Loudon, N.H. — The stir in the NEXTEL Cup garage today came courtesy of Cal Well II’s PPI Racing team, which announced late last night that they’d be parting company with driver Ricky Craven at the end of the year.
Starting that talk was the team-issued statement: "PPI Motorsports and Ricky Craven remain committed to each other and to getting the No. 32 team into the top-25 in points this 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. Both Cal and Ricky want to see the best for each other and remain focused on the second half of this season."
As one team member of Wells’ operation said, today, “They’ve both decided that they’ve taken this thing [the team] as far as they’re going to.”
Wells’ No.32 crew chief Dave Carpentier status with the team, however, is solid, according to him, “I’ve still got over two years left on my contract and I plan on honoring my commitment to the team.”
Wells’ team has been in the news in recent weeks said to be looking at elements of Team Rensi Motorsports, run by brothers Sam and Ed Rensi, along with business partner Gary Weisbaum. Ed, who fields the No. 25 Ford in the Busch Series, did confirm with TFR that he’s spoken to Wells about his talent and that there will be a change at the end of the year as a result of those talks.
“Cal Wells approached me before Dover and told me that he wanted to talk to both Harold [Holly] and Bobby [Hamilton Jr.] about going over to PPI,” Rensi told TFR today. “I said – and I take this position with anybody who has ever worked with me, if you’ve got an opportunity to improve yourself God bless you. I’ll do everything I can to help you. Harold has made a tremendous contribution to our team as has Bobby. They’re both very talented young men who are on the upslope in their careers and Nextel Cup is something that everybody dreams of and I’m certainly not going to stand in their way. I wish them the very best.
“Harold is a very good friend of ours,” Rensi added. “He’s not only an employee but he’s a damn good friend. We’re happy to have him working for us. Both of those young fellows are moving forward. Cal did it the right way.
“[Wells] came and chatted about it and talked about it. I’ve know Cal since his days with McDonald’s and I said, ‘Hey man, if you’ve got a position for him and you can treat him right and help them further their careers, I’m all in favor of it.’ In fact I’ve said all along if Bobby and Harold can get the right kind of a situation that would make them happy and further their careers, I’d drive them over there.
“I’m frankly disappointed that they’re not going to stay in the Ford family because Ford has done so much for us but I can’t control that.”
Rensi was asked about his frankness in the course of talking about what is essentially the backbone of his No. 25 Busch Series entry. Rensi responded, “This business about all this back and forth and rumors and silly season … that’s all nonsense. It’s about human relations, training and developing people, treating people right, helping to get their careers from Point A to Point B and Sam and I and Gary want to be known as the best owners in NASCAR. We want to treat our people right. We want to encourage them to succeed. We want to do everything we can for them to reach their goals and objectives. You think about this. You cannot motivate people unless you know what they want to do with the rest of their lives. People do things for their reasons not your reasons. So once you understand their reasons and you can align your reasons with them then you’re going to have a better team and that’s what we do.”
Rensi has asked Harold Holly to help the team with the team re-building project. “Harold and I and Sam and Gary have had continuing conversations and we’re going to kind of let Harold direct us to who he thinks our next crew chief ought to be,” Rensi told TFR. “Harold is a good friend of the family. The last two years have been terrific. I love working with the guy and we said, ‘Hey Harold, have you got any ideas about who we ought to hire as crew chief?”
“I think Bobby is a great little driver and I’d say he’s right at the beginning of his career,” Rensi added. “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened earlier, frankly. Sam and I are delighted about it. Sam and Gary and I – Gary Weisbam, my other partner – we’ve talked about it at length because we knew inevitably this was going to happen some day. If we couldn’t take them to Nextel Cup, somebody else would.”
While the deal between Hamilton and Well’s in not quite done the paperwork on Holly has been completed, according to team members on Rensi’s operation.
TFR asked Rensi about his once talked about plan to move to Cup, and where they stand now. “Money,” answered, in a word. “I’m not going to go Nextel Cup racing unless I have the money to do it the right way. How are you going to compete with DEI and Childress without money? You can’t do it.”
