LOUDON, N.H. – As the sun beat down on steamy New Hampshire International Speedway on Friday, K.K. Craven was cradled in her husband Ricky’s arms in a tender embrace as they enjoyed watching Nextel Cup qualifying atop the PPI Motorsports Tide No. 32 transporter.

It was less than 24 hours after it was announced Craven and PPI Motorsports would part company after this season. Craven is under contract through 2006.

After a promising start to the 2003 season in which he won at Darlington and found himself seventh in points after 10 races, the Tide team has plummeted. Craven wound up 27th in points last year and is running 31st in 2004 with three 16th-place finishes as his best efforts.

The 38-year-old Craven didn’t let the decision bother him Friday as he drove 130.981 mph to qualify 10th for Sunday’s Siemens 300 Nextel Cup race. It was his best qualifying effort in 30 races dating back to last year when he qualified eighth for the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington.

His average qualifying spot this year has been 29.7.

Craven got loose on the first qualifying lap but recovered and ran a quick second lap.

“I went after it that first lap. I was looking for more but it just got away from me,” said Craven, who is optimistic about the rest of the season.

“I’m really looking forward to the second half of the year,” he said. “It was really cool. I sat down with the guys [on the crew] this morning and had a talk to explain what we had agreed to and our vision for the second half of the year. And, under the circumstances, you wouldn’t know what to expect. But this is a good group of people. They’ve been behind me for three and a half years and there’s no reason to think it won’t be the same for the next six months.

Craven’s performance Friday came as no surprise to crew chief Dave Charpentier.

“It says something about Ricky. He’s a professional. He focused on what he had to do and we stayed focused. I think this is just the beginning for us. We’ll have more new cars on the track in the second half and we’re getting our aero package and chassis where they need to be,” said Charpentier, who considers Craven a “real good driver.”

Mike Beam, the Tide team’s competition director and former crew chief when Craven won his first race at Martinsville, said the news Craven and PPI Motorsports were parting ways “broke my heart in a lot of ways.

“Ricky’s a really good friend of mine. It’s really hard,” said Beam, who feels everybody can share in the blame.

“We’re all a lot to blame. There was complacency. We need to challenge ourselves,” said Beam. “Ricky has so much class. Ricky and Cal helped each other. Cal needed Ricky and Ricky needed Cal. I’m glad it’s going to end on good terms.

“There were too many changes between makes, models, engines,” Beam added. ‘And when you have a single-car team, it’s tough to overcome that. You’ve got to please your sponsors. We have 70 families to think of. We have 70 employees. It’s a hard situation, Ricky is like a brother to me. He and I shed some tears over this.”

Craven said decision to split hasn’t lessened his enthusiasm.

“We got a lot to race for. Both Cal [PPI Motorsports owner Cal Wells III] and I talked about that. I think making the decision makes things a little easier because it’s clear. So he can work toward his objectives going forward and I can work toward mine,” Craven added.

Still, Craven has peace of mind.

“I feel really good about everything. I feel good about the Tide Monte Carlo. We’re not there yet but with a really good practice tomorrow, I think we’ll be in the hunt,” said Craven.

He downplayed his qualifying effort, saying, “I was just doing my job. I enjoyed it. I lost the back of the car off turn two the first lap, had to throw it away, and just went after it the second lap and it worked out. It wasn’t too bad.”

Craven said it will be important to establish momentum and build on it.

“It’s more than 50 horsepower, it’s more than the best-handling race car [that is successful]. It’s confidence. And this will be a good start. We’ll see where we go from here,” said Craven.

He acknowledged he will be auditioning for a ride the remainder of the season but “I’m not focusing on auditioning, I’m focusing on re-establishing credibility.”

Beam said there is no question in his mind Craven has a “lot of drive left in him” and deserves to be in another full-time Nextel Cup ride.

“What people don’t realize is you don’t win at Darlington on the last lap and you don’t win at Martinsville on the last lap without being a good driver. It’s tougher than heck to do that. If people don’t appreciate that, they’re going to lose out. It’s their mistake.”

Craven said his time with the Tide team and with Wells has been time well spent. He and Wells are close friends.

“But it’s also comfortable for me being in this situation. Four years with a team is great but it’s time to move on,” said Craven.

“I don’t know what the market is for a 38-year-old driver but I suspect that it’s fine. I know if I run well in the second half, I’ll land on my feet,” said Craven who added that to win at NHIS would be special.

“It’s always nice to come home. I’m a New England boy. I love New England and I’m proud of my heritage. I enjoy and appreciate the people. I met my wife here and I used to live 10 miles away.”