Keeping your cool when things are going bad

Another rough weekend.

We ran over something in practice at New Hampshire International Speedway, I think a piece of lead, and things went downhill from there.

That screwed up the whole balance of the truck and then I got up into the marbles and scraped the fence. So we pulled out the backup truck, which always makes for a nightmare of a practice set.

	Erin Crocker drives the No. 98 Dodge in the Truck Series. Credit: Autostock
	Erin Crocker Year-to-date statistics Race Start Finish Daytona 24 27 California 33 27 Atlanta 30 26 Martinsville 34 25 Gateway 30 22 Charlotte 2 18 Mansfield 25 28 Dover 25 24 Texas 12 33 Michigan 11 24 Milwaukee 33 25 Kansas 12 16 Kentucky 34 27 Memphis 34 30 IRP 33 27 Nashville 27 29 Bristol 31 35 New Hampshire 28 32 Average 25.4 26.4

Qualifying 28th in the backup wasn't all that bad all things considering. We were up to 18th and on the lead lap when the fuel pump broke and we finished 32nd.

It was kind of a freak deal, but again a terrible result and frustrating weekend. It was really disappointing because I had a lot of family there to watch me at what I consider my home track.

At least this weekend we were competitive and it helped my confidence. The trucks I ran with and had passed finished well into the top 15. I'm trying to convince myself that at least we are capable.

It's frustrating for everyone, but there's no doubt in my mind the team is putting a 100 percent effort into it. A fuel pump issue is a quality control thing. We don't make our own fuel pumps. It can happen to anybody.

Unfortunately, we need to have a good run. The season is winding down and every week we say we're going to dig out of this slump, and every week something happens.

It affects sponsors. It affects the team.

As far as our deal with Betty Crocker, we don't know exactly what we're doing for next year. As of right now it looks like they're coming back. We're going to try to run a full truck schedule and hopefully run a few Busch races and eventually a sprinkling of Nextel Cup races.

But you can't help but worry about sponsors and things like that when things are going bad. This is my lifelong dream. This is what I've worked really hard to do.

To know that I may not get there, of course it's scary and frustrating. Every professional athlete when they go through a tough time or a slump can't help but worry about that.

I can't even worry about that right now. You try to put it out of your mind, but of course it makes me nervous. Everybody is anxious to get a good finish. This is what I want to do and this is what I've worked so hard to do.

General Mills has been very behind me from the beginning of this. They stuck with me through a lot of adversity. In the beginning we changed from Busch to trucks, and they really stuck behind me then.

	Erin Crocker Credit: Autostock
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I hope that doesn't change, but to be honest I'm not really involved in what goes on for next year. I'm just a driver, and we're still planning appearances and things for the future.

We're heading to Las Vegas on Friday for one of our few open tests of the season. We're going to bring more support staff, maybe more engineers. I'm looking forward to it.

We haven't been on a track like that in a little while. The last similar to Vegas was Texas, and we were strong there until we had engine troubles.

We'll test all day Friday and it's a one-day show on Saturday. That's a lot to do in two days, but we did the same deal in Charlotte earlier in the year and ran well.

I like testing. That's one thing I miss since NASCAR has cut back on the opportunities.

I like working with all the engineers and all the data. I like having the luxury to practice with no time restraints.

I also understand they cut out a lot of tests for costs, even though for a young driver like me the more I could test the better I would get. But it's the same for everybody, so it is what it is.

It's getting to the point where I have nothing to lose out there. The good part is I'm getting a lot of support in the garage.

Last weekend, some real high up people at NASCAR made their way to talk to me and give me words of encouragement like, "We know what you're going through. It's not always easy.''

That meant a lot. It let me know that I'm not crazy and I really can do this and that I'm just going through a bad time.

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.