LOUDON, N.H. – The final countdown is under way on Ricky Craven’s tenure with the No. 32 Tide car.

Craven and PPI Motorsports car owner Cal Wells released a joint statement Friday morning saying that they have agreed to part company at the end of the season. Craven will drive the final 18 races, beginning Sunday with the Siemens 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

According to Craven, the pair have discussed the future of their single-car entry for the past few weeks in the wake of the team’s poor performance this season. Craven has not finished better than 16th.

“Cal and I have agreed to agree,” Craven said Friday morning before the start of practice. “At the end of the season, we’re going to shake hands. We’re going to thank one another for four very productive years that have produced at least three poles and two wins. He’s thankful, I’m thankful and we can move on.

“Anytime you get in this situation where you’re not performing and you’ve had half a season of racing like we’ve had, it normally ends ugly. So it’s a compliment to him and a compliment to the team. I’m happy that we’re able to agree to agree and end this the right way.”

Wells is still in North Carolina and unavailable to comment. He is not expected at NHIS until Sunday.

Craven, 38, is in the midst of his worst season during his four-year tenure with the PPI No. 32 car. He has not started better than 17th, has four top-20 finishes and has finished on the lead lap in just two of 18 races. He has finished 31st or worse in five of the last six races.

He sits 31st in points and leads only three drivers who have competed in all 18 races.

“The most difficult thing about what I do is when you’re not performing,” Craven said. “The hardest part of my job is losing. The second half of last year and the early part of this season have been miserable. That’s something that we need to dig ourselves out of. But understanding what we do for a living and that you’re judged by performance, it’s clear that something was going to have to change. I’m not immune to that. I don’t duck that.”

With no guarantee of a ride next year, Craven will basically be auditioning each week, looking to hook up with a new team. Stressing that he remains hungry, Craven believes he and his Tide team can still turn things around before the end of the season.

“We’re at the halfway mark, and it’s time to let the world know what we’re doing and shop a little bit,” he said. “The best way to get their attention is to run well.”

Coming off his best season when he finished 15th in 2002, Craven began last season with a lot of promise. He was fifth in the points standing after he nipped Kurt Busch by .002 seconds – the closest margin of victory in NASCAR history – to take the checkered flag at Darlington during week five. He remained among the leaders for the next five races before tumbling out of the top 10 in early May after finishing 38th in consecutive races. His free fall ended in 27th place by the end of the season.

The team has yet to find its rhythm this year.

“We don’t understand completely why because we’re still struggling,” said Craven. “But these things don’t happen overnight. You don’t go to Victory Lane overnight, and you don’t lose momentum overnight. It’s a process of several things. I have my opinion, and Cal’s got his opinion.”

Craven refused to get specific, but indicated that PPI’s single-car team was a major disadvantage, especially when trying to compete with the successful multi-car teams run by Jack Roush, Hendrick Motorsports, DEI, Richard Childress and others.

Despite the handicap, the team has enjoyed its share of success.

“It’s amazing; think about what we’ve done as a single-car team,” Craven said. “In the last three years we’ve won two races on two of the toughest places on the schedule, three poles, double-digit top fives. Although this year has been miserable, the three years we raced together have been very productive. He deserves a lot of credit.”

Craven and Wells teamed up in 2001. Craven was without a ride after a disappointing two years with independent owner Hal Hicks that allowed Craven only 16 starts in 2000. Wells was coming off a rookie season with just one top-10 finish.

“He called me when I was sitting on my boat on Moosehead Lake when no one else would,” Craven said. “Out of that, I’ve got two beautiful trophies – from Martinsville and Darlington – and three more poles than I had. From his standpoint, we helped him get his first top five, his first pole, his first win and his first top 15 in points.

“I think the world of everybody that wears a Tide orange uniform. At the end of this season, it will end. I’m not happy about that, but I’m very comfortable with the way it will end.”

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