LOUDON, N.H. – Ricky Rudd has finished in the top 10 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup points standings 19 times during his impressive 29-year career.

He was fifth, fourth and 10th for Robert Yates Racing from 2000-2002 before leaving to join the Wood Brothers team.

The 47-year-old Rudd, who has 23 career wins, finished 23rd in points for them a year ago.

He sympathizes with Newburgh’s Ricky Craven, who announced last Thursday that he is parting ways with the PPI-Motorsports/Tide Chevy No. 32 after this season.

“Ricky Craven is a very talented driver who deserves better equipment than what he’s been in,” said Rudd, who is currently 28th in points while Craven is 32nd.

Rudd said the sport has evolved with so many young drivers having success these days. Five of the top 10 drivers in the points standings are under 30.

“Unfortunately, it’s getting to be a preconceived thought process that a sponsor thinks they have to have somebody who’s 18 years old. There are some good 18 year-old guys and some guys like Ricky Craven that are very good at his age [38].

“I think people in the garage can see Ricky’s talents on the racetrack when the equipment isn’t there on a given day. Hopefully, he won’t have too hard a time [landing a ride for next year],” said Rudd.

“It’s just a different time in history right now. A lot of times, too much gets made out of young versus old. It’s starting to settle down now. But the sport seems to be pretty healthy right now. It seems like the race has molded in to fit the TV slots with the later and later starts. But that’s okay. We’re competitors. It doesn’t affect us too much. It’s a little bit harder on the crews to get these late starts and stuff,” Rudd said.

Wells looks for strong finish

PPI-Motorsports owner Cal Wells III said he hopes they can finish strong and Craven can land a desirable ride.

“We’re going to dig in as deep as we can. Hopefully, we won’t have many days like this,” said Wells referring to the 38th-place finish in the Siemens 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday due to a wreck and a blown engine.

“Ricky is a class act, no question. He always has been. He deserves great opportunities,” said Wells who feels Craven’s chances to land another ride are “very good.

“He’s a good race car driver,” added Wells.

The PPI Motorsports Team owner also said he expects Craven to drive just as hard as he always has even though he’s leaving the team.

“I have no worries about that,” said Wells.

Busch has productive trip

It has been an enjoyable 10 days for Kurt Busch, who won the Siemens 300 one week after finishing 13th at the Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway.

He also took in last Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game at Boston’s Fenway Park.

“I’ve enjoyed New England and the New England people. My business manager [Maine native Scott St. John] knows a lot of people in the area,” said Busch after Sunday’s triumph.

He was reluctant to discuss the spots he visited during his stay.

“I don’t want to give too much of it away. I want to keep those [spots] in place,” grinned Busch.

“It has been a tremendous stay in New England. We wanted to get pumped up for this race knowing the excitement level that’s going to be around here in September,” said Busch.

The Sept. 19 race at NHIS, the Sylvania 300, will kick off the 10-race playoff stretch for the top 10 drivers in the points standings.

He has fond memories of his debut in the Banknorth 250. He started 35th and would have finished higher than 13th “but we changed four tires on a pit stop and fell a lap down.

“I had a great time doing it. Once a year it’s fun,” said Busch whose Roush Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth, finished third in the Banknorth 250.