Article Learning the best way to earn others' respect
By Erin Crocker, Special to NASCAR.COM
August 9, 2006
10:37 AM EDT (14:37 GMT)
We've talked about me running some Nextel Cup races next season, but for myself I want to run better in the Truck and Busch Series first.
I've never been a person who has wanted to jump to another series without really belonging or deserving.
I would earn more respect going to Cup if I had more success in these other series. I still believe we can do that. I know people are still critical about me, but I feel we have some good runs coming and then maybe I will be ready for a few Cup races next year.
These next few months are really important for me. Regardless of if I think I'm ready or not, if this is my only chance to run in Cup, yeah, I'm going to jump all over it.
But if I had my choice I would rather have more success before I make the jump. I don't think I necessarily need to win a race. There are other drivers that struggled in lower series and moved up.
Jimmie Johnson didn't get his first Busch win until after he started running Cup.
I hung around and watched the Cup race at Indianapolis after the Truck and Busch races. It turned out to be a tough weekend all around for Evernham Motorsports.
I finished 26th in the Busch Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park and 27th in the Truck Series Race.
Then Kasey Kahne wrecked on the last lap of the Cup race to finish 36th and fall out of the top 10 in points and Jeremy Mayfield crashed [on lap 82] to fall out of the top 35 in points. Scott Riggs was having a good run and then got in a little tangle at the end and finished 21st.
Once momentum goes one way, it seems everything goes with it. It's frustrating. You're just part of a team and you want everybody to do well. It kind of breaks your heart because this is like a family.
It doesn't make me feel any better seeing bad things happen to other people. It just shows me that everyone has their moments.
I still learned a lot. I'd never run anything at O'Reilly before, so I gained some experience in that area.
We had a little brake issue in the truck that we didn't even know about until after the race. I got in a little tangle with David Ragan early in the race. He was actually leading and he got into the side of me.
It didn't wreck him. He kind of stuck me in the fence, but I don't think he did it on purpose. It knocked the front end out and that made for a tough night.
We didn't qualify well at all in the Busch car, and that had more to do with me not having much experience in those cars. At the beginning of the race I was a little tentative, nervous.
As the race went on I was pretty competitive. The last few laps I ran side-by-side with Ted Musgrave for position, which was kind of neat since he's a former Truck Series champion.
This was the first time I've raced against so many of the top Cup guys in a Busch race this season. I feel like I'm starting to get a feel for the Busch car. My Truck team, it's new and we don't have a lot of notes to go off of and we're still learning.
When I get in a Busch car I know they're bringing me a pretty good car. They've got notes to go off of.
About 11 of the Truck Series drivers did a commercial shoot for SPEED last week. It was a lot of fun, especially for Ron Hornaday. He was picking on me a lot.
Everyone that knows him knows he's got that tough personality, but he's really pretty funny.
I haven't gotten to know a lot of the drivers. At the track you're so busy you don't have an opportunity to chat with them, so it was kind of neat to see some of the guys away from there.
All those guys have known each other for years and have been racing against each other for a while. I don't know if we don't spend more time together at the track because I'm a girl or because I'm new to the series.
I've never had a problem being friends with guys. I grew up around two older brothers. When I raced with the World of Outlaws, I always hung out with guys.
I've got my last ARCA race this weekend at Nashville. I'd obviously love to get an ARCA win. We've been so close at times. I've run strong and competitive there and I'm ready to run in the Truck and Busch Series fulltime.
Even though this weekend wasn't great, I really feel good about things. There are moments I get down on myself and my confidence gets crushed a little bit.
But I feel like I'm on a mission and it's going to happen. It may take a little longer than I wanted to, but it'll happen.
Erin Crocker is stepping up a program that she hopes will land her in a fulltime Nextel Cup ride by driving in the Busch, Truck and ARCA Series for Evernham Motorsports. The youngest of five children, Crocker has been sharing weekly with NASCAR.com readers the ups and downs of her life on and off the track through staff writer David Newton.