|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Craven wants to make his points Newburgh racer set for 7th charity ride By Larry Mahoney, Of the NEWS Staff Newburgh's Ricky Craven , who will climb on a snowmobile for his seventh annual ride for charity in Greenville Saturday morning, said he is in favor of the controversial new points system for the upcoming NASCAR Nextel Cup season.Instead of deciding a champion based on points accumulated during 36 races, there will be a 10-race playoff-type run for the championship following the first 26 races. The top 10 drivers after those 26 races and any other driver within 400 points of the leader will qualify for the 10-race points chase. Their points will be readjusted. The drivers who don't qualify will race for wins and to improve their points position. "It will create a smaller season and, for a single-car team like ours, it can only help. We were seventh in points after 10 races last season," said Craven, who had a dismal rest of the season and wound up 27th in points. "It's exciting. It's another way to measure yourself and your team. If we can get in top 10 or be within 400 points of the leader [after 26 races], we'll have a chance to battle for the championship over 10 races," said Craven who is confident his retooled race team will be able to make a serious run for the title if they have proven themselves worthy after the first 26 races. Craven will be driving a Chevy Monte Carlo for Cal Wells' III's PPI-Motorsports Team after Pontiac pulled out of Winston Cup/Nextel Cup racing after last season. Craven's Tide No. 32 car was a Pontiac. "This will put all the emphasis on winning. That has been our objective every week," said Craven. He noted that someone with a healthy points lead might be inclined to protect the lead rather than go all-out to win a race. That will change now. In addition, the revamped points system is designed to increase the drama of the fall races in order to compete for TV ratings against the NFL and college football. Matt Kenseth had the points title all but clinched by early fall this past season. Craven is looking forward to the season and said testing has gone well so far. He will run in the Gatorade Twin 125s on Thursday, Feb. 12 with the Daytona 500 opening the season three days later. But, on Saturday, will be raising more money for his various charities. The snowmobile ride has raised $566,610 to date and has shown an increase every year. Last year's event raised $185,122. "I never imagined it would generate these types of numbers," said Craven. "It's a great example of the generosity of people. The reason it has been so successful is my mother [Nancy], my sister [Lauri Matheson] and over 100 volunteers." He said several of them meet weekly to plan the ride. Sponsors like VIP Parts, Tires and Service and Procter and Gamble have also been important, according to Craven. VIP Parts, Tires and Service have raised $67,984 for the Ricky Craven Charity Foundation, surpassing last year's amount of $27,475.75. A check will be presented to Craven at the VIP store on Odlin Road in Bangor on Friday at 10 a.m. Appeared in Bangor Daily News January 30, 2004
|
|
