Flying solo tough on Craven

One definitely is the loneliest number in the Winston Cup garage.

The plight of single-car teams seldom is chronicled because it isn’t often there is something to write about. It’s difficult for a team that is flying solo to make it at the Winston Cup level, let alone succeed.

Ricky Craven is the last lone ranger to win a race – he posted his first career win last fall at Martinsville. Although Craven started last season with a teammate, that game plan fell apart because the second team spent more time rebuilding cars than working effectively with Craven’s No. 32 crew.

But Cal Wells, team owner for Craven, is eager to expand again – and he should. Though Craven has done a lot with a little, he never will contend for a championship and will have trouble cracking the top 10 in final points as long as he remains a single-car chauffeur. Wells realizes the right teammate could help Craven achieve the consistency his team lacks.

Wells’ quickest road to success seems to be a partnership with General Motors. It’s no secret that his current Ford team is stuck behind the heavy hitters – Roush, Yates and Penske – in terms of help from the manufacturer. GM is desperate to save its Pontiac line, and because Wells has an engineering background and Craven is a corporate-friendly driver, it could be a win-win situation.

Wells is expected to switch to Pontiac in 2003, and the announcement might come this weekend at Michigan. Because Pontiac needs numbers, don’t be surprised if GM goes the extra mile to assist Wells in his sponsorship search for a second team with Jerry Nadeau possibly the driver.

Though Craven isn’t convinced he needs a teammate – probably because he felt like the second spoke in the Hendrick Motorsports wheel in 1997 and part of 1998 – there is evidence he should consider. Most revealing: The last single-car driver to win a championship was the late Dale Earnhardt in 1994.

Since Rusty Wallace was victorious in the spring race at Richmond in 1997, only 11 races have been won by single-car operations. Wallace won once in 1998 and 1999 before Penske South expanded to two teams in 2000. That season, Wallace won four races and nine poles. Bobby Labonte’s history is similar. He won at Atlanta in 1997 and twice in 1998. After gaining Tony Stewart as a teammate in 1999, Labonte posted a career-high five wins. The next season, Labonte won the points championship.

The information multicar teams generate and share through testing is invaluable. Craven gets seven official tests at Winston Cup tracks. That pales in comparison with the 14 total tests Robert Yates’ drivers, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd, are allowed and the 28 tests available to Jack Roush’s four drivers. Those teams, if they choose, can bounce results off one another, but Craven doesn’t have that luxury.

Multicar teams have more resources to draw on – more sponsors, more money, more engineers, more people. Basically, more of everything that makes cars better and faster.

Wells, as a single-car owner, must try to be creative. Most single-car teams lease their engines, and Wells is no different; his motors come from Yates. Not only must smaller operations find ways to stretch a buck, they learn to rely on the kindness of others. The Wood Brothers have close ties to Roush, Jasper Motorsports has an engineering agreement with Penske, and Andy Petree is part of an aerodynamic alliance with Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Though working agreements can lead to success, such as Craven’s win at Martinsville and Elliott Sadler’s win last spring at Bristol, it is sporadic and short term.

No doubt Sadler, in his fourth year with the Wood Brothers, realized that earlier this season, when he asked for permission to begin negotiations with other teams. He never has finished better than 20th in points in the No. 21 Ford.

Petree also sees the writing on the wall. He knows he must secure sponsorship and revive his second team to contend. Rather than hoping for help from GM, Petree is expected to sign on with Ford as part of a deal with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Soon there may be no place for single-car teams. Brett Bodine likely will have trouble staying afloat unless someone buys him out. Junie Donlavey temporarily has closed his doors. Conseco’s woes might signal the end for A.J. Foyt’s struggling team. Travis Carter’s team was brought back to life, at least for the rest of the season, by Discover Card.

Wells, regardless of the path he chooses, isn’t fighting to keep his doors open. But until he secures the backing for a solid second car and gains more manufacturer support, Craven always will be fighting to keep up.