Ricky Craven drove his No. 32 Tide Pontiac to a 35th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Around lap 171, the engine in Michael Waltrip’s car gave out, dropping fluid on the race surface. Craven, who was just behind Waltrip at the time, had no way of avoiding the oil and water, and hit the outside retaining wall. Craven spent 56 laps in the garage while his team repaired the damage.

The Chassis: The chassis Ricky Craven will drive at Phoenix International Raceway is chassis No. 49. New to the PPI Motorsports stable for 2003, the chassis was driven to a 21st-place finish in the July event at New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS). Most recently, the chassis had a 32nd-place showing in the Oct. 19 event at Martinsville Speedway.

Ricky Craven’s stats at Phoenix International Raceway: Avg. Start: 31.1 ; Avg. Finish: 27.6

Tide Driver Reaches 250 Winston Cup Starts - Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide Pontiac, will make his 250th career NASCAR Winston Cup (NWC) Series start at this weekend’s Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Now in his ninth season of NWC competition, Craven made his first start in the series in 1991 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, N.C., driving a Dick Moroso-owned Oldsmobile.

Ricky Craven, on making his 250th career Winston Cup start: “It’s a neat little milestone, but I don’t really think it’s that big a deal. I saw where Ricky Rudd made his 800th start this past weekend. Now, that’s something worth talking about. I’m proud that nearly half of my starts have come with Tide and PPI Motorsports. I’ve been lucky to have a great core group of people around me for the past three years, and I’m having the most fun working with PPI and Tide I’ve ever had in my career. I’m very lucky to have been around the sport long enough to have made 250 starts, but I’m not dwelling on the past. My focus is on the next three years, driving the Tide car for PPI Motorsports.”

Check, 1, 2 - Fans watching Saturday’s TNT NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) race broadcast at Phoenix International Raceway will hear a familiar voice in the broadcast booth. Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide Pontiac in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, will join TNT’s announce team as a special guest announcer for the Nov. 1 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200. Craven is no stranger to the NBS, having competed in that series off and on from 1986-2000. Craven has four wins, 30 top-five and 61 top-10 finishes in 140 NBS starts, and was the 1992 NBS Rookie of the Year.

Tide at PIR - Tide, sponsor of Ricky Craven’s No. 32 PPI Motorsports Pontiac, visited Victory Lane at Phoenix International Raceway in Oct., 1995. At the time, Tide, a primary car sponsor in NASCAR since 1987, was sponsoring the No. 10 entry of Ricky Rudd.

How Do I Look in a Bowtie? - With GM’s announcement that it will no longer support the Pontiac Grand Prix following the 2003 season, PPI Motorsports will switch to Chevrolet Monte Carlo’s for 2004.

PPI Motorsports Team Owner, Cal Wells, on GM’s decision: "We're disappointed, as PPI Motorsports is very proud to be a part of the Pontiac family. It was a tremendous honor to take the Pontiac Grand Prix to Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway in March. We're continuing our preparations for 2004 and beyond, and we're looking forward to the opportunities available to us with Chevrolet.

Cal Wells, on the 2003 season and what he would like to see in 2004: “Well, obviously the highlight of the year has to be (the win at) Darlington. Our biggest job, moving forward, is to improve and enhance our performance, particularly in the engine department. I really wanted to be in the top-20 this season. The season’s not over, so we may still get there. It would have been wonderful to back up our points position last year this year. The sport continues to get more competitive. That’s why we made the decision to go with GM, because we think it will make us stronger long-term.”

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