Erin Crocker will run the full Busch Series season in 2006. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Crocker to run full time in 2006 Busch Series

RICHMOND, Va. -- Evernham Motorsports and General Mills announced Friday that the food manufacturer will serve as primary sponsor of driver Erin Crocker in the NASCAR Busch Series full time in 2006.

Crocker shows off her No. 98 Dodge. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Starting in Daytona next February, General Mills and its Cheerios® and Betty Crocker® brands will become the season-long primary sponsor of Erin Crocker in her full-time 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year campaign with Evernham Motorsports.

As part of Friday's announcement at Richmond International Speedway, General Mills unveiled the No. 98 Dodge to be driven by Crocker next season. General Mills will also serve as the primary sponsor of Crocker's NASCAR Busch Series team at three race tracks this year -- Lowe's Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway where she will drive the No. 40 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge race car.

"I'm thrilled to begin this stage of my racing career with the support of General Mills, whose brands I've literally grown up on," said Crocker. "I've always been hungry to further my motorsports career and to have General Mills and Evernham Motorsports give me that opportunity is what makes this deal especially fulfilling.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity, and I can't wait to go Busch Series racing with them."

Crocker is the 11th female driver to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series and she could be the first female driver to make more than 24 starts in a single Busch Series season.

"We are excited to expand our NASCAR involvement and strengthen our commitment by welcoming Erin and Ray into our family of brands," said Laurie Greeno, vice president of Motorsports at General Mills.

"Erin exemplifies everything that Cheerios and Betty Crocker brands value -- family, trust, excellence and commitment -- and we're pleased to work alongside Evernham to champion Erin's performance on and off the race track."

This year also marked Crocker's debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, where she earned two poles, three top-fives and four top-10s in just five races this season for Evernham Motorsports. Evernham Motorsports Team Director, Chris Andrews, who called the shots from Crocker's pit box in her ARCA events this season, will also assume those duties for the Busch Series team this season.

Before joining Evernham Motorsports' driver development program, the Massachusetts-native started her racing career running a Quarter Midget at the early age of seven. While she earned her Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. in 2003, she continued to gain experience in the sprint cars of the USAC Silver Crown and World of Outlaws (WoO) Series.

In October of 2004, Crocker became the first and only female driver to win a WoO race, when she took the checkered flag in the Thunderbowl Preliminary in Tulare, Calif.

"Erin is a very special person and we've seen her display great talent behind the wheel of a stock car this year in the ARCA RE/MAX Series," said Ray Evernham, President and CEO of Evernham Motorsports. "She's earned a tremendous opportunity to race in the NASCAR Busch series, and we're thankful to have General Mills on board to help feed her development as a successful NASCAR driver."