HICKORY, N.C. – Ricky Craven will make his final Nextel Cup appearance as driver of the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet this weekend at his home track, New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

Craven, a native of Newburgh, also will take his first turn behind the wheel of a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series truck in the companion race Saturday at NHIS. He will drive the No. 47 ACXIOM Chevrolet.

Craven has mixed emotions about his final race in the No. 32 car.

“The idea of racing the Tide car again is a bit difficult. On one hand, it is a great opportunity for me to say thanks and end the association at a place that is important and special to me, in front of a group of people that have been as loyal and supportive as any can be,” he said. “On the flip side, I’ve circled the wagon on whether this makes sense or not, or whether I should be doing this. At the end of the day, both [PPI Motorsports team owner] Cal [Wells] and I would agree that we’ve done more good for each other than we have had disappointment. It doesn’t always have to end ugly. This is a good opportunity for us to finish it the right way and at my home track.

“The first three years of racing with the Tide team were very, very good to me. I think we had 20-something top-10s, 10 top-fives and a couple of wins. It is a performance business and we had a very disappointing first half of this year, and where we are at, I’m fine with. I do like the idea of finishing it the right way and having the opportunity to say thanks, and that is what my intention is.

“I’m going to go to New Hampshire this weekend and start it out by racing a Craftsman truck on Saturday and have a lot of fun doing it with a terrific group of drivers in a very legitimate series. Sunday will be about basically tipping my hat to the fans of New England and say thanks for all the support for the 31/2 years I raced for this team.”

The Tide team is taking Chassis No. 46 to Loudon this weekend. The last time the car competed was with Craven behind the wheel three weeks ago at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where the team was happy with the car’s handling before it was involved in an accident.