Ricky Craven Event Preview
No. 32 Tide Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Round 21 of 36 - Brickyard 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
HICKORY, NC (August 2, 2004) - Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide
Chevrolet, will make his 10th start in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis
Motor Speedway. Craven’s best finish at the historic speedway came in 2001
where he finished ninth.
Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet:
What makes running at the Brickyard so special? Is it interesting having
the grandstands on the inside of the race track…do you notice them?
“History…years and years of history and racing heritage. Participating in
front of a huge crowd and it is a big, big deal. Having the grandstands on
the inside is kind of like a throwback to the old days, like the old
Darlington. It helps establish how old and how significant the speedway is.
As old as it is, it also has the appearance of a brand new facility, which
makes it unique. When you are at Darlington, you know you are at
Darlington. There are several examples of why Darlington was one of the
first speedways built. You don’t necessarily get that impression from Indy.
It has a presence that no other race track has, but it is hard to explain.
You know you are somewhere special.”
“There are very few races in my career where I can look back and say, ‘I’d
love to have that one over,’ but the 2001 Brickyard was one of those for me.
We were running third at the time and attempting to get by Sterling Marlin.
I was working him hard and I just lost the nose on the exit of turn two and
hit the wall square, which flattened the side of the car. It took the
goodness out of it and we ended up finishing ninth. That is one I’d like to
have over personally.”
How does Indy differ from all the other tracks?
“The flat corners and the high speeds. Most flat race tracks are usually
one mile or smaller tracks, but Indy is unique. There isn’t any place on
the schedule where you can say, ‘This is like Indy.’”
How reassuring is having the SAFER barriers at a track like Indy where the
corners are flat and it produces such hi-speeds?
“It has become almost common place among all the NEXTEL Cup Series tracks to
have the SAFER barriers, but Indy deserves a lot of credit as they were one
of the first, if not the first to install the SAFER barriers. They had to
absorb the cost and take the time all for the driver’s safety. A track with
the history that it has, I think they went a long way to make the SAFER
barriers more common especially for a track that hasn’t changed much through
the years, other than maintaining it’s appearance. They did it all for the
right reasons and that was a testimony for the type of people they are. It
was really, really wonderful.”
How did your test session go at Indy on Monday, July 19th and Tuesday, July
20th?
“It was good. I was encouraged by it, but we still need a little speed. In
qualifying trim, we were good.”
Appearances:
Craven will sign autographs on Thursday, August 4th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00
p.m. at the Kroger Supermarket located at 5025 West 71st Street in
Indianapolis, IN. Phone number is 317-347-8480.
Craven will appear on Speed Channel’s Trackside show on Friday, August
6th.
Craven will sign autographs at the Tide Souvenir Rig on Saturday, August
7th from approximately 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Please check with the
souvenir rig in advance for ticket distribution.
Chassis No. 48: The Tide Racing team is taking Chassis No. 48 to
Indianapolis this weekend, which is a brand new car.
