Craven working his way through tough season

FONTANA, Calif. -- His beloved Boston Red Sox have gotten off to a hot start in 2004.

In contrast, Ricky Craven's start couldn't be colder.

	The No. 32 Chevrolet hasn't finished better than 16th this season. Credit: Autostock

Simply put, the first quarter of the season has been startlingly bad for Craven and PPI Motorsports -- the same team that scored a win in 2001, a top-15 points finish in 2002 and a second win in 2003.

A 16th-place run at Martinsville has been Craven's lone lead-lap finish so far in 2004. A promising run at Talladega ended when his engine let go after just seven laps.

Qualifying has been an issue for the team. After averaging a 16th-place starting spot in 2002, that average fell to 26th in 2003. This season, it's 28th.

Craven ran a lap of 182.255 mph -- 34th -- during Bud Pole Qualifying at Fontana on Friday, leaving him with another starting spot in the rear for Sunday.

	Dave Charpentier is in his first season as Craven's crew chief. Credit: Autostock

"We just didn't get a hold of the racetrack," Craven said.

The reason for the slow start is unclear, but the team suffered from the loss of Pontiac as the 2003 season drew to a close, forcing the team to re-skin their entire inventory to the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The team also made a change at crew chief, bringing in Dave Charpentier to replace Scott Miller.

The team has remained intact, and Craven doesn't know what is wrong.

"The first thing we can do is stick together and work through it," Craven said.

"When you run as poorly as we've run this year, it's not ever one thing, it's a combination of things that work against you and we've got to find a way to overcome some of this stuff."

Craven's last top-10 finish came last October at Talladega -- he finished eighth -- but since then, he's finished better than 20th just twice in 16 races dating back to last fall.

RICKY CRAVEN  •  Driver Page  •  2004 Stats  •  Driver vs. Driver

Craven says this is "certainly" the toughest time he's experienced since he joined up with Wells prior to the 2001 season, but that his team remains upbeat.

"This is the same group of people we went to Victory Lane with in Darlington last year," said Craven, who signed a two-year contract extension with Wells last year. "I think team morale is exceptional considering how poorly we have run.

"Chemistry is the most difficult part of the equation when you are not performing and it's remarkable how well these guys continue to work together."