Newburgh’s Ricky Craven experienced a frustratingly short afternoon at the Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday. He finished 38th after completing only 41 of the 267 laps.

Craven quickly maneuvered his Tide No. 32 Ford Taurus from 20th place to 10th in only 19 laps over the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

But the Tide Ford had its radiator punctured by debris on the track and speculation was that it was a piece of brake rotor left from an accident when Michael Waltrip hit the wall.

The puncture drained the water, which caused the engine to be damaged beyond repair, according to the PPI Motorsports Web site.

“It was just a strange deal for the Tide team. A piece of debris went through the radiator. This type of thing happens on days like this when you run from 20th to 10th in the first 15 laps and you think you’ve got a really good shot. Actually, this group gives me a shot every week. We’ll be back at ’em. I really appreciate everything they do for me,” said Craven, who remained 16th in the points standings.

Ironically, Waltrip is the man he is trying to catch to move into 15th. Waltrip finished 26th and extended his lead over Craven to 46 points.