Crocker finished 26th in Atlanta; team and driver making progress

03/21/2006

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 17, 2006) - Erin Crocker and the No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team will chalk up the visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway as a success. Crocker finished 26th in an exciting race to the checkered flag.

Crocker started the busy one-day show off as a guest on the Good Day Atlanta morning show, one of the many media appearances of the day. First practice started at 8:45 a.m. on Friday. Crocker was 29th fastest. The crew made several changes before the final practice which proved to be a step in the right direction once practice was over and Crocker was 19th fastest among the 39 drivers.

General Mills thought they would give Crocker and members of the media in Atlanta a little taste of their Betty Crocker cup cakes to help celebrate Crocker’s upcoming birthday. They turned out to be a huge success as was Crocker’s Q&A session with the media on Friday afternoon.

The truck race got off to a late start after Nextel Cup qualifying ran late. Crocker started the No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Ram in the 31st position. The first caution of the night came on Lap 31. Crocker reported to the “Helping Hand Pit Crew” that the truck was tight through the center of the corners. She also reported that the air hose on her helmet had gotten stuck and pinned her head to the left of the seat.

“I had to rip it off driving down the front stretch,” she said.

The crew continued to make adjustments throughout the night, gaining Crocker track position on each stop. For the third race in a row the outcome of the race was decided in a green-white-checkered finish. Coming to the checkered flag Crocker had to maneuver through several spinning trucks bringing the No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Ram home to a 26th-place finish.

“My team did an awesome job all day today,” Crocker said. “All of their hard work the past few weeks was evident tonight. This was the first time this year I felt I could actually race against these guys. We are gaining and I can promise you it won’t be long until we are racing these guys hard every week. I know I still need to work on a few things, but we’ve gained a lot since California.”