The Maine native will stay with PPI Motorsports and Tide through 2006.
By Sun Journal staff

CONCORD, N.C. – PPI Motorsports announced Saturday that it has extended its contract with Newburgh’s Ricky Craven to serve as driver of the No. 32 Tide Pontiac in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series through 2006.

The announcement coincided with Tide’s renewal of its sponsorship agreement with PPI Motorsports, also extended through 2006.

“There’s no doubt that Ricky Craven has helped bring both success and stability to our relatively young NASCAR program,” said Cal Wells, president of PPI Motorsports. “Ricky’s experience and ability have contributed greatly to the progress we’ve made as a single-car team.

“We are pleased that Ricky will remain a large part of that progress as we look toward our future.”

Craven has two victories with PPI, at Martinsville, Va., in October 2001, and this season’s dramatic win by a fender over Kurt Busch at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in March.

PPI is expected to add a second team to its NASCAR effort next season, with Joe Nemechek mentioned as a possible candidate for the ride.

“Ricky has been a terrific representative for Tide both on and off the race track,” said Julie Woffington, Procter & Gamble’s Tide Brand Manager. “We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Ricky along with our successful partnership with PPI Motorsports.”

Currently in his ninth season of NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition, Craven has earned a total of two wins, six pole positions, 17 top fives, and 24 top 10s. He also owns Rookie of the Year titles in NASCAR’s Winston Cup (1995), Busch (1992) and Busch North (1990) series, along with the 1991 Busch North Series championship. He began his career at Unity Raceway.

“I’m very proud to be part of the Tide team, and I’m excited about our future,” Craven said. “We’ve already established some pretty incredible milestones together, and I’m looking forward to achieving even more of our goals as a team in the years to come.”