Erin Crocker will head to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend ready for her NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at the 1.0-mile racetrack on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit. For the first time as her primary sponsor on a Dodge Ram, Crocker will team up with fulltime 2006 sponsor General Mills and its Cheerios® and Betty Crocker® brands. The No. 4 Dodge Ram will take the green flag on Saturday  Crocker will pilot her No. 4 Dodge Ram nicknamed “Mini Me”. This chassis has raced six previous times this season, including a win at Mansfield in May piloted by NASCAR Craftsman Truck Champion Bobby Hamilton.

The No. 4 team will be fielded by a partnership between Evernham Motorsports and Bobby Hamilton Racing. Crew chief Randy Seals from Bobby Hamilton Racing will make the calls this weekend, and the No. 4 crew from the BHR stable pitting the car.

Erin Crocker Quotes:

“The only time I’ve been to Phoenix is when I raced a Silver Crown car there this January for Kasey Kahne. I think it’s hard to set expectations when I haven’t raced a truck before.

“We made a few laps last week at Nashville Fairgrounds to get at least a feel for the truck. I think it’s going to be better after the first few practices to set a goal for myself.

“For right now, it’s just to go and get in the truck and make laps. Again, that’s Ray’s goal to get me some experience in a truck, especially since we are going to run the full truck series schedule next year.

“It’s Bobby Hamilton’s equipment, which is very good equipment, but it’s still hard between my lack of experience and not really knowing the equipment to make a fair goal.”

“When we tested in Nashville I was able to spend some time with Bobby Hamilton and we just talked about the differences between a stock car and the trucks.

“I was also able to work with the crew chief I’ll be working with the next two weeks, Randy Seals. He has an engineering background, which obviously fits well with mine, and in the short time we were together I think we worked well together.”

Erin Crocker Bio:

Driver, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series No. 4 Cheerios/ Betty Crocker Dodge Ram

Birthdate: March 23, 1981 Hometown: Wilbraham, Mass.

Resides: Huntersville, North Carolina Height: 5’6”

Weight: 115 lbs. Hobbies: Skiing, running, shopping

Erin Crocker is the first female to join the Evernham Motorsports driver development program. The Wilbraham, Mass., native is racing Evernham Motorsports-prepared Dodges in selected events in the NASCAR Busch Series and ARCA Series in 2005. She also has competed in selected events in the Silver Crown Series in a car from Kasey Kahne Motorsports.

Crocker comes to Evernham Motorsports from the open-wheel ranks. She began her racing career in a Quarter Midget at the age of seven and is the only female to win a World of Outlaws (WoO) race.

Crocker balanced her racing career with sports and academics through high school. She participated at the varsity level in soccer, tennis and lacrosse as well as being a member of the ski team. In 1997, her sophomore year of high school, she became the youngest driver to win a feature at Whip City Speedway en route to Rookie-of-the-Year honors. In 1999, she claimed rookie honors in the Eastern Limited Sprints.

In 2002, Crocker posted five A-feature wins in the Mike Woodring-prepared 360 sprint. After spending the early part of the 2003 season competing in the USAC Silver Crown Series, Crocker returned to the dirt winged sprint cars. In only her third time behind the wheel of a 410 sprint car, Crocker became the first woman in the 43-year history of World of Outlaws competition to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals. She was named the 2003 Nationals’ Rookie of the Year.

Crocker earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. in 2003.

Crocker competed the full season in the highly-competitive World of Outlaws Series in 2004, driving for Woodring Racing. Her feature-event win came at Tulare, Calif.