Ricky Craven: Golden Corral 500 preview

HICKORY, N.C. -- Ricky Craven, driver of the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet, has finished in the top-13 in the past three spring races in Atlanta with PPI Motorsports. Since 2001, he has finished 13th, 5th and 12th respectively in the spring race. Craven considers Atlanta one of his favorite tracks on the circuit and is looking forward to this weekend's activities at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The past three years with PPI Motorsports, this team has posted some great finishes at Atlanta. Is this a track that really suits yourself and this team?

"I really like Atlanta. It has become one of my favorite tracks because there are so many different ways to race and so many different grooves. As it has aged, it has become a much better race track. It doesn't have as much grip as the newer 1.5-mile tracks, and you can slide around. It is a little bit rough. It has become better with age. I enjoy race tracks where if you are not running as well as you'd like, you can move around and try to find a place where your car runs faster instead of running around the bottom of the race track. I love being able to pass on the high side, low side or right in the middle. I think it's a racer's dream to maneuver and have choices. I really enjoy that...it suits me and this Tide Racing team."

"The 2001 fall race we led a handful of laps and was racing side-by-side with Dale Jr. and the car popped out of gear. I was actually racing with one hand, trying to pass him for the lead and keeping it in gear until it finally broke. We were really disappointed because we thought we had a car to win that day."