ARCA

Erin Crocker Nashville race notes

ERIN CROCKER WOWS THE CROWD IN EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS DEBUT: TAKES POLE, LEADS LAPS AND FINISHES 12TH IN HER FIRST ARCA START NASHVILLE, Tenn., (March 28, 2005) -- Erin Crocker's goal for her first ARCA RE/MAX Series race in the No. 98 Evernham ...

Edited: Mar 30, 2005, 10:02 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

ERIN CROCKER WOWS THE CROWD IN EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS DEBUT: TAKES POLE, LEADS LAPS AND FINISHES 12TH IN HER FIRST ARCA START

NASHVILLE, Tenn., (March 28, 2005) -- Erin Crocker's goal for her first ARCA RE/MAX Series race in the No. 98 Evernham Motorsports Dodge was to gain experience racing in traffic, learn more about restarts and pit stops, and get comfortable behind the wheel of a stock car.

This past weekend at Nashville Speedway, she did all that and more.

Crocker took her first career ARCA pole with a blazing lap of 29.154 seconds (164.602 mph) on the 1.33-mile race track. She led the field for the first 28 laps of the event, staying out through the first caution on lap 11. She pitted on the second caution, and came out third after the restart.

Over the next 50 laps, Crocker kept her Dodge in the top 10, passing through traffic and successfully navigating pit stops and restarts. It was evident that she had one of the strongest cars of the field, and on lap 84, with 29 laps to go, she made a three wide pass for the lead out of turn four that had the fans on their feet.

As she headed to turn one in a side-by-side battle for the top spot, the car got loose in the rear and she spun to the grass. Crocker relied on her World of Outlaws experience to control the sliding car and bring it to a stop with no damage. She re-fired the car, brought it back to the pits for four tires and returned to the field in the 14th spot.

Over the next 20 laps, Crocker ran down the rear of the field and worked the lap traffic to gain spots for the finish. She picked up several spots and finished the day in the 12th position.

"It was neat learning to pass cars on the outside here on the concrete track," said Crocker. "I learned a lot as the race progressed. Running out front was great, but I learned a lot more working traffic while coming up through the field. Not only did I learn a lot, it is nice to have my first race and first pit stops behind me. I feel like I passed a ton of cars out there today and gained a lot of knowledge overall."

For Ray Evernham, president and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, it was a proud day.

"Today was a testament to the hard work of everyone on this team," said Evernham. "The guys built a really fast Dodge, and Erin did a terrific job putting it on the pole. She worked hard all race long to protect the race car and gain spots on the field. And, she learned a lot working the race traffic and getting in and out of the pits. She proved today that she's got a lot of talent. And when she went three-wide for the lead, she proved she's got the courage and focus it takes to be successful in this sport."

Crocker will run several additional ARCA races this season, and will make her NASCAR Busch Series debut later this season. She also will compete in the USAC Silver Crown Series in a car fielded by Kasey Kahne Racing.

-em-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Brandon Knupp Nashville race notes

Next article Joey Miller Nashville race notes

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Phillip Island to remain in use despite MotoGP and WorldSBK departures

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Australian GP

1 h

Phillip Island to remain in use despite MotoGP and WorldSBK departures

Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

2 h

Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?

WEC: Barcelona 6 Hours schedule and TV times

WEC

WEC WEC

Barcelona

3 h

WEC: Barcelona 6 Hours schedule and TV times

Brennan Poole joins Jordan Anderson Racing for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Phoenix II

4 h

Brennan Poole joins Jordan Anderson Racing for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts