HICKORY, N.C. – Newburgh native Ricky Craven will soon be looking for a new ride.

PPI Motorsports and Craven announced late Thursday night that they will part ways at the end of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel racing season.

“Together, PPI Motorsports and Craven have evaluated the team’s performance-related challenges and agree that it is in their mutual best interest to part at the end of 2004 and explore opportunities for 2005 and beyond,” the release said.

PPI and Craven remain committed to each other and to getting the No. 32 Tide team into the top 25 in points this season.

“Both Cal and Ricky want to see the best for each other and remain focused on the second half of this season,” the statement explained.

Craven is 31st in the NASCAR Nextel Cup points and has earned $1,684,490 this season. He is one of four drivers without a top-10 finish this season. His best finish in 2004 was 16th, which Craven accomplished three times.

Craven, 38, was the 1995 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year and owns two career victories, both with PPI Motorsports.

Santerre to run 150th Busch race

Andy Santerre of Cherryfield, who made his Busch North debut at New Hampshire International Speedway in 1992, will run his 150th Busch North race Saturday, appropriately, at NHIS.

The Siemens 125 follows the Siemens 200 Busch Series race.

“I didn’t know it was my 150th race until [wife] Sue mentioned it,” said Santerre. “It’s kind of neat. That’s quite a few races, although a lot of guys have more than that.”

Santerre has driven 33 races at NHIS with two wins, 11 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s. His debut was the first of a two-race audition for Mike and Pam O’Connor.

“[The track] has grown but hasn’t changed immensely,” said Santerre. “When I first went there, it was like going to Daytona for the guys up in the Northeast. Driving through that tunnel [onto the track] was a thrill.”

“There has been a better racing groove the past couple of years. And they’ve added another set of garages. The best thing they’ve ever done is add the soft walls,” he said.

Santerre, who won races at NHIS in 1999 and 2000, said the track is “always a challenge.”

“It’s a mix between a super speedway and a short track. You need horsepower. The speeds you travel at are a lot higher than what we normally race at. The guys who are comfortable at those speeds are the ones to beat,” Santerre said.

Santerre has been the model of consistency this season with four wins and five top-fives in eight races. He finished in the top 10 in his first seven races before winding up 11th in the Kobyluck Corporations 150 at Waterford Speedbowl last Saturday night.

“We had an issue with the [malfunctioning] tire pressure gauge. We had more air pressure in the tires than we wanted,” said Santerre, the two-time defending Busch North points champion who holds a 14-point lead over Mike Olsen of North Haverhill, N.H.

Saturday’s race also will feature the 2004 Busch North debut of Strong’s Tracy Gordon, who has 12 career Busch North wins.

Gordon’s last season as a Busch North regular was 2002. He ran just four races a year ago to go with six Pro All-Stars Series races.

He is currently third in points on the PASS tour.

Gordon, second in Busch North points in 1999, will drive the No. 33 Woodworks Racing/Archer Corporation Ford Taurus.

Gordon tested the car at NHIS last month.

And DNK Select Used Cars of Farmingdale will make its first appearance as a sponsor on a Busch North car when its logo appears on the No. 0 Chevy.